I second emotion…

I just opened this email from my old account in gmail, amazing coz I’m still receiving mails from my previous co-workers. Weh, dont be offended, remember we are not laughing at them but we are laughing with them.

We’ve been friends since a long time ago. We come from the same alma mother. Actually, our paths crossed one time on another. But it’s only now that I gave him a second look. I realize that beauty is in the eyes. The pulpbits of my heart went fast, really fast. Cute pala siya!

 And then, he came over with me. He said, “I hope you don’t mine. Can I take your number?” Nag-worry ako. What if he doesn’t give it back? He explained naman na it’s so we could keep intact daw. Sabi ko, connect me if I’m wrong but are you asking me ouch? Nabigla siya. Sagot niya, “The!” Aba! Parang siya pa ang galit! Persona ingrata!!! Ang kapal niya! I cried buckles of tears.

Na-guilty yata siya. Sabi niya, “Isipin mo na lang na this is a blessing in the sky.” Irregardless daw of his feelings, we’ll go ouch na rin. Now we’re so in love! Mute and epidemic na ang past. Thanks God we swallowed our fried. Kasi, I’m 33 na and I’m running out the time.

After 2 weeks, he plopped the question. “Will you married me?” I’m still in a state of shocked. Kasi mantakin mo naman, when its rain, it’s really fours talaga! This is true good to be true. So siyempre, Isaid yes. Love is a many splendor, di ba?

Pero nung inaayos ko na ang aming kasal, everything swell to pieces. Nag-di-dinner kami noon nang biglang sa harap ng aming table, may babaeng humirit ng, “Well, well, well. Look do we have here.” What the fuss… The nerd ng babaeng yon! She said they were still too on.

So I told her, “Whatever is that means, cut me some slacks, ‘no!” I didn’t want this to get our hand kaya I had to sip it in the bud. She accused me of steeling her boyfriend. The nerd talaga! Ats if! I don’t never want to portrait the role of the other woman. Gosh, tell her to the marines! I told her, “Please, you should to mine your own business!”

Who would believed her anyway? Dahil it’s not my problem anymore but her problem anymore. Hmphf. Tumigil na rin siya ng panggugulo. Everything is coming up daisies! I’m so happy. Even my boyfriend said liketwice. He’s so supportive. Sabi niya, “Look at is this way. She’s out of our lives.”

Kaya I advised you - take the risk! You can never can tell. Just burn the bridge when you get there. Life is shorts. If you make a mistake, well, just pray for the internal and external repose of your soul. I second emotion.

Healty options from tomatoes, oil, and supplements

          I like eating raw tomatoes a lot. If I’m not devouring from our pantry at work, I’ll make sure I have slices of tomatoes around my plate. It gives additional chill and drama to my food. Why tomatoes? It is loaded with vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin K (for stronger bones), potassium (lowering blood pressure), fiber and iron. Aside form that Lycopene is much stronger than betacarotene, researchers said! Men can get away from early development of prostate cancer, lower the risk of developing rectal colon or stomach cancer, and a good inhibitor of lung, breast and endometrial cancer cells. It aids in the development of healthy teeth, skin and hair, and lowers down the possibility of having high blood, cholesterol build up and high sugar levels. So smokers, as long as you use tomatoes as candies, you’re not missing half of your life. Hey, better lessen your smoke (aside from the disease you’re getting out of it, your lips becomes naturally black, halitosis might occur (not good for french kiss) and you’re suppose to be savings will just go to waste, tsk tsk). Cooking tomatoes with olive oil is the best combination though. Beverage: tomato juice.

          I want to make this point as well: do not purchase cooking oil that is made out of palm, vegetables, and coconut oil (RBD-refined bleached and deodorized). These oils help biuld up LDL or bad cholesterol. Use cooking oils such as canola, OLIVE (the best), sunflower, peanut and corn oil, or coconut oil (virgin coconut oil). These raises your HDL or good cholesterol. Check the labels from the food you buy especially if they contain saturated and transaturated fat: no go (parang notes lang pag nagtroubleshoot!) Choose items that were cooked using monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. One cannot avoid saturated and transfat though, instead choose the lesser evil. Okies!

          Taking supplements is a good way to maintain the nutrients the body needs. TIP: if you consume a bottle of let’s say centrum, hop into another type the next, that way, your body will not be accustomed to the product. Picture this: you cannot eat only 1 dish for 1 week. That is the reason why you are presented with different options to change your body’s routine and vitamins and minerals intake. I remember my doctor (not again!) explaining to me that every now and then, he is checking on different styles of bulding muscles. He cannot do the same reps/sets/routine, he has to alter it so the body will tell you, hey you have something new. Your body will be more flexible and stronger if you have different ways of building your muscle. The key is a constant change. I recommend stresstab, haveitall, reviconmax, centrum, ascorbic acid intake of 500mg in the morning and 500mg at night.

          Lastly, for those of you who cannot sleep at night or at day (for graveyard shifts), I have found a solution to your problem. I have difficulties sleeping before too. Do not purchase sleeping pills, or that medicine for colds (colored pink) that will trigger you to sleep and it isnt healthy (nurses and doctors help me out). But this ’sleep n restore’ supplement from Healthy Options is a good choice. It is packed with 20 tablets worth around $9-11. Use this 30mins-1hr before going to sleep and surely when you wake up, no groggy feelings. No side effects so far since you’re not going to use it daily, do you? I’m thrilled as well to see that their plastic bag is biodegradable. I wonder if all of the companies will use biodegradable bags that is strong and water-resistant as plastic. Go for a greener earth, come on!

Series of unfortunate events

          My phone N70 died on me a week ago. Luckily, it is still under warranty so I went to Nokia care in MOA after my shift (yesterday).  The lady at the counter told me that if there is corrosion inside the phone, the warranty which was set the day I bought the phone to a year, will be voided. I told her OK, if you find any corrosion.  I carried it one time when we went to Calatagan, Batangas on the beach and unlucky the phone got droplets of water. I dunno if that was the cause of the phone not saving the pictures that I’m taking or the video not functioning properly or just the fact that I let some virus infect my files on my phone through Bluetooth.  “Give us a day to check what is happening on  your phone”, she replied. “One more: the headset’s pin was broken and the battery doesn’t last for a day, can you replace it?”, I asked. She said “no, both are good for 6 months warranty”.  So be it.

          Today I got my backpack and went to MOA to check my phone: unfortunately, I missed getting my receipt so I ended up going to Burger King to enjoy my wifi. I bought my laptop with me. So I ordered my stuff. I haven’t eaten lunch and my breakfast was around 6 am, its now 3 in the afternoon. Technically I went to bed around 4 in the morning, rest day e. Eye bags! I was pretty excited coz this is the time that I’ll be enjoying the freedom of doing my work (blogging) outside the 4 corners of my studio and without using my limited broadband connection. Very unlucky for me coz the wireless connection is not working! I tried restoring my system to another time, I even tried loading the defaults from my BIOS, uninstalling and reinstalling the driver back but nothing seemed to work. Me being a technical support rep is useless, I didn’t solve my problem.  It did work before; I dunno what happened to my pc maybe a busted wireless card. I stopped using the wireless connections for months but that should not add to my unfortunate events today! I went to electroworld thinking that they might fix this, they referred me to the repair center in Walmart, Makati. Fine.

          To end the story, I started doing this post instead of me doing my internet research using my preferred website that would earn me some euro, not dollar. Interesting? Click this link.

Register for your pension from SSS 40 years from now

          I asked my colleagues  where I can borrow  money so I can go to Dubai and see my babe, naks (she calls me monk on the other hand coz I’m a ‘year of the monkey’ baby, she’s a year of the pig, weh)! She works in a hospital and have a relevant residence status and until now I’m still waiting for an agency here in the Phils to throw me out of the country and be united with her once more! Unfortunately, for all the final interviews that I’ve been through, gusto pa nila ng tax payments ko. Yun!

         “SSS”, they told me. I said, “Lagi nmn sira site nila e when I log in” (the site is always under construction). “Well, gawin mo cya parang friendster lang, everynow and then visit mo ung site” (treat it like friendster and visit it often). I dont know how many contributions I’ve made and if I’m eligible for a loan. I’m pretty sure that all of the companies that I’ve worked with for 4 years, they are giving my rightous contributions. Three straight years is all you need and you can loan for a minimum of P15,000 and not until the first loan, your eligibility for loaning a bigger amount will not go up. My principle is I dont want to pay a monthly bill for 2 years if I borrow some (that depends on the contract of payment). Until this morning (restday), I found out that I need to register on the site for me to check my credentials (it’s unlike before that all you need to do is to type your SSS # and the results will come out), now I need to check the SS # of my company for me to register and login. I’m hoping the site is good and exceeds my expectations. I’m alarmed with some fake documents for registration when I checked what’s the latest on that site. Hey, caution alright, this will be your pension when you’re old aside from the usual money given by your future children, if, be sure you’re doing the right thing. For all you guys who are in a way or another haven’t sign up for SSS, this is the link.

           By the way, SSS is the counterpart of GSIS in giving you you’re future’s future, meaning future of oldies (retirees). Far from it, hehehe. You can give your contributions if you are employed, self-employed, businessman, etc. Go to this site to know more about SSS.

Monitoring blood pressure

          I shouldn’t be bothered by my blood pressure, don’t I?  I’m only 24 back then! Started feeling dizzy, series of headaches, the feeling of puking and cold perspiration. When I checked with my doctor (I couldn’t get notice that his eyes are wondering around my chest, I’m wearing a polo-shirt that are unbuttoned 3 from top, with my white Merrell shoes. so kind of porma that day). He asked me different things like what kind of work I have, what physical activity I’m engaged with, family history of hypertension, and so forth. He evaluated my “kind of life” and warned me that if I didn’t change my ways  and the BP is still high (I reached 140/100 for my 68 kg weight, height 5’8”) he will give me the same medication as what other men younger than me (because of their family history) have. Damn!

          So for a month and a half, I took the medicine until I ran out of reason why I should  continue taking it. My BP, as it should, went down and stabilized (without my doctor knowing it). I have changed some of my ways, I’m more conscious on what I’m eating now, I try to get pumping 2-3 times a week, 6-8 hours sleep a day, vitamins intake… Some said I should have see my doctor and tell him what the progress is so he can minimize the dosage of what I’m taking. Well, if you know yourself, you can do better than not showing… wahahaha. So I stopped taking the medication.

          Lately, I have troubles again with my nape, my BP though not that high anymore when I checked with our company nurse (before, you can see me daily at the clinic asking the nurse to note down what my BP is), I can feel a tingling sensation all throughout our shift. It isn’t the way I ‘m looking at my monitor because I am looking at it straightly, or sitting without standing for more than 2 hours, or any other excuses. It is my BP again. I remember my doctor said, “sarap pumorma pag maganda katawan mo diba? (looking at my chest again) and at the same time, you feel healthy and in control of everything, my hitsura k p naman…” I know  he is correct. Right now, enjoy muna life. Great move, great beer!

Meteor showers this July 08

Our shift ends at 8 in the morning and I waited until MOA opens, thinking that I can withdraw some bucks for my dsl connection (which speed is like dial up!) payment. Not thinking the other night that what I got when I rushed to work, is not my savings atm but my usual salary atm card that has lesser amount than what I needed that day. I ended up disappointed. I don’t know but lately, I don’t feel good: about everything surrounding me: my place, my choice of food, my kind of work, my co-workers,  my salary, me being pessimistic…

I felt better after I read the Sunday newspaper that I bought on my way home around 1030am (God it’s hot walking under the sun!) Believe me, I didn’t read what is happening on our president (I have enough), and the usual front pages about killing, rubbery, rapid oil price increase, basic commodities increasing, and so forth (puts me down!) Rather, my eyes were caught on this small section about meteor showers! I haven’t seen one and experience what it feels like to be under a sky where meteors are hitting the ground and making a grumbling sound, making people cry, just like what happened the day Clark landed at Smallville. That was tragic. I am not talking about that, but rather a beautiful display of rocks tailing with lights randomly scattered across the black sky. The column said that there is only one observatory in Seven Suites Hotel located in Antipolo that can host the viewing of the said shower. Thank goodness, it’s only a display at the atmosphere (it isn’t tragic anymore), though can’t be seen by the naked eye, sad. This coming 28th-31st of July 08 the said event will occur. Philippine residents can witness another catastrophic event moreover at predawn and from a higher altitude. I wonder if Baguio can?

             Lastly, I was proud (being a choir member during my high school years), when boys choir from different Quezon City schools represented Philippines and won gold in Austria (Kilyawan Boys Choir and Las Pinas Boys Choir)! Unlike Pacman and other sports enthusiasts that has the government approval and funding when they go out of the country to compete with their respective comrades, these small guys lacked support from our government. We have a lot of talents here, showcasing is not the problem, funding is. Not every one of us have the capabilities of sponsoring oneself. In most cases these people are given recognition by the government after they won something. Well, congrats to all of you guys. Keep the Filipino spirit high and make a difference!

¿Eres un amigo?

What are friends are for? From a dictionary’s point of  view it is someone who supports, sympathizes with, or patronizes a group, cause, or movement and a person whom one knows, likes and trusts. Again, the word trust is here. It implies what? For me it is a person whom you can confide your inner thoughts and feelings with. Someone who understands you and you can understand as well, whom you can brainstorm with, whom you can count on in good or in bad times and simply who can accept who and the way you are. We live in a world with differing origins. But that shouldn’t be the reason we alienate ourselves with others whom we think are not socially likable. Most of us are befriending the upper class, (when there are more people in the lower and middle class) so we’ll be treated the same way (wish). That is not my philosophy. There is gold within us, in every one of us, a goodness left even inside a devil’s heart, why don’t you look deeper…

It saddens me when all of a sudden, your allies whom you’ve been with turns their back on you. You can sense that they are not the way they used to. Engrossing what you had done for you to deserve the action or for them to treat you unlikely: simply committing an honest mistake. To live with their expectations is not in my vocabulary, as long as I’m not hurting someone directly or indirectly and I’m not a burden to anybody else. They can face you with their eyes open wide and at the same time they are attacking you at your back, damn! Is this we term as friends, users?

            You are lucky if you found amigos and not foes.  It is hard to find one especially when society contribute much to the behavior of a person, moreover influencing the way a person should act. How can we assert that the buddy  we have is true with their intentions?  Through experience. With this at hand, lessons are learned. Digest what you had and this will be your guild amongst unworthy individuals. Good luck.

SAMSUNG OMNIA i900 SOARS HIGH

         Samsung Omnia i900 is a phone that I need, not wanted.  I am not most of us who can purchase different gadgets, tipid konti ok. For me, I’m looking for a device that can multitask. See, multitasking is a basic thing now. Going back, it has 5MP camera, same specs as a point and shoot digital camera, it records finer video clips with a 120 fps, unlike other competitors that usually has 60 frames per second (this spec needs to be verified, I think I got the idea of a 120fps from LG phone). It has the look of an iphone, wherein you navigate the phone using a stylus (with handwriting recognition) or using just your finger (drag and drop and slide). Unlike other PDA’s or smartphone’s where there is a place for stylus, this phone doesn’t have one (the only thing that I don’t like about this phone).  It is slim, easy to carry, large LCD screen, and have the wifi functionality for internet access (around Burger King outlets, hehehe).  The amount of internal memory of this phone you choose either 8GB or 16GB, I think the manufacturer is still looking for a 32 GB memory. Comparing the 2 rivals that I can think of: HTC diamond and iphone3G, Omnia is still the best.

     Summing it up, what I’m checking when buying a gadget are functionality, mobility and looks. For this, no need to carry with me a separate digicam or a videocam for everyday snapshots, calculator when checking out grocery prices, and PDA for business transaction or making out scheds.  It has internet access, video calling, and the basic: calling and texting.  Availability: June 2008. Price? PHP 39,000 (8GB) and PHP 47000 (16GB) while in ebaystore.ph (August 2008), it cost PHP29000. Photo courtesy of gsmarena.com

Commission on Higher Education, Philippines

       Do you know where CHED is located in Manila or in Quezon City or in Baguio?

       Anyone?  Your feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks. 

I bet no one knows, or don’t wanna share. After days of figuring it out, I was given a tip that CHED is already regionalized. For this case, CHED-CAR is located in KM5, La Trinidad, Benguet. The reason I’m looking for it coz I need my TOR and diploma authenticated for DFA’s red ribbon. I’ll be posting an article soon about this. c u..

RETRO CHRISTMAS 2007

          Filipinos has a different way of celebrating Christmas. Sometimes we start the festivity as early as September and ends before the lover’s month. The chill before the sun rises in the months of “ber” indicates that the season is nearing. I usually see Christmas lights on a grandeur facade, the usual “belen” that reminds us the greatest gift man can have, various sizes of a twinkling star, gigantic gifts wrapped with abounding colors elegantly decorated on the landscape, the unending sweet smile of a child whenever a gift is received, and so on…these are some of the things that I recall whenever I travel from one location to another during this time. 

 Dell finds its way to celebrate this period at PICC Forum Hall. Prizes are at stake! Laptop is one of the biggest accolades. Retro is the team this year, the second of tens of years for Dell Philippines’ Christmas celebration! Friends, mates and lovers enjoyed the food that was served as early as 7pm. The program moved on with the appreciation of new managers, recognition of new supervisors, and leap movers. All are fascinated especially when the parade of 80’s dress began, judged and winners proclaimed. Dances, singing, gift giving, and Parokya ni Edgar band sung were all part of the timetable.

Basing it to the parties that I’ve attended this past years in a “call center” way, this is not the most promising event. Teams are there to witness the stars of the night or the group or individual who step on the stage. Not everyone enjoyed the festivity, there’s no dance floor where everyone can jump into their feet and forget about the hassles of life for mere 4 hours. Except for the winners of the draw, the only highlight that I can think of that night was when Parokya maneuvered the stage. That’s it. Sometimes, you have to trust your instincts about the things that you needed to prioritize. I should have enjoyed the company of my friends and family in Baguio if I didn’t attend.