I'm Ready. Yes, I'm Ready

Before you think of any other thing, it is NOT about marriage, at least not as of this time. What I am pertaining to is something else that might happen in the next 28or 29 days. Just wait and see. All I can say for now is that I am ready. It is right there waiting to be put into black and white. The dates are complete. It is just awaiting execution.

But for now, I am hoping that one of the other thing will call me within the week. Something that could trigger the execution real fast.

I am ready. Yes, I am! :-)

What's Happening in the Metro?!?!

Early Monday morning there was a bus that caught fire along Skyway. My classmate from Goethe saw it and the van she was in was just few blocks away from it. It was a Ceres Transport, one bus company that caters for passengers going to and from Batangas. Thank God no one was hurt on this event.

Tuesday afternoon, few minutes before 2pm, a bus exploded at the corner of EDSA and Buendia Ave. here in Makati. As of Wednesday, the number of dead people rose to 5 and 14 (or was it 10) was seriously injured, one man must have his leg amputated. There is still no concrete update as to who or what group was responsible for the explosion.

This afternoon (or was it at noon), construction workers at a condominium here in Makati met an accident. As of 2pm, there were already 9 casualties. I am still yet to read the news to find out the reason for the accident. What I only heard from the news as a reason was that the service elevator failed.

Three consecutive days of accidents and frightening events. I haven't mentioned yet the consecutive carjacks wherein there were already 3 casualties. What's happening to the Metro? That I cannot answer myself. I, myself, asks it. What happened to the Filipinos? What's in store for the future of the Philippines? These consecutive events made me decide to leave the Metro as soon as my contract expires. I am going home to Batangas and wait for my visa to come. I am leaving. Now I think I understand why Ody chose to go back to Vienna despite the fact that her parents and brother are already settled here.

Powerbooks WANTS Me (LOL!)

I got this link from my regular Powerbooks email updates. I am tempted to apply. I am so much interested to work on a bookstore and be surrounded with books everyday. I think I'd surely find heaven working with them, even if my degree is waaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy far from being a Book Associate. But then, there is no Powerbooks branch in Batangas, and I wanted to go back home to Batangas and work from there.

Fear

After days of fearful events here in Manila, I am back to old phobic me.

I just don't know now how am I going to travel home to Batangas. :'( There had been two cases of bus explosion on two consecutive days.

What's happening to Philippines? Why are evil things prevailing the city?

This is just sad and frightening...

Another Sad Moment In Our Life

I just got home to my place from Sanctuarium. If you are from Manila, then you know what is there at Sanctuarium. My dear uncle doctor passed away this morning due to illness. It was so sad. One of the few people that we can run to in case of emergency and we are not financially capable of getting a specialist.

He is the director of the Department of Surgery at Philippines Veterans Hospital. Had been a doctor all his life and helped everyone in need. Being feared by younger doctors yet highly respected. When it comes to his profession, his family always come first. He used to say that he studied medicine because he is aware of what our family health history is, and it is so difficult when you do not have enough money. Another reason why he chose to work for government hospitals. He said financial gains from Medical practice is not satisfying, but rather it is the chance to help those in need.

I had my own share when it comes to stories on how he touched our lives. It is sad that one person on my handy's emergency speed dial must be erased now, someone with a golden heart. I was trembling when I saw his name at Sanctuarium lobby. I was in tears. At the back of my mind, I was still hoping that the news was wrong, that he is still with us. But getting inside and reading through the list, there was his name:

Dr. Cesar Vilela Luna- 212 Hyacinth

Quoting what my other uncle doctor, Tito Doctor Teofilo Cantre said, "We were all doctors. Wife, daughters, brother, sisters in law, brothers in law, and cousins. But his condition was not something that Philippines medicine could cure. His illness was beyond human capacity. The ULTIMATE DOCTOR took him so He could heal him."

We may have felt a huge loss. It may be something so big that we will surely grieve on for a very long time. But we are happy as well, for the Ultimate Doctor has finally cured him. Eighteen years of having an artificial aortic valve. Months of only one kidney. Months under respiratory system. He tried to cure himself as well. Writing all his prescriptions for himself while breathing through the oxygen. Then Jesus came and offered Him the best cure and he submitted completely and now he is cured. Truly, only the Creator can give the best medicine. Only Jesus can heal. We are happy to know he is happy and cured at the Kingdom of our Lord.

Your mission on earth is done. You have touched a lot of lives, it shows on hundreds of people that had come and go on the first night of your wake. It was overwhelming to see how all the doctors and nurses respected and loved you. You will always be remembered and loved, Tito Cesar. Thank you for all the help and support. We will never forget you.

I Want To Take It Slow

Lately, I’m back to my old self. The old me that made my old high school friends to call me “Indianera” or “Drawing.” I don’t really want to be like that, in fact I hate those name-calling, but I cannot blame them because I do things that justifies that name.

 

In Filipino culture, we have many terms, one is when you are late for the appointment, we say that you are following Filipino time. A negative trait that connotes Filipinos is late. We are aware that it is bad, maybe it is with the culture or the environment, but people still keep on doing that. Well, that is not what I want to rant about myself. Another term is what my friends call me “indianera” or “drawing.” It connotes that one NEVER keeps up with the promise of meeting a person, either he/ she makes up reasons or simply hides away. Sadly, I am like that. However though, I can justify myself for being one.

 

When I was younger, I am not easily allowed to go anywhere and meet my friends. Honestly, I only learned to take the public transportation when I was in sophomore year, either my mom would drop me off and pick me up or never at all. Sometimes, I even ask help from Mama on what reasons should I say when she could not bring me to that place. That is how I grew up. Always by my mom’s side. Then I went to high school, and realized that all my schoolmates had all their time. They can go to parties without any worries. They know much stuff. I felt too childish when they ask me to go with them. Since I feel shy if I say I do not know how to go to that place, what I do is say yes and never show up. The following day that I would see them, I am already ready with tons of alibi. In the university though, it was a different thing. Since I was living with relatives and normally my allowance is sent on a weekly basis, I do not have extra cash to go out with friends. Afraid to tell them the truth about my financially incapacity, I always make up reasons just so they would not expect me to be there. I frequently answer them maybe, and always with a condition. Honestly, I always tell them about my niece as an alibi, which they buy off. However, since I grew up doing it, saying maybe or saying yes and then not showing up, I carried it with me until working years. One friend of mine even got mad at me because of this attitude. Funny during her wedding, here are the exact words she said when she saw me: “Buti dumating ka (Good thing you’re here!).” Same during the baptism of her baby girl “akala ko magkukulang ang ninang (I thought the godmother would not be complete).” Sad to hear though that she is normally inviting me for the sake of friendship, but she got used to my attitude hence she is no longer expecting me on ANY event. I cannot blame her for that, but since her wedding, I did my best to be better and thankfully I was able to change a bit, not until this month…

 

We are having Chemistry reunion tomorrow (and I remember myself blogging about it and so excited about it), but three days before the event, I thought of backing out. I just suddenly felt tired and do not want to party more. Maybe it is because of the German class that keeps me busy the whole week, hence I am always looking forward for my weekends. For me, only on weekends will I be able to sleep longer and bond with my mother.

 

So there, I know another friend (or friends) would start to call me “indianera” or “drawing” again. I just have to deal with it. I just want to take my time real slow.

Groupon Philippines: Beeconomic Philippines

I first got curious about this when my batchmate from High School joined a promotion at Facebook under Groupon Philippines. I was wondering what Groupon is and started to surf the net to find the answer. Now I kinda understand it a bit and I got a hint why he and his wife are so addicted to it, it is in fact addicting! Just looking at the deals offered per day is already enticing. I signed up myself got my own referral link (please click on the LINK! I want to win additional Php150 to be added on my account! :-p). Hopefully someday I can get more coupons and have more purchases.

 

It is great to shop through them! Imagine having 50-90% discount on your spa or shopping, amazing!

First Night at My New Dormitory

It is not really a dormitory, but I compare it with my old dorm sa Rosarito St.,totally the same set up. I chose to stay on this kind of place instead of a flat since I won't be staying too long here naman. Anyway, one problem I found here: SUPER HINA NG SIGNAL NG GLOBE TO THE POINT NA SOS CALL NA LANG ANG ALLOWED!

Hence, this made me think of putting an end to my postpaid and get Sun prepaid instead. So far kasi I am okay with my Sun broadband signal, though tinotopak din pag minsan.

Ang aga ko nagising, di pa ko sanay sa supposed to be new body clock ko. I was home as early as 11:15pm kagabi, only 10-minute ride pala ito from the office, then all set to sleep na ko around 12mn, till Uwe called and we talked in Skype till 2am. So the real plan is wake up at 12noon today, but here I am, visiting FaceBook as early as 10am and blogging at 10:45am.

I hope next time hindi na ko mauna gumising sa alarm clock ko. ^_^

When It Seems Like There's No Reason To Write

I honestly cannot remember who told me or where I read it from, but there's this repeating advice in my head when I feel like I am having my writer's block, and that is this:

"When it seems like there is no reason to write, grab a pen or paper and write words. It does not need to be written in phrases, nor sentences nor paragraphs. Just write them as they are."*

It may sound a little absurd, but yes, I tried it today. Though the words on my mind were the words I typed as a title of this blog, and look! It worked! I got to write more than ten words!

Maybe next time I'll try with only random words, let's see what I'll get to finish.

*I think I remember now where I read it. It was one chapter within one of the Gossip Girl series where Dan went blank and Vanessa told him to simply write the words regardless how meaningless it sounds. Was it really Vanessa? Anyway, bottom line is it came from von Ziegesar.

Am I Still Marketable

I checked on jobstreet.com today and found out that 2 of my last applications were unsuccessful. I am not sure whether the reason for it being unsuccessful was due to my high asking salary or due to the fact that my knowledge had been stagnant. Ever since I joined my current company, I felt like my knowledge had deteriorated. I already forgot about the 7QC tools, which I used to know by heart. I used to be good with FMEA and Lean Management as well, but after 2 years and more here, it seems like I already don’t know anything about any of those important tools for a Chemist like me. It is frustrating and it makes me yearn more for a new environment. A place where either I can regain those knowledge or learn more. I am looking forward to looking back to a manufacturing company. I am no longer after the salary, but more on what I would gain from them in terms of knowledge.

 

Today, I tried again to apply to about 5 or 6 companies. I am hoping and praying that this time, this would yield a more positive response. In addition to that, I had expressed an interest of going back to Hitachi. I know I had ranted a lot about Hitachi here some years ago, but only when I was outside their walls was I able to appreciate the things I was doing back then and how much I have learned from working there. Knowledge that I really appreciate and treasure, but due to inability to practice those knowledge and skills, tend to be gone with time. If any of those companies would give me a chance to work for them, I would get the most out of it and build strong bonds, so that if ever I get to leave the country soon, I had learned new things and at the same time, I would get a chance to get back to them should we choose to settle here in the Philippines after 10 or so years.

 

I hope I am still as marketable as how I used to be. I want to start to work my brain cells again.

UST ChemBack: UST Chemistry's 80th Anniversary Grand Reunion

Okay, I am just excited,

so excited to see my former professors

… former classmates

… former seniors and former juniors (when we were the seniors).

 

Another event to bond with my college friends.

January 22, 2011 is already marked red.

I’m all set for the event!!! Üüüü

 

-will be blogging more about this

after the event,

with photos, photos

and more photos!-

Tech Review: COMPLINK Computer Store SM North EDSA Annex

After receiving such a wonderful service, I think it would be best to give them the best review ever here in the Cyberworld. Let me start this short review by telling you the story how this all began.

It was just last December, a week before my birthday, when I thought of purchasing a netbook because my old laptop was too heavy and too big to carry around. I was after Gateway brand, another netbook from Acer, simply because of great freebies they had on promo. I went to Acer store, but they said the model that I am looking for was out of stock at their branch. I felt disappointed, but at the same time determined not to go home without a netbook. I walked around SM Annex searching for other netbooks with tremendous freebies, avoiding Octagon because of my last not-so-good experience with them. I went inside Complink and looked around the units they carry. One staff immediately went to me and asked what I was looking for. I said I was looking for a netbook, Gateway in particular. However, they do not have the model on promo, so he offered Acer Aspire One Happy. I was hesitant because this unit does not have freebies based on Acer website. What I did was ask him first what freebies would I get if I purchase Acer Happy (because the colors honestly attracted me, it's also the colors that made me search for Gateway netbooks). He said they would be giving me optical mouse and headset from the store and optical drive from Acer office. The one from Acer made me think already, because I did not see it from the website, but then I thought that day that maybe it was the latest promo, so I agreed on purchasing Acer Happy. I went home with my optical mouse and headset and then I checked on Acer website again regarding the optical drive. Still, no optical drive for Acer Happy. The following day, I called on the sales team of Acer and confirm about the optical drive, sadly, no optical drive for Acer Happy, only a mouse. I just kept silent and chose not to call Complink for the wrong information that I got, anyway, I still have my old laptop in case I need to burn something into CDs.

A day before New Year, Complink customer service sent me a SMS stating that he/ she will be in contact with me again  in the next few days regarding the optical drive. I just replied with "OK." I did not set my hopes high, thinking that they would just call me or his/ her manager and would simply apologize and tell me that there really is no optical drive for me. But just yesterday, he/ she sent me a message again and told me to visit the store and claim my optical drive. I said to myself, "wow! They DID gave me a freebie!" So I went to the store today and got my Buffalo Optical Drive and Acer Wireless Mouse. They gave it to me without asking me to return the Genius Optical Mouse they initially gave me since Acer had the wireless mouse for free with Acer Happy. I went home very satisfied with Complink.

It is not just about the freebies that I am satisfied with them, it is also for their CUSTOMER SERVICE THAT GOES THE EXTRA MILE. Imagine if it were other stores, the time when I did not call them and complain, maybe they would just sit down and laugh that they had cheated another customer. But Complink went the extra mile. They reviewed the OR's of their customers, checked on the items their customers already claimed and if there were customers that missed their items and contacted them. They provided an excellent customer service that would surely make their customers to keep coming back for more.

Sure enough, I am coming back to their store.

KUDOS COMPLINK SM NORTH EDSA ANNEX FOR A JOB WELL DONE!

from a very satisfied customer blogging 

using the netbook she purchased

from your store. :-D

Flashing

Ang dali lang pala mag-flash ng Samsung phone... ^_^

I therefore conclude, lagi na akong magmamanual update ng firmware ko... :)

Samsung Jet: It's Everything I Need

The first time I saw this model being advertised, I already fell in love with it. So even if I am a thrifty buyer, who waits for stuffs to be on sale, I bought my own Jet as soon as my neighborhood phone store offered it (when I say neighborhood, it is literally my neighbor). Unfortunately though, I was one of those people who had ALL the bugs on the first units. I was kind of disappointed, but I never gave up on my phone. I searched throughout the worldwide web and find people who are also experiencing the same first-birth pains. I found groups formed at Facebook, with some techie people who risked their units and tweaked it to find solutions to the bugs. Until I came to a certain website, I think started also by a Filipino, who caters for all Samsung users and has a large help forum for Jet. I joined the group initially to find tweaks on how to improve the sensor, etc. It also became my venue for free applications and games. Some techies also suggested and provided user-friendly guidelines on how to "flash" the Samsung phones. It was a scary thing to do, especially if you are not that techie person and do not understand certain computing languages. One told me to go to my neighborhood store and let them do the flashing/ upgrade of my firmware since it is still within the warranty period. So a person like me who wants the best for my dear Jet, went all the way to Megamall (where my neighborhood store suggested to be the fastest in terms of upgrades and repairs) and inquired about the latest firmware they can give my dear Jet. Unfortunately though, they said they were not capable as of that time since the head technician is not around and he is the only one with the password for the tools to be used for flashing. With a sad face, I left the Samsung store and proceeded to Samsung at SM North EDSA. There is still a hope in me that my phone would be healed from those crappy bugs. However, the people in that store do not even know what I was talking about, I was about to say that their technicians were totally useless, until their supervisor approached me and offered to help. I told him all the problems, restarting, hanging, and no German-language support. He said he can upgrade to the latest Philippine firmware, but I could not have the German support. I asked why, and I mentioned a firmware that was the latest release that time, he said that FW is not for Philippines/ Asia, but for Europe, and being under NTC, he can only upgrade using Asian FW. I surrendered and let him treat my dear Jet, telling myself that I can get by without the German support, I can do that once I am in Germany. True enough, my Jet was a little bit healed. That was a year ago. Indeed, I was able to get by without the German language. I used the website now merely for my supply of games and wallpapers. Then just today, I thought of revisiting the site that explains about the flashing. I am ready to risk the life of my dear Jet, thinking that if I make something wrong flashing it, I would not regret paying for its repair, anyway it's already beyond its warranty period. So I downloaded all the tools I need, the latest European firmware file (yes, I took the European FW so I can have my dear German dictionary and keyboard), read and printed the guidelines to follow and readied my Jet. First attempt was a failure, I almost cried. My Jet only registered static screen, as in like TV without any signal. I took off the battery and repeated the procedure, carefully reading the guidelines. VOILA! I got the new firmware! Everything were in Dutch at the beginning, but thanks to my little knowledge of Germanic languages, I was able to get by and set my Jet to how I want it to be.

I can finally say now that my Samsung Jet is EVERYTHING I NEED. :) 

Plans for 2011

It's already 2011. First Sunday of the year. As a start, I asked myself one question: WHAT DO I WANT TO ACCOMPLISH THIS YEAR? Here are some thoughts/ plans that came to my mind:

1. Put that resignation letter into physical form and forward it to the right person not later than April.
2. Complete at least A2 of my German language.
3. Get married. Oh well, this also depends with him, not only my decision.
4. See the beauty of Germany and Vienna during Summer.
5. Find a temporary job near my home sweet home (Lipa City).
6. Read more award-winning books.
7. Blog more, of course!

I wish I can accomplish at least 50% of these plans this year, best if 100% will be made into reality.:)

Happy 2011!!!

Yes, you read me right. I AM BACK!!! And I just want to start my new year right by going back to what I really love to do.

Expect to hear from me again this year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!