Amazing!

Took me only 51 minutes to renew my driver's license. For a government agency, this is a big improvement.

Went to the LTO near the office this afternoon. The requirements:

1. Current/Expired License Card (plus photocopy of receipt and card)
2. Medical Certificate (from LTO accredited or Government Physician) or valid AFP/PNP organic personnel ID (taken at the LTO accredited drug testing center right beside the LTO)
3. Drug Clearance Certificate (from an LTO accredited drug testing center) (there are peeing centers aka toilets inside the drug testing center).
4. Taxpayer’s Identification Number (TIN) (I left mine blank, should be okay without it)

The whole procedure:

1. At the LTO, I was asked to fill up the Driver's License Application Form after inspecting my driver's license. Proceeded to the Evaluator to have my documents checked for completeness and authenticity. The Evaluator then asked me to go to the drug testing center next door.

2. At window 1 of the drug testing center, I submitted the forms and paid the Php400 processing fee. A staff just outside the windows gave more forms to fill up.

3. After a few minutes, a person at window 2 called my name for picture taking and finger printing (actually, digital finger printing).

4. Once done with the forms (given in step 2 above), I gave them back and was told that my name will be called for the actual testing. When I was called, I was asked to sign on a strip of packing tape and was given a plastic cup. After that, I found out what the signed strip of packing tape was for.

5. After that, a number tag was given to me and was asked again to wait for my number to be called. I was number 53.

6. I then realized that the next step was the medical doctor's interview and eye test. I was asked if I wore glasses, I said no but told him I had laser operations on both eyes. I was then asked to stand behind a white strip on the floor and asked to read the eye test chart. I could read the 20/20 but not the 20/10 (missed a letter).

7. After a few minutes, they called again my name for the result of the drug test. Negative!

8. Now back to the LTO next door. Submitted the forms, had picture taken, paid Php415+ and voila! new driver's license in 51 minutes.

Kudos to LTO!

Just Like in "Ratatouille"

Have you gone lately to St. Francis Square in Ortigas? Most likely you have seen the Manila Scramble near the entrance. "Scramble?" you might ask. Yes! That pink glob with crushed ice that we enjoyed when we were kids (yes "we" -- you and me)! I know it's street food, but it was one of the best street food back then.

When I first saw the stand the other day, I couldn't believe that it was THE SCRAMBLE with the oh so familiar pink color. My friend R bought one for himself but I was so full already (this was after lunch). I told myself I'll comeback to try it one of these days.

When my sister and I went to SFS this afternoon, we tried it and all I could say was, "The taste brought back so much memory" with a big grin, of course. Sayang, I wasn't able to take pictures.

By the way, you can also choose a topping or 2 (or even 3) to go with your scramble. We ordered the regular (no topping), too bad, it did not come with the red sago (tapioca!). That would have completed my raving.

You should go and try it yourself...and you know what, they also gave a small spoon, but I remember "drinking" it with no spoon. HA! Now I remember, it's the original BRAIN FREEZE!

Aja Aja FIGHTING!

From 2327: CEBUPACIFIC would like to inform you that your booking is on hold. Please settle payment through our Call Center at +6327020888 or by visiting the ticket office near you. Thank you!
10 November 2009
8:59 AM

Remember the recent Piso Fare promo from Cebu Pacific? Just before typhoon Pepeng was to hit Metro Manila?

30 October (email around 3:30pm): Cebu Pacific Air announces their Piso Fare promo, booking starts now until 2 November (or until the 100,000 promo seats are sold out) for travel from 15 June 2009 to 30 September 2010.

Planned with friends. Until one friend decided to book something tomorrow. Nothing booked.

31 October (around 3:30am): I booked a round trip travel for 2 for 2010. But the system could not authenticate my credit card (I tried thrice and kept getting an error message). After another try, the message showed that I should change my method of payment. Choices were Credit Card (does not work), Bancnet/Megalink (okay but...), BDO (not convenient for me), Metrobank (perfect!). The website led me to another page saying that blah blah blah is your confirmation number, that I can pay over-the-counter at any Metrobank branch or by phone or online (as long as I have an account). It also asked me to tick a box with my mobile number (ticked) for communication purposes. It also mentioned that the booking will be put on hold but I have to pay before 11:59PM today or else the booking will be canceled. Fine. Will just pay later. So happy!

31 October (6:00am): Brown out. No power. No internet.

All along I was waiting for Cebu Pacific to send me the Reference number which I will use to pay the bill. They asked for my mobile phone, right? None came.

31 October (6:00pm) (Still no power. No internet): I call Cebu Pacific's Call Center

Me: I booked a flight for MNL-___-MNL for 2010 (details given), but I have not received any reference number that I assumed will be sent via my cell phone. (I told him my story that their system would not accept my credit card which I have used to pay CP in the past). Your system asked me to choose another payment method and I opted to pay via Metrobank.
(in between he'd ask for my name, if I made the reservation and if I'm the traveller)

CP Call Center Agent: Ma'm, pag promo fare po, hindi applicable ang payment via Metrobank. Dapat po ang pinili nyo yung Bancnet/Megalink.

Me: Whaaaaaaat? (nagtaas na ang boses ko). E di sana, pag ganyang promo, hindi nyo sinasama yan sa choices, o kaya e merong nakalagay na dapat gamitin ang Bancnet/Megalink...Kahit meron na akong confirmation number?

CP Call Center Agent: Confirmation number lang po iyon, hindi pa po bayad. Pag bayad na po tsaka lang po siya magiging final. (Me: oo nga naman)

Me: So anong gagawin ko?

CP Call Center Agent: Kailangan nyo po uling mag-book ng panibago.

Sa loob loob ko, hindi mo ba alam kung gaano kahirap magbook sa inyo? At kung gaano kabilis maubos pag ganyang may promo? Pero hindi ko na sinabi sa kanya.

Me: Ok (sabay bagsak ng telepono). Naririnig ko pa siyang nagsasalita, pero dahil sa inis ko, naibaba ko agad tuloy.

Dahil nga brown out, we went to our Tita's house to spend the night and at the same time, to use their computer and internet and book again the same flight.

Lo and behold, when I typed in our preferred schedule, it showed "No promo seats available." I was thinking, maybe for these dates only. How about other dates. Same. How about to another country. Same. Only then did I realise, ubos na ang alloted promo seats :(

Lungkot kame.

On Monday during lunch, all my friends were happy because they were able to book flight for BKK, HKG, etc. Ako, wala ako maishare. *sulk*

Tanggap ko na. Tanggap na namen. Next time na lang.

Tapos I got the text :) Please see above for the text message from Cebu Pacific.

They did not cancel my booking (good thing I did not cancel the booking). The Call Center Agent asked me if I still want to use the booking. Sabi ko yes, as long as the amount will be the same as when I booked it. He said he will check. After putting me on hold for more than 10 minutes, he came back and said "Yes." He asked for my credit card number. I was put again on hold so he could have my card authenticated. Yun nga ayaw. So he said my other option was to pay at the nearest CP ticketing office. Nearest was Robinson's Galleria. So after having lunch, I went to Galleria to pay for the ticket. If you pay at the ticketing office, you'll be asked to pay for the airport tax, which I did.

I walked back to the office with the piece of paper (e-ticket) and a smile on my face. Wheeeeee!!!

Rihanna and Chris Brown in Manila

Rihanna and Chris Brown? back-to-back???
Whaaaaaaaaaaat??????

MTV Philippines is bringing 2 of the hottest and biggest R&B acts to hit the music industry. Mark your calendars, Sunday, 16 November 2008, at the Bonifacio Global City Open Field. Get your tickets now to avail of the early bird promo.



Contact ticketworld: www.ticketworld.com.ph at 891-9999

Taste of Europe

Cine Europa is back in Manila for the 11th year. All 17 movies are highly recommended. I've already watched two last Friday ("100 Steps" from Italy and "Colorado Avenue" from Finland) and Cine Europa goers clapped after their endings. I think that says a lot about the quality of the films.

We're planning to watch the other movies this week *wink*

I strongly suggest you catch at least one and you'll know what I mean.

It runs until 21 September at the Shang Cineplex, Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Mandaluyong City. Admission to the screenings is free on a first-come, first-served basis. Please visit the Embassy of France website for synopsis and schedule.

Poster from the Embassy of France website.

Tony and Indy

Iron Man is one of the best movies I've seen this year.

Prior to watching the movie, I had no idea who Iron Man (the comic book hero) was. All I knew was Robert Downey, Jr. was in it. I thought it was going to be another Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (sorry, I didn't like that one). I was hoping it's going to be different and I was not dissappointed.
Robert Downey, Jr. has matured a lot (age and experience) and the role of Tony Stark suited him well. He still has that "pa-cute" side of him (but done in a millionnaire/all business kind of way).
Before his brush with the law in the late 1990s, I considered him as one of the most talented actors in Hollywood. (I fell in love with Robert in his previous movies, "Chances Are" and "Only You").
I hope he continues this upswing in his career. He deserves it.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Despite the old age, Harrison Ford is still Indiana Jones, Jr.

If you're going to compare the latest franchise with the last one (that being Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in 1989), you will be dissappointed. But if you're mababaw like me, you will definitely enjoy it. It's been 19 years, yup 19 years, since we've last seen Indy and we missed his great adventures. He's still afraid of snakes (like me) and has the best smart-ass one liners. My advice is: just enjoy the ride!

Movie posters from wikipedia.com

Shameless!

Shameless plugging that is.

I have been using Bath and Body Desserts Eau de Vanille Moisturizing Cologne Mist since January. All I can say is...sobrang bango, sobrang sarap niya. Kung pwede lang siyang kainin, kakainin ko. Pramis! Everytime I use it, lahat ng katabi ko nagtatanong kung sino yon. hehehehe!

You should also try their Eau de Pomme. Nakakagutom rin.

Clarification, cologne ang mga ito, hindi desserts. hahahaha!

Marami pang items, just check out their site.

http://bathandbodydesserts.multiply.com/

Okay din siya as gifts ;)

Going to order again soon =)

We're Definitely Back

DLSU Alma Mater Hymn

Hail, Hail
Alma Mater,
Hail to De La Salle!
We'll hold your banner high and bright,
A shield of green and white,
We'll fight to keep your glory bright,
And never shall we fail,
Hail to thee our Alma Mater!
Hail! Hail! Hail!

We're definitely back. We're One La Salle!

St. John Baptist De La Salle
Pray for Us
Live Jesus in Our Hearts
FOREVER!!!!

October People

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

4 October - Alfie, my smash & chow friend

13 October - Lorna, my confidant - na welcome ako lagi sa room niya kahit makiki-chika lang about nothing or makikipagkulitan lang, kinuha tuloy akong ninang ng bunso niya

18 October - Rose, my sister, best friend, shopping buddy

19 October - Rowena, my sis-in-law

20 October - Gladdys, my mommy friend

21 October - Bob, B-O-B Boy =)

25 October - Grace, my textmate/chatmate/next door neighbor/walang sawang tumatawa at nakikinig sa mga jokes & daily kapalpakan ko

26 October - Hazel, my good friend & travel buddy - always ready to help when I'm in a bind

27 October - Regeena, my cute lovable huggable niece, who never fail to make me smile when I'm down

Highlight of My Tuesday

My clam phone (a year-old Samsung E730) has this picture as cover display (external):

That's me with my niece Regeena.
Once you close the phone, this picture would show for only 3 seconds.

And when you open it, this is the wall paper or main display:

When my sister and I went to Toy Kingdom last weekend, we took some pics. I then changed my cover display (external) to this:



When I came home last night after a night out with friends (around 11pm), my niece Regeena and her yaya were still in our room with my mom. As usual, she borrowed my phone to play with it. She then opened slightly my phone and closed it and looked at the picture on my cover display.

With a nakasimangot look, she turned to me and said, "Bakit hindi na yung picture natin?" I said, "Gusto mo ba ang nakalagay diyan yung picture natin?" She said (with the paawa look), "Uh-huh."

Awwwwwww. Sobrang sweet. Kaya I got back my phone and put back the old picture of us together. And when I handed to her my phone, she checked the cover display and wow! kung nakita mo lang yung smile on her face when she saw our picture. sobrang big smile. haaaaaay. sobra! Highlight of my day *happy me*

The Case of the Missing Pakaw

Remember my missing pakaw? You'll never believe it but I got it back.

When I got home Monday night, I mentioned to my Mom that I lost my pakaw last Sunday while hearing Mass because of Regeena. Then she excitedly told me that my uncle found a gold pakaw on the floor in our room earlier that day. When I checked, it was identical to the other pakaw. I was so happy.

Actually, this is not the first time I thought I lost an earring.

December 2002, we went to our friend Maila's family resort/beach house in Mindoro (it was also a despedida for a friend who was leaving for the US for good). That was a 2 1/2 drive to Batangas port, an hour on the RORO and another 1 hour drive to the place. Before night fall, after resting by the beach, without any reason I touched my left ear, and did not feel an earring. When I reached for the other ear, I had an earring on. So I panicked and informed everyone that I lost an earring. Our ever-so-gracious host, Maila's husband Butch, looked for it where we last stayed. To think the place was all sand. Poor Butch. I could have lost it at the port, on the RORO, in the car, by the beach ughhhhhh. As expected, we weren't able to find it. So I just said, "Hayaan mo na nga. It probably got lost for a reason. Let's all just enjoy the rest of our stay." We stayed there Friday and left Sunday.

We arrived in Manila around 8:30pm. After driving for over 3 hours, I was so tired. All I wanted to do was sleep. I was already changing clothes when...well, what do you know, the other pair was just there on top of the dresser. All I could think was, "Oh no, Butch is going to kill me." hahahahahaha. It was there all along. I must have forgotten to put the other one on in my haste to leave the house on time last Friday *innocent grin*

Maybe these series of losing and then finding again must be a sign that it's really meant to be mine (duh? parang love) or that I should take better care of my things or maybe, just maybe, that I'm beginning to be more forgetful? Man, I'm getting old. hahahahahaha

My Thursday

Ever since my Kuya sold our Moss Green Corolla (that’s the official color in the registration) it has been a problem for me. Before, I can just use whichever car is available during off the road days (the Corolla ends with 5-Wednesdays and the Space Wagon with 7-Thursdays). Now, since the SW is the only one left, during Wednesday nights, I have to decide whether I should bring a car (therefore leave early to beat the 7:00am number coding scheme) or just commute or have somebody drive me to the office (but the driver needs to be informed the night before). If I decide to bring a car, that means I have to wake up at 5:30am, take a bath, prepare my things and leave before 6:40am (or else I will not make it).

Last Wednesday night, I decided to bring a car. So I programmed my phone’s alarm to go off at 5:30am. Before sleeping, I checked first what’s on TV and I saw the live Wimbledon quarterfinals match between Justine Henin and Serena Williams. I just had to watch. All throughout the game, Justine was struggling with her first serves but because of her solid ground strokes and excellent backhand down the line passing shots against Serena, she was able to compensate her bad service game (she had 7 double faults, while Serena had none). Justine won in 3 sets: 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. Wahoooo! When I looked at the time on my phone, it was already past 1:00am. Uh-oh. Got to sleep now or else…

What a beautiful morning --- not!!! It was already 6:30am!!!!!!!!!! I had no choice but to commute and to hurry. Commute means 1 tricycle ride (P12), 1 MRT ride (from Boni to Ortigas) (P10) and a few minutes walk to my workstation. But my story does not end there.

When I got to the office, I found out that I had the car key with me. Grrrr!! So I texted my Kuya to let him know the key is with me and that I’m sorry. (My sister-in-law’s other car is parked inside the garage, with the SW blocking it). He texted back and said it was okay. He probably has the spare key and my sister-in-law will be using her other car. Sigh…what a morning. Did I mention that it rained hard last night??? (You know how much I hate it when I’m commuting going home and it rains...hmmpphhh) So I had to stay in the office and wait for the rain to die down a bit. Around 6:30pm, Bex and Meyri called to invite me to have dinner. Of course I said, “Yes.” Hehehe. At least I won’t be alone.

Because Meyri has a foot injury, she requested to have dinner in Galleria (and also because it’s near her place); Piadina was the hands-down choice. We ordered one margherita pizza, one funghi piadina (mushroom) and one pasta dish that I forgot the name. Myummy!!! Made me miss Piadina in Megamall. Aside from the carbo-loading dinner, we had fun taking candid pictures, sharing funny stories, the day’s boo-boos and office tsismis that night. (Oh, classic Meyri struck again last night, but that will be in another entry.) I could say that it made up for my not so good Thursday morning.

So that was how my day went.

I'm Excited Because On...

1. 29 June 2007 - U.S. debut of Apple iPhone. I'm just interested what the reviews would be for this new gadget. As earlier announced, iPhone will be available in a 4GB model for US$499 and an 8GB model for US$599. It boasts of being an iPod, a phone and an internet mobile communicator all in one. I guess what impressed me most was that instead of using a stylus to navigate through the iPhone, you use your fingers, just like the iPod. Asia will have to wait as it will only be available in 2008 and Europe in the 4th quarter of this year.

2. 3 July 2007 - My nephew Raymund's 6th birthday. I know he's excited. Should probably ask him tonight what he wants for his birthday.

3. 7 July 2007 - Opening of the 70th Season of the UAAP. Animo La Salle!!!

4. 7 July 2007 - Wimbledon Women's Singles Finals. I'm rooting for Justine Henin. I think she deserves to be at the number 1 spot. I hope she reaches the finals (Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam tournament she has not won yet) and ends the year at the top, too.


5. 8 July 2007 - Wimbledon Men's Singles Finals. I'm rooting for Roger Federer. I hope he wins his 5th Wimbledon title. Rafael Nadal is a close second.


6. 11 July 2007 - Movie: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Any free premier tickets out there?

7. 18-22 July 2007. Opening of the Philippine Badminton Open Championships.

Go Philippines!!

8. 21 July 2007 - Book: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I've already reserved a copy at Powerbooks (since April).

9. 25 July 2007 - Ratatouille (Rat-a-too-ee) I love Pixar!


10. High School Musical (Trumpets). Not really excited but curious. My pamangkins love the movie and they want to watch the play. Btw, my niece Regeena's latest crush is Sam Concepcion (who plays Troy Bolton in the movie).