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| Reposting from my brother's site: http://silkenhut.com/taxis-refusing-to-convey-passengers/ Philippines: Taxi refusing to convey passengers? Allow me to talk about the state of Taxis, or cabs as I’ve experienced it in Manila, <input ... >Philippines. Rejecting to provide you service? Have you ever tried to call a cab, then a cab pulls over, then when you state your destination, the cab driver shakes their head and goes away? In short, you got rejected by the taxi driver. Sounds familiar? I have experienced this numerous times when I tried to call a cab. After waiting patiently for a taxi to pullover, they would quickly speed away when they hear where do you want to go. Did I say that I was going to hell that’s why they refused to bring me there? Who the F*** gives them the right to reject us passengers for a taxi service? They are supposed to be public utility vehicles so they should serve us customers. What happened to customers are always right mentality? Able to get away with it because people tolerate it In the past, the usual way to ride a taxi is to simply get in first then tell the driver where you want to go. That was all in the past because now, the norm is for <input ... >the taxi to pull up near you, ask you where do you want to go and then decide if they want to or not. Commuters have accepted this as is; no wonder taxi drivers are able to get away with it. Actually I have no idea when this started. All I know that it is very common right now especially in Metro Manila. In other provinces, I’m yet to encounter this. In defense of taxi drivers Taxi drivers want to get the best profit from their trips so that can be their reason for refusing us passengers. That’s all I can think of. It’s a problem for taxi drivers on how can they earn more than their boundary so that they can have something to bring home. So it means that if they did not allow you to hire them, it means that you are not worthy of their time and your not worth some profit to them. They are passing their problem to us because now we have to make ourselves profitable. But how? By going to far away places where they can drive their cabs wildly at high speeds and meters with less gasoline usage. So, it’s a big problem for you if you are living in a place there’s always slow traffic because most or less, you will be better off walking than trying to get a taxi/cab.
In defense of commuters (like me!) I was surprised and happy to know that we can do something about this taxi abuse. Here is something we can do. First, get as much information as you can such as (rated from most important to least important); - Plate Number (very important!!!)
- Operator Name or Taxi Name
- Car Model/Color/ etc..
- Driver Face/features/smell etc..
We can report them to the authorities with these numbers. DOTC Action Center at 7890 LTO Hotline at 9219071/blockquote>
However, let me warn you that there is no guarantee that the authorities will do anything about it unless you are Hayden Kho or a crying Katrina Halili so you can also do this alternatives instead. - Just get off <input ... >the taxi and don’t close the door (bwahahah)
- Ride your taxi from outside the malls where they fall in line. With the presence of security guards, they don’t dare refuse you.
- If you are with a group of friends, create a ruckus and beat up <input ... >the taxi driver.. then take control of his taxi (grand theft auto style wahaha just kidding)
Btw, another problem is taxi drivers refusing to use the meter but instead offering fixed OVERPRICED rates. Instantly get off and do not pay a cent. And don’t forget to leave the door open okay? Just my two cents… Please spread the word on abusive taxi drivers I’d like to ask that please spread this to everyone so that we can be more aware of the current situation of taxis in our country. Let us show them that they cannot get away with what they are doing and we, as commuters, want to express our right to ride a taxi without having to resort to negotiation. Riding a taxi should never be a privilege but a right to anyone who can pay the fee.
Addendum: Taxi drivers also...
--> Ask for additional payment
--> Do not give change!
What I think?
I hate those taxi drivers. And it's best if we commuters don't tolerate this unjust practice. This will never change unless we take baby steps in complaining about such behavior. And as the saying goes, "walang mang-aapi kung walang magpapaapi."
When I was in Poland taxi drivers gave change up to the last cent. So it's only here in the Philippines, or probably in other 3rd-world countries (see my post on Malaysian taxi drivers), that this kind of thing happens. It's sad and annoying and frustrating. People can't afford to always pay extra, if they live far or they need to go home at night. What gives taxi drivers the right to extort from commuters? We're not so different, we both need to earn a living.
So please help spread the word for you and your fellow Filipino public transport passengers. - Tags:rants, taxi
- Location:at home
- Mood:frustrated
 - Music:Big Yellow Taxi - Counting Crows ft. Vanessa Carlton
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| I've always had positive experiences with American call centers. Here are some of my experiences: 1. Victoria's Secret: Days after I bought an item, I surfed their site and saw that the price for the item went down a few dollars. I read a tip at www.retailmenot.com (a site full of coupons for various stores) and put it into action. I contacted their customer service via email and asked about the decreased price and they agreed to refund the price difference! 2. Bath and Body Works: Their site has added security such that people outside the United States cannot place orders, because they do not ship internationally. They check the IP address. So we asked James' sister who was working at the States to place the order for us. However, she forgot to enter the code for free shipping and we were charged about $36 for shipping, if I remember correctly. I called (yes, called) up their customer service and talked to a lady with an American accent (so pure she couldn't have been faking it), very friendly and helpful. I explained that "I" forgot to enter the free shipping code before submitting "my" order so I was wondering if I could cancel my order and just place it again. She had a better solution; she simply offered to credit me the shipping charge. I need not do anything else. Now, that's customer service. 3. Amazon: My first venture into online shopping was with Amazon, and I've never been disappointed. Just last month I emailed their customer service about a $15 GC I was supposed to be entitled with, because I qualified for a promo in one of my recent purchases. They replied within a day or two, verifying I was indeed qualified, and advised to contact them again if I didn't receive my GC by June 22. I'm still waiting for the GC, but I know that if I contacted them on June 22 (in case I still didn't receive it), I'd get a response. Promptly. (That's more than I can say for Sky who hasn't replied to my email for more than a week already, not even an auto-reply, and even after I texted them to follow-up on my email). And past experiences with Globe and PLDT showed that they reply only after three weeks or more, if at all. I don't know yet with Sky. I always believe that companies are responsible and accountable for their customer service, whether they outsource it or not. Working in a services industry for five years, I may have high expectations for people in the customer service environment, because I've been trained in this area, I know the kind of service we provide (and we provide kick-ass customer service!), and I kind of expect to receive the same level of service when I'm the customer. Unfortunately, I've had a lot of disappointing experiences with local call centers, if you've read my journal entries in the past. I've ranted about PLDT (not sure if I wrote it), Globe, Libcap, etc. Hope our local customer service centers get their act together and actually serve their customer well, as paying customers deserve. (Ok, rude customers are another story, but that's not the point of this entry). | |
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| Terence and Cristina's Wedding
James and I and office friends attended their wedding at Manila Cathedral, followed by dinner reception at Century Park Hotel. View pictures at our Multiply page
 Traditions Event 1: Cami's-turned-Kelvin's birthday treat at a Thai Restaurant in Il Terrazo
View pictures on my Facebook page
Switched from Globe to Sky
Had my Globelines disconnected and Sky Broadband connected. Had to downgrade to Plan 999 because I can't afford extra costs that won't be reimbursed. So I don't have a landline number anymore. And I chose Sky instead of downgrading my Globe package because:
1. Sky offers 1.5 Mbps for the same price as Globe offers their 1 Mbps internet-only package
2. I had to pay a downgrade fee if I downgraded my Globe whereas there is no installation fee for Sky (just one month advance payment and a one-time deposit for the modem which is refundable)
3. I'm supposed to get 15% discount on my cable subscription - I'll have to see how this goes since I already paid for a whole year's worth of Sky subscription. They say it's supposed to be credited during my next billing statements, but I'll need to see to believe.
Initial verdict:
1. Sky is more stable than my Globe connection which grew a bit unstable at times during the latter part of usage.
2. Sky is significantly slower than Globe on torrents download and online games latency so gamers and downloaders beware!!! I used to have 2 mbps Globelines DSL and now I have 1.5 mbps Sky broadband - there shouldn't be a signficant difference in the download speeds or latency, but my experience says otherwise. I'm lucky to hit 50 kbps on torrent, though with 1.5 Mbps I should have a much faster speed, right?
3. Call center experience? Strike 1 was when the girl didn't register my request for installation on their system, so my initial schedule for installation did not push through. Strike 2 is about to happen with them not answering my email contesting the torrent download speed. They asked me to email screenshots to prove what I was claiming to their support agent, and so I did, and I get no answer, despite texting their hotline the following day to follow-up.
I'm still monitoring and observing at this early stage. If I prove to be not satisfied, I'll probably change providers after the lock-in period and hopefully Globe offers a much better (and cheaper, if not as cheap) package then.
Update: 06/11/2009
Apparently, Sky Broadband isn't so stable after all. | |
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| Been a long time since I last posted an entry, so here are my April highlights off the top of my mind. Taiwan Trip with my familyHalf the time was spent on inter-city travel (since we covered about 5 cities in 8 days), but I still would have loved this trip had it not for our tour guide. He was supposedly the best in the travel industry when it comes to Taiwan, and maybe so if you spoke Chinese fluently, which, unfortunately, me and my brothers didn't. Our elementary Chinese just could not keep up, and obviously our guide used lots of words that aren't used in simple, conversational Chinese because he was talking about culture and history and the like. And he was told a few participants in the tour didn't understand much Chinese, yet he still used it 95% of the time. So I'm sorry, but I wasn't able to appreciate Taiwan's culture and history, because I couldn't understand most of what our guide was saying. Luckily I liked touring per se, so I was still able to enjoy the sights. I've posted a couple of albums on Facebook to share our pictures: Part 1Part 2And here was our itinerary from Pan Pacific: April 5: Manila to Taipei (4:10 PM) - Sogo Shopping Area - Ting Hau Shopping Area April 6: Taipei - Entrain to Hualien - Tarogo Gorge - Amei Cultural Show April 7: Hualien - Entrain to Taipei - Martyr Shrine - Taipei 101 - Taichung - Fong Jia Night Market April 8: Taichung - Sun Moon Lake - Peacock garden - Bus to Alishan National Forest Park April 9: Alishan - Kaoshiung - Neo Ho Night Market April 10: Kaoshiung - ChingCeng Lake - Spring Autumn Pavilion - Fokwangshan - High Speed Rail back to Taipei April 11: Taipei - Yangmingshan National Park - Chin Pao Shan - Yehliu (no pics since my battery was empty) - Tamshui Fisherman's Wharf - National Martyr's Shrine - Shi Lin Night Market April 12: Departure to Manila   These are just sneak peeks; please check out my Facebook albums for more photos. And if we're not friends on FB yet, feel free to add me. Oh, and prices in Taiwan are more expensive than here. CDW Team Building @ Zambales This was probably the last one we'll have as pure CDW Ops, as we'll be merging with ADW Ops in the coming months, and today marked the start of the permanent shifts for my L2 teammates. We had lunch at the resort, then went off to a boat ride to Anawangin in the afternoon. Becca's mom delivered cheesy puto and pancit, yummy! At night, we hang out and had a few drinks (well, some had more than a few). Dinner was courtesy of our manager, Mao, who brought fish, squid, rice, and sweet mangoes. Seph led the culinary staff and also prepared his signature iced tea. Pat, George, Mats, Elvin and I also contributed packs of Andok's chicken. Anyway, I went to sleep at around 1 or 2 am, and woke up around 8. Like Becca and I said, this was the offsite where we got the most hours of sleep. In the morning, we had breakfast at the resort, then set out for Manila. At night, we watched Wolverine at the theatres. I'll always be grateful for the fun memories with CDW Team. Once a CDW, always a CDW. More power to the team as we take on more challenges (and there will definitely be challenges) in the future. Photos courtesy of Primo   I'm somewhere at the back, if you have a hard time finding me :p And I've been craving for puto for the past weeks. Not just any kind of puto but the one usually wrapped in banana leaf. Or the one delivered by Becca's mom. | |
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| I had praises for Malaysia the last time I went there - you can read my observations and comments in my journal entry last year. However, this time our Malaysia experience left a lot to be desired. I loved walking the Sky Bridge of the Petronas Twin Towers, and I enjoyed shopping for Vincci shoes. But I hated the taxi drivers. Gusto ko silang sabihan, "wag niyo kaming utuin, nanggaling kami sa bansa kung saan nang-gagancho din mga drayber." The whole time we were there, they never used the taxi meter. It was like the meter was just for display. One look at the tourists and they'd name a fixed price. Non-negotiable. From the McDonald's branch near the bus station where we alighted, to the Petronas Towers where we were the second group to queue up for the Sky Bridge walk, they charged us 20 ringgit. We had to split into three taxis because they woudn't allow five people in one taxi. We were like, ok, it's ~5:30am, it happens back home as well where taxis would possibly charge higher rates during hours where not many people go out. In the afternoon, after shopping at Suria KLCC mall and we were heading back to the bus station, which we knew would be different from the station we alighted earlier when we arrived from SG even if we were riding the same bus line Transtar (strange how they organize it, right?), it was like another Amazing Race story, albeit an annoying one. We took three taxis again. Team Karon with Karen, Camille and Elvin went off first. Then came Team Ben with Mich and Becca, and Team Alvin with Pat and Daisie. In Team Ben's taxi, we argued with the driver who wanted to charge us another fixed rate (RM 10). Note that the flag down rate is only RM 2, with RM 0.10 increment every 45 seconds. Ben: "Why don't we just use the meter, then?" Driver: "Aaa...Meter is asleep." WTF kind of an excuse is that? Gagawa nalang ng excuse di pa matino. Yung kapani-paniwala naman sana. Kami pa ang inuuto eh pareho namang galing sa 3rd-world na bansa. Pare-parehong may mga nanloloko. Before riding the taxi, we showed them the text with the bus station to ensure no misunderstanding. Somewhere in the middle of the road, the drivers of Team Ben's and Team Alvin's taxis went side by side and communicated with each other, mentioning the bus station "Pasarakyat" where we were headed. (Note: obviously they understood we instructed them to take us to Parasakyat.) When the two taxis stopped at a bus station at about the same time, Alvin mentioned that this seemed to be the station where we arrived earlier on in the morning. That should not be the case, because we knew we were supposed to be in a different station. Team Ben's taxi already sped off, while Team Alvin's taxi driver kept asking for the ticket. They eventually gave him the paper with our bus reservations and details and he called someone up on his cellphone. We heard him mention something about behind Times Square, affirming that indeed, they took us to the wrong station when we very clearly instructed "Pasarakyat". When he told us what we already suspected, Team Alvin demanded that he take them to the correct station, because he did not take them to where he was supposed to. He offered to do so for another RM 15. (Parang, ano ba, eh kasalanan naman niya na sa maling lugar dinala ang pasahero, tapos papabayarin pa para dalhin sa tamang lugar, eh dun naman talaga dapat dadalhin in the first place.) Another argument ensued (the following re-enactment is most certainly not accurate anymore, as I don't remember the exact words or who said them): Driver: I was only following him (gesturing to where the other taxi driver dropped off Team Ben), he said to go here Ben: Why did you follow him? They're (gesturing to Alvin and company) your passengers. Alvin: We said Pasarakyat. Driver: But you said to follow him so I followed him Alvin: How can you be following him when you were here first? Sobrang baluktot ng mga palusot, di ba? We ended up walking a few blocks under the heat of the sun to Times Square, where we asked for directions from four different people who gave us four different answers. Eventually we saw a coupon taxi booth and decided to avail of that service instead to be sure. We got to the correct bus station in time. Luckily, we went to find the station two hours before the scheduled departure, else we would have already missed it, given the way we were taken for fools by those Malaysian taxi drivers. Lesson learned: Use the monorail. Tourists - beware. | |
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| Day 0: Flight* 8:30 PM Cebu Pacific flight from Manila to Singapore * Check-in at Fern Loft Backpackers Hostel at Chinatown (hostel was clean and accessible, but lights out at 11:00 PM meant we had to fix our stuff outside the room or look for them in the dark inside the room). It meant no talking inside as well, as we shared the room with other backpackers. There was one bathroom with shower and toilet, and another bathroom with only the shower. Managing the place was Maria, a Filipina. * Trip Companions: Camille, Becca, Alvin, Patrick, Elvin, Daisie (no show: Mats, due to unexpected complications)  Day 1: Singapore* Walked around Chinatown a bit then proceeded to Vivo Mall via MRT where we met with Karon and Ben for lunch (thanks Ben for shouldering the service charge and taxes!) until they had to go back to their respective offices -- I had yummy baked cheesy rice with chicken -- thanks Ben for lending me SGD (I'll be calculating how much I owe you) * As per Karon's itinerary (thanks Karucha!), we toured Sentosa Island in the afternoon, riding the cable car to and from the island. We also rode the Luge (very fun but unfortunately short ride) and Sky Ride. * Had dinner with Mike, Ben, Karon and Malvin (members of the ex-HP, Singapore chapter) at Newton: yummy seafood! (thanks Mike for the drinks!) * Hung out at Clarke Quay (their version of Greenbelt) and watched Alvin and Mike ride the G-max (reverse bungee). We also watched others ride the G-max and, well, got an eyeful after one foreigner couple tried it out and watched themselves on video that the boys probably liked a lot (kidding) * Karon stayed with us this night at the hostel        VIEW DAY 1 PICTURES herehttp://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=225039&id=742585315&l=01d8d Day 2: Singapore* Went to Karon's and her sister's condominium unit (really nice place resembling a resort!) then headed off to a Thai restaurant for lunch (thanks Karon for the treat) * Spent the afternoon at Singapore Zoo: highlights were the white tiger and polar bear. We also watched a sea lion show but it was cut off near the end due to tropical rainshower. * Had dinner with Ben and Jyue and Becca's/Alvin's/Elvin's friend Del at Suntec Mall after taking pictures of the Fountain of Wealth and shopping at Charles and Keith (cheaper in SG compared to PH, unfortunately no pair of shoes catched my eye) * Went back to the hostel to take a shower and freshen up before taking the 11:30 PM bus trip to Malaysia Just like Amazing Race Finding the bus stop was like an Amazing Race episode. After dinner, Daisie and Elvin went with Ben (Team Ben), leaving five of us (Team Alvin) taking turns at the hostel bathrooms. Meanwhile, Karon went straight to her condo to freshen up and get her sister (Team Karon). We were all supposed to meet at Lavender MRT station. First to arrive at the station were us five from the hostel. Then, a while later Karon and her sister arrived. Karon called Ben up to ask where they were, and Ben said they were still in the taxi and defensively claimed that they left the condo much earlier. It was decided that Team Ben would go straight to the bus station, so Team Karon and Team Alvin tried to find the bus station at Lavender St. We went back and forth the subway station and the streets up because we waren't sure of the exit, and when we spotted a bus we went back underground to cross to the other side, but when we arrived the bus wasn't there anymore. We coudn't find any bus station in the vicinity. We asked around - a passerby, the guard at a guardhouse, 7-11 employees - for directions, until we received info that we were not within walking distance from the station and had to take a taxi. We had to split into two taxis. When we arrived at the station, Team Ben was already there, and they had already claimed the bus tickets. Apparently, they were taken to the wrong place at first - they were taken to the Transtar terminal, and they didn't think it was the wrong place since there were Transtar buses around.   VIEW DAY 2 & 3 PICTURES herehttp://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5989625&l=17961&id=742585315 Day 3: Kuala Lumpur* Alighted the bus around 4 AM. Some withdrew ringgit money from an ATM. * Breakfast at McDo, then took the taxi to Petronas Twin Towers around past 5 AM * Stayed in queue until tickets to visit the Sky Bridge were handed out around 8:30 AM. We were part of the first batch to view the bridge at 9 AM. * Took pictures outside the Petronas Tower, then spent the rest of the day at Suria KLCC Mall inside Petronas. Had lunch, then shopped. I was happy with my three pairs of VNC shoes that cost me only ~Php 1,300. VNC shoes, or Vincci in Malaysia, are made in Malaysia, hence they are cheapest there, plus they were having a sale where all items were at 20% off (a few pairs with bigger reductions). * Had another Amazing Race episode finding the bus station where we were supposed to take the Transtar coach back to Singapore, involving unpleasant encounters with Malaysian taxi drivers, so I'll save the story for a later post. Suffice it to say that we eventually made it to the station on time.   VIEW DAY 2 & 3 PICTURES herehttp://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5989625&l=17961&id=742585315 Day 4: Home* Left the hostel around 7:30 AM and arrived at the airport at 8:00 AM. The counter for Cebu Pacific was still closed (what gives? it's usually normal to check-in 3 hours before the flight) so we had breakfast first. * After checking in, looked around for some last minute purchases then boarded the slightly delayed plane back to Manila | |
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| February 21-24 was spent at Camarines Sur with office friends. Fun fun fun! Day 1: Caramoan* Arrival at Naga airport at ~7:30 AM where ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) geebee_109 , miagurl , Tricia, TJ, Don and I met with Kian and hellgod_13 who rode the bus. Alvin went two days ahead to Quezon, his home province, to meet with balikbayan cousins, while Kian had ticket booking problems. * Took the boat from Sabang port to Guijalo port...a 2-hour ride. * Check-in at Rex's Tourist Inn. The place was ok, for budget accommodation, but just a warning to travelers: looks like they give preferential treatment to customers who avail of their tour package, which shouldn't be the case, right? Since we were all customers, package or not. * Turo-turo lunch at Lutong Bahay. Very affordable. But they forgot mine and Geebee's sinigang and gave it to the other group instead, and we had to choose another viand because there was no sinigang left. * Island Hopping: Matucad, Lajos and Hunungan islands at Caramoan * Semi-feud with Team Sarah / Team S (the other group who availed of Rex's package) who apparently did not want us riding on Rex's jeep with them. We were told by the staff that they said, " Ayaw namin ng kasabay." We don't know if they were simply misinformed - that they didn't know we paid for the ride, too. Hello, were they told they had exclusive use of the jeep? We thought of telling them, " Alam niyo yung pakikisama? Wala kasi kayo nun eh." But of course, we were not looking for a fight, so we just laughed and ranted about them. * Dinner at a restaurant (Camalig Grill) where only two viands from the menu were available. * Cards and games at night    Day 2: Caramoan* Island hopping the whole day! > First stop was the seemingly infinite sand bar. Luckily, we were the first group to get there. After enjoying the immaculate smoothness of the sand, we "dirtied" it for Team S with our footsteps. > Second island was where they were setting up the endurance challenge for Survivor [Argentina and France?]. After our photo shoot, we had lunch on the "loser's bench" (I don't watch Survivor so I'm not sure of the term) which was still covered by tent-like material. At least we had lunch under the shade. We brought packed lunch from the turo-turo place. > Third stop was Manlawe island where only Mia, Alvin and Kian went off the boat. Mia and Alvin went back to the boat soon enough, while Kian stayed behind to make a sand face. > Fourth stop was a pay-per-boat beach. > Last but not the least, fifth stop was where they were setting up the obstacle course for Survivor. On the set, pre-production. What an experience! We were simply at the right place at the right time ;-) * Dinner at the turo-turo carinderia * Dessert was Php 15.00 ice cream each person, which was a treat from Geebee and me because we lost at the Categories game that we played the previous night * A few card games and categories game before we packed and went to sleep early as we needed to catch the 7am trip from Guijalo to Sabang port ** I'll post the Survivor set pics separately in a "Friends Only" entry as we're not supposed to share the pictures with the wider public.   Day 3: CWC, Naga* Rode the boat back to Naga. We cheered and clapped because Team S missed this particular boat ride because the boat was already full when they arrived only a few minutes before departure time. They had to wait until the next boat ride which was at 11am, or slightly earlier if the boat got full earlier. Like Kian said, it was karma. * 1-hour van ride to Eco Village where we were booked for an overnight stay. It was cheaper there than to stay at one of the houses at CWC. * Check-in at Eco Village, unloaded baggage, freshened up, and suited up * Lunch at the CWC restaurant * Wakeboarding! Or rather, knee-boarding only, since it was the first step for beginners. Only Kian was able to successfully wakeboard. The rest of us were able to successfully knee-board only, while Alvin and Tricia attempted ski-boarding but to no avail. All I can say is, it's harder than it looks. You wear the life vest or wetsuit, and helmet, then get into the extreme water sports gear: wakeboard, ski board, knee board. Then you grab onto the handle of the rope/string that would pull you around the man-made lake on your board. Sounds easily straightforward, right? In reality, it takes a lot to stay on your gear atop the waters: 1. balance 2. upper body strength 3. endurance Unfortunately, my body was not well-conditioned. ** I'll share more of my knee-boarding experience when I get my knee-boarding pic from Kian. For now, this is me beside the wakeboarding waters, with a wakeboarder doing a stunt behind me.  Now I'm off to bed to rest... (and face anticipated 300-400+ emails waiting tomorrow waaah) | |
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| Ok, so not exactly on the same day. [LAIYA OUTING]Last weekend (Feb. 5-6 since Feb. 5 we had a forced leave / shutdown), we spent an overnight at Laiya, Batangas for our CDW L3 / CPM / CDW Team C teambuilding. We had lunch at Lipa (or was it Batangas City?) en route to Laiya, the arrived at Triple G Resort after lunch. I think we were about 18 of us, and we had to fit into one big room with 3 queen-sized beds and one queen-sized mattress. There was only one CR with a flush that did not work and no toiletries at all. But we managed. We rested a bit, then went snorkeling, except for Alvin who slept during the afternoon. We went back to the resort just in time for Team C duty managers to take over the EMEA shift (handover was at 4pm). Meanwhile, some of us who were not on duty decided to have some merienda at Kape Barako. They had such a nice toilet that some of us went there the next day just so my teammates could...do their morning rituals. After dinner, the night was spent with "inuman at kwentuhan". Some gambled a bit with cards. We stayed at the same place as the duty managers so they could be in on the fun. We dropped to our beds around 3am, exhausted but bonded. This outing was timely, as it was soon announced thereafter that our beloved CPM teammates will be transferred to another manager starting next month. We'll surely miss Pat's funny jokes and Elvin's never-ending hassles and "secret agent" antics. I know they'll just be transferring to the other side of our floor, but it won't be the same. It makes me sad just thinking about the few remaining days they have at our area. I know they wouldn't want to move workspaces, too, if given the choice. We've been so used to having them around that it'll probably be different when they've moved out. When I got home, I took a nap then freshened up for dinner at H&E Rockstar with jimbart and my brother and his new girlfriend whom he formally introduced to us that night. The next day, I had my hair permed. Now I'm sporting curly locks. ~ 0 ~ [ALMOST LOSING THE RING]Barely a week after getting engaged, I almost lost the right. Almost. How it happened last month? I used to remove my ring when brushing my teeth at the office. As much as possible, I target very little contact between water/soap and my ring. And one time, I simply forgot to put the ring back on my finger. I was already at my workspace when I realized I didn't have my ring - my heart almost stopped, my head not believing it was gone. I did remember I might have left it at the CR so I rushed inside the CR but it wasn't there anymore and there was no one inside. I went back to our work area starting to get frantic and said, "nawawala ang singsing ko." Fortunately, someone from the Service Owners (their cubicle was beside my team's cubicle) overheard and mentioned that she saw a note on the mirror at the CR about a ring. I ran to the CR again and this time saw the post-it on the mirror from the lady who found a ring. She left her name and team name in the note so the owner could find her. I went to the other side of our floor where her team was stationed, looked for a familiar face, and asked for this girl. Thank God an honest girl had my ring. Thank you, Kate from FSS, for keeping my ring safe. Up to now that post-it is still posted in front of my workspace - just a little reminder of what I shouldn't forget.
HAPPY HEARTS' DAY, everyone! Spread the love... | |
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| It was a bright, sunny morning on January 17, 2009 when James and I went to school (ADMU) to request a copy of his sister's transcript. Or so I thought. We strolled around the dormitory area and saw the new dorm buildings that didn't exist during our time as dormers. We stopped at the overlooking Marikina spot (more known to dormers as O.M.), where we used to spend some time sitting and talking and just spending a cool, peaceful evening. James, feeling nostalgic, took some pictures, and handed over the camera to me after asking if I wanted to see the shots. I kept scrolling to the left to see the pictures, and after a few clicks I stumbled upon a picture of a ring. Unsuspectingly, I just asked, "ano 'to?" I turned questioningly, and then there he was, kneeling on one knee, popping the question in a shaky voice (as it sounded to me). No, not the usual "Will you marry me?". Rather, the Tagalog version, "Papakasalan mo ba ako?" Apparently, the "getting a transcript for his sister" thing was just a ruse to get me to accompany him to school. He kept the facade well, asking me to wake up early in the morning so we could make it to the registrar before noon. It wasn't until I was talking to my parents over the phone that I got just a bit teary-eyed, probably due to the babble of overwhelming emotions. Afterwards, we celebrated by having lunch at Itallianni's at Gateway Mall - his treat. We both got our favorite grape shakes, and I ordered Grilled Chicken and Fish with Pesto Rice while he got Chicken Marsala Risotto. I now wear a 0.35 carat diamond ring encased in white gold band - simple, subtle, meaningful. The diamond and the white gold metal were taken from his grandmother's segmented cross jewelry (a family heirloom) - a portion of it was melted and reformed into this engagement ring. It's practical to have such customized ring when your family knows a jeweler who won't substitute part of the original metals and jewels of your family heirloom into lesser quality materials. That way, it's not as heavy on the pockets. A friendly tip from a a family who used to be in the jewelry business. I don't really know exactly how I felt at that time - probably a mixture of happiness and disbelief and wonder on one hand; on the other hand it also felt normal, like a re-affirmation of our commitment to our relationship. After all, we celebrated our 5th anniversary on the 15th - a couple of days before. It took a long time before this sanked in. I'm probably not done digesting this yet. A part of me still thinks it was surreal. We don't have any dates yet for the engagement (teng-hun) or the wedding. The engagement will probably be a simply family affair. But we'd LOVE to have our family and friends at our wedding, which will most likely be held in Iloilo City (as with tradition, where the bride's family hails from). We'll let you know as soon as a date is set, so you can book your tickets as early as you can to take advantage of cheaper air fares (as low as 2-3k for a round trip, or less with promos such as all-in fares from PAL econo light or Cebu Pacific) ;-) Or to the more adventurous ones, Ro-Ro is another cheaper option, though travel time is much longer ;-) In any case, your presence would mean the world to us.  One thing for sure, I'll enjoy looking at gowns. I used to buy Prom editions of teen magazines, even when I was in college already, just because I liked looking at dresses. Now, I'll be checking out wedding/entourage gowns instead :D Visit http://jimmich.multiply.com for more pictures | |
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| Here's a scene that was not published in the Twilight book. In the original Twilight manuscript, Bella, Edward, and Alice stayed behind in Phoenix while she healed and then drove home passing through Las Vegas on the way. This scene takes place in an unnamed Las Vegas casino. Bella still has a cast on her leg. On the other hand, here's a funny Breaking Dawn plot summary (I got the link from dreamspinner_ ). Very entertaining :D For more detailed reviews, you may refer to my friends' reviews, since I'm too lazy to write one, except the rant about Bella. And I agree with them on most points anyway.
Epic Fail by dreamspinner_
This is How You Write a Fantasy Book by dreamspinner_
My Ravings and Rantings on the Twilight Saga by geebee_109
All I can say is, putting aside some disturbing underlying concepts, and reading it from a fantasy mindset, I enjoyed reading Breaking Dawn hehehe I had a hard time putting the book down, as with the other books in the Twilight saga, though I was rushing through the parts I didn't like. Wildly creative imagination - I'll give the author that. However, if I approached it from a critical POV, like if I had to write a review paper for it (noting the message it may send to readers) then I'd have something else to say. I guess though it's classified as YA, it caters to a more mature audience.
Just to balance the love and hate, I was scanning through the reviews that were linked from dreamspinner_ 's articles and came across this person's comment:
I rather liked the book, as did all my friends who are fans of the series. I dont know if its because were all married women in our mid to late twenties, and were hopeless romantics, possibly thats part of it, But we really did love the book, the ending was great. To each their own really. I don't condone teenage marriages, but come on its a book...Kinda like the people who freak about HP being evil witchcraft and sending a bad message to children...ITS A BOOK. Don't let your children read Romeo and Juliet , pride and prejudice..because my god it will send the wrong message. See where I'm going, if you have raised your children in the beliefs you want them to follow, a book, movie or tv show isn't going to change that. Just because an 18 year old FICTIONAL girl marries a 17 year old FICTIONAL Vampire, its not going to make your 17 year old run out and get married, if it does you really need to have a talk with them, if a book could persuade them to do something like that... LOVED THE BOOK!
As for you, feel free to form your own opinions :)
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