Waiting in Vain..este in the Airport

We are now here in the Mactan International Airport waiting for our flight bound for Manila.


guess which bag is mine

on our way to the airport

my bro

my sister and brother

Angkor Wat

I miss this...

Still Typing

Guess what? I'm still typing...hahaha...I better stop now and rest. I have to not because I want to but because I need to. Darn!

PAL vs Cebu Pacific

I know this post may be too late but this is just a reminder to all who want to travel by plane.

If you think that Cebu Pacific offers the cheapest airfares, you're in for a surprise! Philippine Airlines, Asia's oldest carrier and national airline of the Philippines is also offering competitive rates to travellers. Their rates are comparable to what Cebu Pacific offers, sometimes even cheaper than Cebu Pacific.

All you need to do is check for the EconoLight Fares by selecting it from the drop down list of Cabin Class/Fare Basis on the Online Booking section of their homepage. If no EconoLight Fare is available on your preferred date(s), the system will quote the lowest Economy Fiesta fare instead. EconoLight Fares are available in all PAL domestic flights and selected international flights. *I believe that the EconoLight Fare is only available for purchase online.

Due to the cheaper rates, they will not serve free snacks to passengers who take advantage of this promo and the passengers will be seated on the back portion of the aircraft. The fare is also non-refundable, just like Cebu Pacific's. Nevertheless, their aircraft is way bigger and I'd still prefer to fly with PAL if given the chance.

Recently, two of my colleagues went home for the holidays and they both bought tickets from Cebu Pacific on separate occasions. When I learned of the amount they spent for their tickets, I couldn't resist checking PAL's rates online, not to confuse my colleagues, but just for the heck of checking. It was really cheaper than what they paid. One of them could have saved Php3,000++ if she'd known sooner. But I guess the rates still varies depending on the season.

There's only one thing I didn't appreciate about PAL's online bookings, it's how they classify their rates. When I tried to purchase tickets for the Ilocos tour on the 1st week of December, I initially chose 3 passengers on the drop down list of passengers under the Economy Fiesta Fare. Then I was quoted the rates. It was only Php200.00 more than Cebu Pacific's rate so I didn't hesitate. I tried to book it immediately but encountered errors. I had to call their Customer Service hotline to reserve the seats. When I tried checking back the site to see if it's working, I also tried checking rates for 1 passenger under the EconoLight Fare. To my surprise, I saw that the rates were cheaper than what I reserved. When I tried to book for 3 passengers under the same Promo Fare, the rate was expensive. It's not the same amount if you multiply the individual fare by 3 persons. So I did the next sensible thing, fearing that someone else might take those seats. I booked 3 individual flights separately and processed 3 payments online. That was the only hassle. But considering everything, it still came out cheaper than what Cebu Pacific offered (900Php difference each!!!).

My point??? Don't be stuck with Cebu Pacific. Gone were the days that we don't even consider PAL or they were our last priority since it's a given that their rates were really pricey. If you're planning on that long planned trip always check the rates of the 2 airline companies. Well, the best thing is to check the rates of all airline companies.

Happy Trip Folks!

My Ilocos Adventure

I haven't slept since 11am yesterday. And today is the ultimate day! I didn't sleep yet since I was trying hard to see if I can setup the website before I leave town. But I guess I won't have any luck on that aspect.

Anyway, the last 2 days has been so stressful "daw" for me since I still have no idea where we'll start our trip. I wasn't sure if the right IT would be Laoag - Vigan, Vigan-Pagudpud-Laoag or Laoag-Pagudpud-Vigan. Pagudpud was far from my thoughts when I conceptualized this tour. But due to the numerous blogs I've read, I guess it's really a must-see. It's also practical to include it in our IT since most of the beautiful places in Ilocos Norte are near this area. So unless we'll change our minds again, our final IT is Laoag-Pagudpud-Vigan.

I was able to contact someone who can be our guide and tour us to almost all of the famous places in Ilocos Norte. I only have 2 dilemmas on this tour... #1 Budget (i guess we've spent most of it during the Holidays) and #2 My sister. She's so picky and wouldn't even settle bringing a knapsack. She said she'll be bringing a luggage. She can't use a knapsack since she's sickly these days and can't endure carrying one. Waaaaaaaaaa!!! I wanted her to bring a carry-in bag so that we don't have to deposit our luggage. We need to race to the bus terminal in Pasay to book us a ticket for the tour. And checking in a luggage is a definite no-no. But I have no choice! Argh!

My brother and I originally planned to go on this backpacking adventure with the plan of spending less, way less than the average. But when my sister decided to join us, everything changed. She said she'll bring her laptop too. Can you imagine that? There's a part of me that wants her to change her mind and stay behind but the other part wants me to let her go with us due to the following reasons: #1 Bonding Moments with the Siblings; #2 She has a good camera - 8MP (otherwise, we'll be using my phone camera - 5 MP) and #3 she can supply most of the needed funds for this tour. hehehe *wink-wink* Actually, I haven't seen her pack her stuff yet. I wonder if she had decided to stay... hmmm....

Our flight leaves in the afternoon and we'll be arriving in Manila tonight. Then we'll head off to the bus terminal to embark on the 10-12 hours trip to the North.

As for now, I think I better sleep. I have to stop typing, I guess...

Will probably post the pictures of the trip on the new site, whenever it works. LOL

On Installing Wordpress

I bought my own domain now but it's still a work in progress. I'm not even sure if it's right to say that there's progress at all. I am at wits end on trying to figure how to make it work.

As of now, I dunno if what I'm getting are error messages and I don't know what else to do. If I'm still not going to get any luck, I may have to set it up next year! I'm sounding like it'll be a long time but it's just 5 days away...LOL...

I hope some good soul helps me determine what the problem is. I'm getting this error message in case you wanted to know....

I tried deleting the database and user name and removing the uploaded files in my FTP server but it's still not working. I really wonder what's causing the problem.

By the way, I really found this site useful... http://www.everydayiselectionday.com/2008/07/22/a-beginners-guide-to-installing-wordpress/ despite the error message I'm getting. Thought I'd share this.

Uhhmm.. Booooooyyyy!!! if you're out there, I badly need your help please...hehehe

Our Christmas Cake

It was the eve of Christmas and I worked on straight shift for 2 consecutive days to avoid working on this day. I got out of the office at past 9am and immediately went to Leona’s in their main branch to check if I can grab me one of their Chocoloate Surprise Cakes. This one’s really yummy since it’s a combination of Banana cake and Chocolate Cake. Anyway, the line was too long when I reached the place and the cakes left were far from what I wanted. So I hurriedly drove to SM to check if they have stocks left. But they don’t have one too. They have extra carrot cakes but I never did fancy the taste of their carrot loaf. I tried to wait for like 30 minutes to see if more stocks will be delivered but I got tired of waiting and standing there like some crazy fool. Oh, by the way, I knew this was going to happen. But the laziness in me took over my sane being where I failed to order the cake I want in advance. Hehehe One hesitation was my mom too. I know she might not be able to eat one because of allergies.

Anyway, after giving up, I headed straight to Red Ribbon and to my surprise, there’s no line! Yey! They still have stocks of different varieties of cakes too! I immediately ordered the Dulce De Leche knowing that this is the only safe cake for my mom. She’s allergic to mango, ube and chocolate. But she still cheats sometimes and eats those stuff with the knowledge that she has medications to counter the allergies.

Messing up my Templates

While killing the time trying to determine if I'll buy or not, I browsed through other people's blogs. Then I came across the site Blogger Templates. I liked one template there and tried to use it on my site. However, there were some problems in it that I had to revert back to my old Template. And guess what, all of my right side gadgets disappeared except for the labels and links. Do I have to repeat doing this every time I change templates? This is so frea*** frustrating!

Confused

I am trying to decide whether to buy a domain today or not. And so I've decided to buy one earlier. Then Edcel mentioned that Blogger offers free hosting services and I only have to pay for the domain name. But then again, I'm hesitant since I heard that Blogger has more restrictions. If I were to choose Blogger I'd be able save $12 since the other service would require me to pay for the web hosting + domain name.

Now I'm more confused with options to think from. I guess I will have to follow what has been proven and tested, although it might mean nosebleed for me. Hay, am still confused.

Thoughts? Anyone?

Looking inside the CPU

I was trying to see if I can fix my PC by myself. I saw how my cousin reset the processor so I figured it's really easy. When I consulted my techie friend on what to do, he advised me to unhook everything except for the power supply, mother board and processor. Then he instructed me to install each hardware one by one and reboot the PC. He said I have to check if a blue screen error appears as I boot the system after I hook back each hardware. He mentioned that I had to hook up the following in order: memory card, cd rom, drive A and last, the hard drive. So, in order to make sure I remember where everything goes after I unhook the connections, I tried to take pictures of it before I continue to do more damage to the CPU...hehehe. The funny thing is after I unhooked everything, the equipment won't work. It won't power on. I had to quickly send a text message to my friend and ask him what to do. He said that unhooking the hard disk and cd rom is enough. But I unhooked everything! And to my horror, I even forgot how to connect back the really really really tiny connections. Luckily I have the User Guide of my motherboard handy. Otherwise, I wouldn't know what to do.

After the gruesome process of unhooking everything, not to mention, lifting the CPU back and forth the chair and the floor (the free exercise was a consolation, though, hehehe) I was able to reinstall the system. But, after installing some add ons, the system crashed again. Oh geesh... it's not simple as I thought it would be.

So, here's the pictures of my CPU's intestines...

As I've said from my previous blog, the system needed a new memory. The good thing is, I'm so proud to be able to accomplish this! I'm so happy that I gained more knowledge on how to do basic troubleshooting for a desktop Computer. Yohooo!!! Good jeb doi doi!!! hahahaha

To Panic or Not Panic...waaaaaaaaaaa

I haven't slept at all. I started using the PC since 1pm yesterday and it's almost 7am now. I think I really miss my PC badly that I couldn't stop grabbing pictures from everyone else' Multiply sites. I haven't even started updating that site!

It's so good to know that I have nothing to do. Am not even pressured on my lack of enthusiasm for starting to work on my technical paper. *sigh* All I did was edit pictures, pictures way back March. And I don't even understand why I was giving it importance.

What bothers me though is the fact that today is Sunday, and soon it will be Monday, then Christmas den the trip. I haven't checked for resources online on how we'll travel north. I desperately need to plan our IT so that we can budget our money. For one, I don't even have the budget to travel. How I wish I could have the tickets refunded!

I also hope and will pray that the weather will cooperate with us.

My Advance Christmas Gifts

This is what I received for Christmas: 1) Alarm Clock from Maxx (Kris Kringle); 2) Baking book from Santa Claus Audrey; 3) Mini Towel from Heide (exchange gifts); 4) Sally toy from Santa Claus Wynsum; 5) Dangling Sheep Jolly Mah from Santa Claus Kuya Randie.

Thank you!!!

Leah

We were trying to find a wi-fi zone near the area and we end up hanging out in Don Merto's at Juana Osmeña.

Pictures are courtesy of Edcel.

Playing with Photoscape

I'm hooked with Photoscape! I can't stop merging photos. I think this is the best way to post all pictures without the hassle of uploading the pictures one by one. Here's my 1st attempt at using the application.

Bangkok Trip with Leah and Donnie

My Desktop

At long last!!! I have my PC back and working too! Yahooo!!! I only encountered some minor problems with the registration of my OS and after more than 12 hours of the trivial process of installing different apps it's fully operational! And I love the new look of my desktop! hehehe

I'll blog about it some other time since I need to get some sleep...

My Chirstmas Present

I may be off to the northern part of the country during the last days of the year. I'm planning to go on a backpacking adventure to Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur. On top of my must-see list would be the Bangui Windmills and Vigan. I can't wait to go! I deserve to have my Christmas present and I'm definitely going to enjoy this trip. I'll pray that the weather will cooperate with us, though. Especially that these parts of the country are always hit by tropical storms. Well, I'll wait and see...

If I'll still have time, I would really want to drop by Baguio! That would really be something!

My PC

I finally found time to send my PC to a computer shop. I dropped it off last Thursday and I got the unit back earlier. They said that the memory card was defective and had to be replaced. I asked them what's the best brand they can recommend. They said Kingston and it will cost me P1,700 for 1GB. Since I have no knowledge of its current market price, I gave them consent to replace the busted memory card with that brand. Then my officemate said that a store in SM is selling the same brand for only 750! Grrrrr....Anyway, what's done is done. I may try to window shop to see how much it really costs. As for now, I need to find time to reinstall my OS...haaay.. another zombie walking on the loose again...

The Party

Alright, after some last minute changes, I’ve decided to change my “costume”. I’d like to term it like that no matter how formal or informal the event seems…hahaha.. Why? Nothing. I just want to term anything that has to do with dressing up as wearing “costumes”. LOL

Anyway, I really failed to get enough sleep since I was trying to check if I know how to apply my own make up to cut on costs but it was really a total disaster. What I enjoyed the most was me taking my own pictures as I made a mess out of my face. hahaha

The venue was already packed when we arrived and the program started. We got our food and asked for our glass of free drinks. I really got pissed off since only after we called a fourth waiter to remind us of our drinks did they tell us that they ran out of drinks and we have to do away with plain water. Imagine that!!! I was really really fuming mad. I couldn’t look straight to the camera with a happy face every time my colleagues took pictures of us. To worsen the situation, the emcee was really lousy. I just wonder why they chose him when they knew that he has a different humor. To explain in detail, I almost dozed off to sleep when he read his long scripts ala Uncle Scrooge (I think). (Disclaimer: If ever the host of the party reads this, no offense boss, but nothing personal, ok?)

What a way to start the night! Well…I definitely needed to adjust my mood that night. I just waited patiently to check out who our guest performer will be. This was actually one of the reasons why I decided to join the party. Last year it was Jay-R. This year, they got Christian Bautista to entertain us. The entire ballroom was filled with screams from the female species and soon the stage was filled with them, having their photos taken with the guest as he sang. Christian Bautista is a very popular balladeer in our country. He really sings well and I like his songs and his voice. What I hated was for him to assume that it was his concert. When he finished a certain song and talked to the crowd, he said that it was his first time to hold a concert where he was having a photo shoot at the same time. Whatda??? “HIS CONCERT???” Uhmmm…like… haler! You’re our guest! We didn’t technically attend the event to hear you perform! Grrr! Argh! The male species, on the other hand, left the ballroom, probably went out to get some air or just left because they couldn’t stand it. I mean, the guest sang for the entire night and owned the stage. If the guest hired was someone that the male specie finds interesting, I thinks they too wouldn’t find it boring. I just pity them. Tsk..tsk..tsk.. Oh, and while we suffered with the balladeer, the other 2 sites nearby got Bamboo and Parkya ni Edgar to entertain them. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

To me that night was a total disaster with a series of unfortunate events in between. I’ll not dwell into the details of the other events..

Anyway, the moral? Be grateful we have this event. Others don’t. But, I may not attend future Xmas parties from now on. :-p

another Godchild coming!!!

I was so happy when I received the good news that my close friend is expecting their first child. She sent me a text message while she's miles away from home. It was the perfect Christmas gift for the couple to learn of this. I am sooo sooo happy! How I wish I could be with her or visit her and see her belly grow big. LOL.

Madeleine, oh Madeleine!!!

This little store has the best CHOCOLATE ENSAYMADA ever!

For those chocolate lovers out there, I would really recommend you drop by Madeleine at Waterfront Hotel (Lahug). Make sure you ask the store attendant to re-heat the Ensaymada. Coz that's the best part of it, the chocolate and butter being half melted...and its really, really, really, really YUMMY!!! You have to try it out!

Chocloate Ensaymada - P70.00 + tax

Night Shift or Midshift?

I'm confused.

I don't know if it's better to work from 12mn-8am or 5pm-1am.

I need to start my Intensive Practicum. I may have to follow a 10am schedule and stay until 3pm or 4pm. This is the reason why I'm confused what work schedule I'll follow

December Rain

It's December and it's raining. For the last couple of days, it has been raining all over the province. The worse thing is my car's airconditioning is busted. I think it has something to do with the wiring. If I turn the aircon on, the temperature gauge will soar, the headlights are so low, the window wiper not working and the horn not working too!

I was supposed to go to school last Saturday but I had to go home since the rain was so hard. I can hardly see the road and all the windows of the car are all fogged!!! I had to open the door windows to get rid of the fog. And with it open, I was inviting rain to pour in! My arms and jeans are all soaked in rain water! I was relieved when I arrived home safely.

Then at night, we held our Xmas Party for our Department. When I went home, it started to pour again, heavier than that afternoon. And again, I had to bear not seeing anything as I drove. I still drove like crazy, though. hehehe...I didn't mind the slippery road, or the fact that I can't see where I'm heading. I think I just can't wait to get home.

Oh, by the way, my ever so reliable umbrella snapped too! What a day!

Twilight Saga

After watching Twilight, I can't resist buying the books! I bought Eclipse and Breaking Dawn in FullyBooked. It's just sitting on my cabinet. I refuse to read it not until I read Twilight and New Moon though.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

" The Tales of Beedle the Bard first appeared as a fictional book, used as a plot device, in J. K. Rowling's 2007 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final novel of the Harry Potter series. The book is bequeathed to Hermione Granger by Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It is described as a popular collection of Wizarding children's fairy tales, so that while Ron Weasley is familiar with the stories, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger had not previously heard them due to their non-magical upbringing.

The book was originally produced in a limited edition of only seven copies, each handwritten and illustrated by J. K. Rowling. One of them was offered for auction in late 2007 and was expected to sell for £50,000 ($103,000); ultimately it was bought for £1.95 million ($3.98 million) by Amazon.com, making the selling price the highest achieved at auction for a modern literary manuscript. The money earned at the auction of the book was donated to The Children's Voice charity campaign. "

I have always been a fan of the Harry Potter series so when I saw this book being sold at http://www.powerbooks.com.ph/. I wanted my own copy! They are offering a 10% discount when payment are done in advance since the stocks will be available on December 5th. I called the store and made my reservations. I figured it's cheaper to buy at the nearest branch where I live rather buying online considering the shipping costs. Then the store sent me a text message 2 days after and informed me that I can take advantage of the online discount if I pay in advance. And that's what I did. I was so disappointed when I got my copy! The book cost me P584 (i think-discounted price- P649 original price) but it only has a few pages in it!!! I think it's less than 1/4 the thickness of Breaking Dawn. I haven't read the book, though. I'm waiting to get a hold of Deathly Hollows before I read this.

Because of this, I'm thinking of collecting the whole hardbound series....*sigh*

Without a PC

My PC is still not working. I might have to bring it to a technician. The good thing about thing is I now know how to reset the processor and troubleshoot the hardware (motherboard, drivers and all). After all I did, the PC is not teling me that Drive C might be damaged. Hopeless...

Our Trip

My brother jokingly asked me where we’ll go for the upcoming long holidays. I immediately said Ilocos! I bargained with him that I’ll pay for the fare and he’ll take care of our daily expenses. It was a done deal! I was so excited! I can’t book the tickets yet since I had to ask permission from my parents. When my sister heard of our plan, she immediately reacted “Ako diay?” (How about me?) It was not an option to ask her to join us since we know that she’s busy with work and all, but my thoughts were wrong. She insisted on going with us without the certainty of her boss approving her not to work on those dates. I don’t mind bringing her along. It’s just the thought of adding one more to the trip. So I immediately booked for the trip. How I wish it was Batanes…maybe next time…

On Joining the Party

Alright, so I’ve finally decided to join. Actually Audrey had something to do with it too.. hehe. I was the one who convinced her to join the party. While she bought her dress for the party, I was still contemplating on whether to join the affair. When she learned after 2 weeks that I still haven’t found something suitable to wear, she acted as my fashion guide and help me choose a dress. So there, I bought one. I guess I’ll really be joining then? Hehehhe ;-)

Chrtismas Crisis

I know am bad. But I will have to cut on giving gifts for everyone this Christmas, especially my “inaanaks” (godchildren) Uhm can I use crisis as an excuse? Hehehe…I hope the mommies won’t get mad. Don’t worry. I’ll make up for my debts. Just try to list it please and notify me when it grows big. LOL

Christmas Party

Once again, Christmas is just around the corner. So goes with our annual company party. We will still hold the event at Waterfront Cebu, like the past 2 years, with Tatler as our theme. Then it got modified to Princesses and Toy Soldiers. The other site will hold the event at the Cebu International Convention Center. Anyways, I’m not really sure if I’m joining. I’m not that ecstatic to join the party. Our boss is telling us we should go since the party is for us. We’ll see.. .maybe I’ll change my mind. Hehehe