I took Miiko and Athena with me to the Aliwan Fiesta, held last May 3 at the Quirino Grandstand and the Aliw Theater. It was sweltering hot during the day, when we were shooting, but I don’t regret not getting enough sleep to go there early. As soon as we finished taking portraits, it started pouring and we quickly hailed a cab to take us to the CCP complex where the performances will be.

It was really a tiring day — taking photos in the heat, then waiting for hours just for the performances. But who am I to complain? The performers probably had even less sleep than I did, they were standing in formation as early as 10am, stood under the midday sun, practiced throughout the day, had to deal with nosy photographers, then even got rained on! On top of that, they had to walk and dance throughout the parade route, and then dance for the judges. It’s really impressive how they were still able to smile after all that. I guess that’s what passion is.

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Haruhi’s bunny suit is us awesome. Not only is it a huge leap from the “safe” outfits we often see on Pinky Street dolls, it also comes with complete accessories!

Apart from the suit, it comes with bunny ears, a black bow tie, white cuffs and a white fluffy tail. However, from experience, travelling with Pinky St means having to do away with the accessories, no matter how cute they are. Some Pinky accessories are just too small that when it falls of, they’re a pain to look for. Better safe than sorry!

However, I couldn’t resist bringing the bunny ears!

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If you’re thinking of starting your Pinky Street collection, now’s the best time to empty your wallets and buy Pinky St dolls. A quick look at eBay shows a number of sellers and collectors letting go of rares and semi-rares. Following the law of supply and demand, since there are plenty of supply, the prices of these sought after Pinkies are dropping — at an alarming rate too.

Take for instance Henrietta, the Gunslinger Girl. She was raffled off at one event, and of course, extremely limited. She once went for as high as $200 in eBay. However, in recent auctions, I’ve seen her go for as low as $79! Considering that this doll is one of the pinnacles of Pinky St collecting, that’s a bargain.

Next I saw Tenjo Tenge’s Emi Isuzu. Highly coveted because of her oh so awesome dress and her to die for pink curls, she is pegged at $40-60. There was this one eBay auction where I saw her go for only $29!

Then there’s Tsukihime Arcruid. Every collecter wants her — rather, her bare legs. Akadot Retail once put her on sale, with the awesome price tag of only $5. This didn’t bring down her value one bit. As soon as Akadot put her back on regular retail price ($24), people still want her, and at $24, that’s a pretty reasonable price. But then Hobby Link Japan has received their re-stock, and she’s now available again at our favorite Japanese online store for only $15 (much to the dismay of collectors who’ve hoarded Arcs from Akadot).

Even the regular releases are going for a steal. One seller was selling three brand new and unopned regular releases. A fair price for this would be $30 ($10 per doll), but to my surprise, it ended at only $10.50 (with shipping it’s $18.50, roughly $6 per doll; pretty much the suggested retail price in Japan).

This is certainly the best time to buy Pinky Street dolls. Great news for those just starting into the hobby. But for the long time collectors and sellers? Quite a tragedy.

Baby Sue and Vance Project aren’t slowing down either. With the other two Haruhi Suzumiya Pinkies slated to be released at the end of the month, the much anticipated and awaited Sanrio Pinkies coming out sometime July and the sneak peek at the upcoming Series 7, Pinky Street sure is on a roll. The question is, can their existing market roll with them?

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Pinkies who arrive just before a trip are lucky: they automatically get to go with me. After waiting several weeks for its arrival, of course I can’t help but to show them off!

Haruhi standing inside one of Yoki’s treasure.

Haruhi and Caine joined me and other members of the traditional and new media to explore the hidden gems of Tagaytay. We discovered the burgeoning communities of the south with Verdana and Ayala Community Innovation, learned about honey bees at the Ilog Maria Honey Bee Farm, had a filling authentic Vietnamese lunch at Bawai’s, indulged our sweet tooth at Chateau Hestia, marveled at the treasures inside Yoki’s House, had a late merienda at the T House and finally, a feast at the Kanin Club.

More about this tour coming soon on Justwandering.org.

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