All Your Bookstore Are Belong To Bust

July 4, 2008

There are days when I can’t stand spending another minute at home, but yesterday afternoon, I really didn’t want to go out. So when my brother asked me to go to Tutuban with him, I kept yelling “GO ALONE!” at him.

But my brother isn’t one who takes “no” for answers; not, especially, from someone who’s years his junior. So he kept nudging me to come along, and I kept protesting. This went on for such a long time my father eventually knew what was going on. And then he took my brother’s side. Two versus one: How unfair.

So I begrudgingly joined my brother as he went to Tutuban. He seemed oblivious to the mud puddles that were consequences of a rain. I dirtied my footwear with splotches from origins unknown – and I’d rather not know – because my brother so wanted to buy a TV just so he can play Grant Theft Auto 4 in his own room. We only have one TV, and my brother wanted to buy another, since he got tired of trying to wring my father loose from our only TV so that my brother and I can use it for own purposes, which never interested my dad.

Anyway, we didn’t get a new TV, although my brother got all bright in the eye in finding out that a new flatscreen TV isn’t as expensive as it used to be. As we were heading home, I decided to go to National Book Store and to buy some school supplies.

Don’t go to National Bookstore Tutuban Branch.

I’m dead serious about that, especially after what I went through yesterday.

No, I didn’t get mugged or anything. Had that happened, I’d just go ahead and say don’t go to Tutuban: Tutuban is cool, and I frequently go there to buy videogames and some cheap goods. As it is, though, I can say, with the conviction of Martin Luther King Jr against racial segregation, that National Book Store Tutuban Branch is by far the worst National Bookstore I’ve ever gone to. It’s the worst bookstore in the whole wide of the universe. Bookstores that sell nothing but books eaten by silverfishes can’t be that bad. Bookstores that sell nothing but books written by Bill O Reilly and Anne Coulter can’t be that bad. Bookstores found inside craters of the moon can’t be that bad. NBS Tutuban is so bad, that even as a parody of bad bookstores, it fails horribly like Scary/Epic/Superhero/Date Movie fails as, well, being anything.

And I’m not just talking about the paucity of things. Oh, sure, none of the books from that NBS is worth buying unless you’re into local pulp romance novels with shirtless men on the covers. Yeah, that sucked. Do you know what made it worse? The disorderliness! I went to the bookstore intending to buy a sketchbook of a specific size, and then some pencils. I went to the section where they sell sketchbooks, and it was a mess. Sketchbooks the size of a mousepad got mixed up with those the size of a blackboard, and then they got mixed with lesson plans, music notebooks, organizers, and cheap “softcore” porn magazines. All within a kid’s reach! The pencils weren’t placed any better. The rack where I took the pencil had labels, but how was it that I got a 4H pen on a rack for 6B, and an F on a rack for 2H? Can’t the clerks read?

The service is the worst, if you can even call it service, because it’s more like bureaucracksy. Never did I imagine that bookstore would have queues as long as that of MRT’s ticket booths, but here I was, lining up as though I were applying for Visa. I had no choice but to wait, regretting not bringing two books the size of a Russian novel with me because by the time I finished them I still wouldn’t have reached the cashier. It wasn’t just the overcrowding that made the line so slow-moving; when I paid for the things I bought, the salesladies yapped among themselves so much, they spent five minutes wrapping the 4 things I bought, and then another five giving me my change. And for the record their conversations were incredibly boring: forget about bookstore clerks that don’t know the first thing about books; they don’t even know the first thing about making their conversations worth listening to, unless you’re into hearing fat people lecture you about how to lose weight.

As we were heading home my brother still kept yapping about how awesome Grand Theft Auto 4 was, but I couldn’t hear anything he was saying. That National Bookstore got me nauseous. So nauseous, that I couldn’t even scold my brother for dragging me along to this short-but-stressing expedition.

So I repeat, don’t go to National Bookstore Tutuban Branch!


Posted by nightdreamer at 1:55 pm | permalink

Previous Comments

“short-but-stressing expedition” very well said :) lol

Posted by Finch at July 4, 2008, 3:57 pm

Well, if I may add, the service in NBS Glorietta also sucks, because the people working there worship foreigners.

A friend and I went there to buy some cartons.While we were looking at some other things, a saleslady took our cartons and gave them to a foreigner who wanted to buy 25 pieces.

When we found our cartons were gone, we asked for some and we were told that there were no more stocks left.

Needing the cartons very much, we approached the foreigner and asked if she saw the ones we had just a while ago. She said yes, they were given to her by one of the salesladies and she (the foreigner)actually said she thought somebody owned them already.

And so, she gave us back our cartons and asked more from the NBS crew. And whaddya know, the saleslady sent for a stockman to get some right away.

Posted by katcarneo at July 4, 2008, 10:05 pm

Good grief! See, this is just an example of the many cases of Uncle Tom’s (i.e. foreigner ass-kissing) that we see very often in this country.

I actually have another NBS horror story that happened in NBS Megamall, but that one happened a long time ago. The good thing is I was merely a witness; the bad thing is I can’t help but feel bad for the victim. She asked to photocopy plenty of important documents; since it would’ve taken a long time to photocopy all her stuff, she decided to come back an hour later.

And then National Bookstore just lost THE ENTIRE ORIGINAL COPIES of her documents.

I mean, what if those documents were passports?

Posted by nightdreamer at July 4, 2008, 10:25 pm

horrible as it is, i found nice books there that were on sale for as low as 70% off (from 300php to 50php, 400php to 80php, et al. and it’s on sale until the stack is all bought) though i agree with how ubiquitous the junk is. parang ukay-ukay na bookstore. win some, lose some, i suppose.

Posted by barny at July 6, 2008, 3:58 pm

The only thing I like about NBS is that I can read comics without buying them. When it comes to actual supplies and service, they suck.

Posted by Ting at July 8, 2008, 3:52 pm

@Ting Some NBS branches are okay. The one from Robinson’s Galleria (the top floor one, not the one at the ground level) has quite a collection of comics, scifi and classics. I go there very frequently.

@barny eh, it’s not like Tutuban’s NBS is the only one that marks down the price of its books. On other branches, I got a Batman: Crimson mist at P100, a Foundation at P140, and a Red Badge of Courage at P20.

Posted by nightdreamer at July 8, 2008, 3:56 pm

NBS? Pffft… The fact that they have branches as frequent as Mcdo or Jollibee should make it convenient (for me). But as my needs became specialized, I never went there to buy my art supplies because I know they wouldn’t have it… or if they have it, their incompetent sales person wouldn’t know anything about it.

P.S.
I love NBS Cubao though, for the second-hand books they have at their uppermost floor.

Posted by van at July 8, 2008, 6:31 pm

It’s great that people can receive the loans and this opens up completely new chances.

Posted by EuniceBRIGHT26 at November 29, 2010, 11:37 pm

The Men Burberry T Shirt Cheap next thing to consider doing is shopping for brand name clothes for women at places like Marshall’s and TJ Maxx. These stores buy excess Men Louis Vuitton T Shirtclothing from top brands when they have too much, and they then sell the items to you Lacoste T Shirt Cheap at heavily discounted prices. Nordstrom Rack is a similar option, though their discounts are not quite as high because they not a separate Diesel Jeans Cheap company. If you have ever been to these types of stores and thought the selection was limited, you need to check Cheap Gucci Sandals again. They have drastically increased their stock even at their own expense. You will be blown away with what isCheap Gucci Boots available. Women Gucci Sandals

Posted by Cheap Gucci Boots at June 25, 2011, 4:12 pm

Comfortably, the article is really the sweetest on this precious topic.

Posted by cheap gucci at July 19, 2011, 5:06 pm

Very happy to join this, and want to know more friends hereThank you for sharing the post.

Posted by cheap gucci shoes at July 29, 2011, 4:14 pm

I agree with you ,your saying is very good!

Posted by Cooqi Clothing at August 1, 2011, 5:26 pm

Cheap Air Max Shoes

Nike sells an assortment of products, Cheap Air Max ShoesThey currently also make shoes, jerseys, shorts, baselayers ,

Gucci Clothing etc. including shoes and apparel for sports activities like association football, basketball, running, combat sports, tennis, American football, athletics, golf and cross training for men, women, and children. Air Max ShoesKnight brainchild grew to become the shoe and athletic company that would come to define many aspects of popular culture and myriad varieties of cool. Get the latest nike shoes in our web. We carry a large inventory from Nike, including Nike Air Force 1, Nike Air Max, Nike Shox, and Nike Dunks models.http://www.topnfljerseys.us/nba-jerseys-c-4.html

http://www.paylessnfljerseys.com

Posted by Air Max Shoes at August 29, 2011, 5:48 pm

The Democratic Party of Japan 17 held a caucus meeting resolution in this Congress, zoom kobe the closing day of August 31st held before the house and Senate nominee election of prime minister. nike zoom While the party election schedule by Prime Minister Naoto Kan and director Tian Ke is also responsible for Nagaoka. james shoes Due to special bond act and renewable energy special measures law or in the 26 days of the month through Congress and set up, kobe shoes by then Prime Minister Naoto Kan presented "the resignation of 3 conditions" be paid cash. Taking this as the premise, lebron james shoes the Democratic executive program in 28 ~ 30 days is held between the party’s first election. zoom lebron The Democratic Party executive department should as far as possible in lebron shoes August to elect a new prime minister, to avoid prolonged regime blank.

Posted by james shoes at August 29, 2011, 9:41 pm

brainchild grew to become the shoe and athletic company that would come to define many aspects of popular culture and myriad varieties of cool. Get the latest nike
cheap jerseys wholesale
cheap nba jerseys
Cheap jerseys
Gucci Clothing
cheap christian loutboutin
NBA Jerseys Outlet
Cheap NFL Jerseys
Cheap Shox Sale

Posted by nfl jerseys at September 10, 2011, 9:33 pm

888xuerong-1:
Supra Skytop

Posted by Supra Skytop at September 19, 2011, 2:27 pm

I think if we walk to other blog we most comment to give appreciate for owner. http://www.cheapjerseysoutlets.com/ (cheap jerseys Outlets)
http://www.realnbajerseys.com (cheap nba jerseys)
http://www.nbajerseysoutlet.com (nba jerseys outlet)
http://www.nbajerseysoutlet.us (cheap nba jerseys)

Posted by Cheap NFL Jerseys at October 7, 2011, 8:08 am

I really, really enjoyed this. The humor works brilliantly, and the animation is much better than I had imagined. The way you have “blended” (hehe) it all together makes this look like a solid, whole product, as good as any Pixar short. Probably better. But then again: That’s my opinion.
moncler on sale
Moncler jackets
moncler jacket mens
moncler jacket womens
cheap moncler jacket
moncler accessories
Moncler polo shirt
Moncler vests
Moncler vest mens
Moncler vest womens
moncler hoodies
Moncler mens
moncler womens
Moncler kids
Moncler shoes

Posted by North Face coats at October 14, 2011, 1:35 pm

rite like this too. You need time to creat that interesting and additionally real effort to make such a good article

Posted by oakley sunglasses men at November 8, 2011, 4:37 pm

Timberland acknowledges that ”the environmental impacts of Timberlands For Men the impacts of our owned and operated facilities,” and provides Cheap Timberlands to reduce the carbon emissions in its value chain. Shoes Timberland I find it a bit strange that the company has Timberlands For Cheap for this part of its reduction mission. As we all know, you can’t manage Timberland Sale.The new portal is not just Timberland For Kids with information in the best way possible, but also about creating a more effective dialogue with stakeholders.

Posted by sfcds at November 10, 2011, 1:56 pm

Even if you shop for your special occasion at the last moment, you are sure to find something nice at jimmy choo uk. jimmy choo sale gifts are not restricted to just your lover, you could also pick perfect for almost everyone, including your family and friends. What is so extraordinary and unusual when it comes to superdry kids is that you have an option to pick and select your own to be attached onto the of your preference. Just in the range of superdry outlet, it provides options of a standard or you could opt for the obsidian. Once you select the bracelet, then you select the charms to be supplemented onto the bracelet. You will have so many options to choose from the superdry clothes that it may just get very difficult for you to make a choice. Well the superdry hoodies are not limited to the use of bracelets; they can be used on as well. They can be easily hooked on to the jimmy choo uk. So you have accessory which is versatile. One of things appreciated by it’s fans is the versatility of jimmy choo sale. To attach your special superdry uk there is a sterling silver link provided which can hold up to three charms. The good thing is that the superdry sale is easy to take on and off.

Posted by jimmy choo uk at December 10, 2011, 2:31 pm