gotcha

friend received a lot of video greetings in facebook messenger...

friend:  'i'm just replying to these messages without watching the video...  would they know?'

me:  'well, if Seen timestamp is, for example, 10:53 and your reply is also 10:53 and the video is 2 minutes long then if they notice that they'd know...'

; )

misleading

i paid real property taxes at quezon city hall yesterday.  we usually pay previous year's taxes within the first quarter of the following year but last november 17, while waiting for the green light at the intersection of EDSA and quezon avenue, my mom and i saw being flashed on this electronic board a reminder to pay real property taxes by december 31, 2017 to avail of the 20% discount.  we thought the message was an official statement from the local government as it was part of the presentation citing quezon city's awards among others being played on loop onscreen.

well, it turns out deadline for the discount is still march 31.

a public relations officer at the payment venue said quezon city government personnel were currently meeting about it as they have been receiving a lot of calls regarding the deadline.  she said the message will be corrected within the day.

i have yet to pass that way again so i don't know whether the reminder has been updated.

anyway, that electronic board was supposed to be informative.  it turned out to be misleading.

next time *review*.

wasted

two data items that could provide useful information rendered inaccurate...  at best, indicative;
at worst, misleading.

GIGO  ->  garbage in, garbage out

what for?

i want to pick something up myself but my friend is saying he'll just be the one to deliver it to me...

me:  'your officemates might wonder why you got it...'

friend:  'i'll tell them i'll bring it to my mom...'

me:  'don't lie!  something like that that you're gonna lie?!  you'll eventually get used to it...  don't...'

friend:  'then i'll tell them it's for you...'

me:  'haha... don't!  you don't have to explain everything...  if they wonder then just let them...'

not all information are relevant...  material information you have an obligation to disclose; immaterial, you can keep to yourself...  : )

time-motion

me:  'what time do we leave?'

mom:  'can we make it in one hour?'

me:  'i'm not sure...  i dunno how traffic will be...'

mom:  'what did <brother> say?'

me:  'leave at 8:45...'

mom:  'then let's leave at 8:45...'

me:  'your clock or the real time?'

mom:  'cellphone time...'

hehe...  ok...

my parents' wall clock is advanced by 10 minutes...  they deliberately set it that way...  and then when they check the time, they often subtract 10 minutes...  wahehe...  makes me wince...  additional step that could be forgone...

me, the only time my clock will be ahead is if it accelerates on its own...  and if that hapens, i'm sure to replace the clock...

no dispensable steps for me...  i try to trim down processes as much as i can  ->  efficiency...  : )

attire

friend:  'you're getting daring now...'

me:  'what do you mean?'

friend:  'you're showing cleavage...  and stomach...  and thighs...'

me:  'the pics in facebook?'

friend:   'yes!'

me:  'gah!  those are old pics...  throwback...  and they're not daring...  i was in a pool...  i was in boracay, underwater...  those are normal outfits there...'

friend:  'i haven't seen you wear such clothes...'

me:  'we've never gone swimming together!  now if i wear my bikini to a restaurant, that is daring...'

; p

stick to one

looking for an outfit for our butterfly-print party...

me:  'miss, you have butterfly prints?'

saleslady:  'none, ma'am...  just floral...'

i move to the next brand...

me:  'miss, you have butterfly?'

saleslady:  'none, ma'am...'

next brand...

me:  'miss, you have butterfly?'

saleslady:  'none, ma'am...'

i move from brand to brand asking the same question and getting the same answer, i.e., 'none, ma'am...'

and then,
me:  'miss, you have butterfly?'

saleslady:  'none, ma'am...  just floral...'

me: 'aw...  have i asked you earlier?'

saleslady:  'yes, ma'am...'

so i've circled the place!

no butterfly prints.

i therefore just went back to the rack with ribbon prints and bought a top...  the ribbons resembled butterflies anyway...

after paying for my purchase, i went to this outlet within the same department store and guess what, there was a shirt peppered with butterfly prints!  waaahhh!!!  i just bought a top!

oh, well...  i decided to buy the shirt as well...

these are just clothes anyway...  i can have as many as i want...  unlike relationships where, even if you see someone better, you're not supposed to add to what you have.

unlike

talking food...

friend:  'go to lula's...  the kare-kare there is really good!'

me:  'kare-kare?  they say iago's is good, too...'

friend:  'where?'

me:  'iago's...  I, A, G, O...'

friend:  'oh...  how 'bout santiago's?  have you eaten at santiago's?'

me:  'i haven't...  what's their specialty?'

friend:  'specialty?  wait, no, not santiago's...  that's a funeral parlor...'

me:  'cadaver?!'

and just like that, i lost my appetite...  : }

caught on cam

asking a friend for an original file of our pic he posted in facebook (i don't want a downloaded copy; i want a jpg taken by the cam)...

he asks whether it's not from my camera...

i tell him we have pics from my cam but i haven't uploaded (uhm, my uploads are over a year late)...

he says he'll check...

suddenly i had doubts on whether the pic was taken from my camera after all...  i did send him some of the shots i took...

i revisit the post...  well, i was holding my cam in the pic!

it's not a mirror shot so it definitely wasn't from my cam...
there were only two cams involved so if it isn't mine, it's his...

some clues are conclusive...

case closed...  ; )

hello, boobs

i walk into an eatery to meet two high school classmates one of whom was my high school best friend.  she is based abroad but we're in touch in facebook.  we last saw each other a year ago.

best friend:  'you've lost weight!  your boobs are smaller!'

nyahaha!  that is how you greet me?!

i know there's a leg-man and a boob-man...  i didn't know there's also a boob-girl...  or maybe being a doctor she just checked me up physically?

anyhow, me, i'm a butt-girl...

cheeky..   ;")

don't risk it

i went to a bank noontime and when i arrived, i saw the guard hunched on the Express Assist machine.  the terminal is where bank clients encode details of their transaction after which a queue number will come out of a slot.

for at least a full three minutes, the guard, with his back to practically the whole room, was trying to fix the paper on the mini-printer.

i used to head security, IT security, not the security guards but they are part because of physical security.  you have to protect the infrastructure and control who has access to different areas.  i feel really uneasy seeing guards doing stuff that prevent them from keeping watch.

multi-tasking is fine as long as the other tasks would not be done at the expense of one's vital function.

we should always keep the stakes in mind.  security vs. a queue number?  the choice is clear.

hh:mm:ss

friend:  'where do we meet?'

me:  'either first floor or second floor...  you choose...  it's so small...  for sure i'll find you...'

friend:  'let's meet at the third floor...'

me:  'huh?!  the third floor has been closed a long time...'

friend:  'oh, it's closed?!  i didn't know...  good thing you do...'

me:  'i buy my peanut butter there...'

friend:  'okay...  let's just meet at the second floor...'

me:  'what time?'

friend:  'i'll just wash my face and brush my teeth then i'll leave...'

me:  'how long does it take you to do that?'

friend:  '10 minutes...'

me:  'okay...  i'll leave in 10 minutes...'

friend:  'what time do you have?'

me:  '11:23...  i'll leave 11:30...'

friend:  'not 11:30!'

me:  'why?'

friend:  'you leave 11:33...'

nyahaha...  so precise...

okay...  what second?  ; )

good and bad

i was sweeping the alley between the neighbor's and my brother's houses and i see two scavengers sitting in the open part of our property...

i remind them not to litter...

scavenger:  'we won't litter!  i, too, clean our place...  my grandmother's already old so i help her by doing it myself...'

me:  'wow, that's good of you...  you think of oldies...  some people don't...  they keep on leaving their mess even if they know my dad tidies up daily...  i try to clean it myself because if i don't, my dad or my brother would...'

scavenger:  'my grandmother's sick so i'm really the one who does the cleaning now...'

me:  'aw!  ' hope she gets well soonest...  my dad's not that strong anymore but he still cleans this area everyday...  he's been doing it for years...'

then i ask them to move a bit as i'm going to sweep the gutter...  one moves closer to the part of the gutter with black soil...

me:  'don't get too close... that's dirty...  that used to be like this <i point to the clear, concrete gutter>...  now you don't see the concrete anymore because it's been covered with soil...  it retains the water and the impurities sink in...  some brazen and thoughtless people dumped soil on both ends of our garage and did not clean up...'

scavenger:  'who?'

me, pointing to the neighbor through their window:  'them...  i told her when it was delivered to make sure they clean up lest it clogs the gutter...  well, their house has been finished for months and the soil is still here [in the gutter in front of my brother's house]...  maybe they expect my dad, my brother or me to again clean it up...

<i point to a spot with a "PLS. DO NOT THROW YOUR GARBAGE HERE" sign>

the sacks there, they were the ones who dumped those there, too...  it's been there for months...  so irresponsible and shameless!  don't be like that...'

scavenger:  'we're not like that!'

me:  'good!'

change topic

on the phone with a friend...

me:  'why are we talking about me?  you're the one who is sick...  we should talk about you...'

friend:  'i'm okay now...'

me:  'you have no more fever?'

friend:  'no more...'

me:  'you're not feeling unwell anymore?'

friend:  'not anymore...'

me:  'okay...  then we can talk about me...'

nyahaha...  self-centered...  ;"p

well-meaning

i was standing on a road island waiting to cross to the other side...  i was looking around when i heard the blowing  of horn...  it turns out the oncoming vehicle stopped and the driver was motioning me to cross...  i was along a pedestrian lane and he was giving me priority  <-  something not common hereabouts...

there were still a lot of vehicles on the next lane...  there is a stoplight on the previous corner and once that turns red the flow would be reduced...  there is another stoplight on the next corner and once it turns red, the vehicles would stop...  i therefore motioned the driver to go ahead...

he wouldn't!  with a smile, he insistently signaled me to cross...

aww, he was trying to be kind...  i did not have the heart to reject the gesture especially since he was holding up the vehicles behind him so cross i did...

well, i got stuck between two lanes as the vehicles on the second lane did not stop for me...

wahaha...  i was safe on the island!  it was maybe six inches above street level...    vehicles were going in one direction on one side of the island and in the opposite direction on the other side...  i was shielded by a pillar to my right and was under the shade of an elevated railway...  i was fine where i was but was too accommodating to stay put and now find myself in a position of danger...

lessons:
1.  don't lose the forest for the trees.
2.  good intentions don't always produce good results.
3.  sometimes you just have to say no.

let me count the ways

craving hopia...

friend:  'how many do you want?'

me:  'three?'

friend:  'i love you?'

me:  'haha...   okay, five.'

friend:  'i love you very much?'

me:  'hahaha...  six!'

friend:  'i love you very much, <toot>?'

hahahahaha...
siomai love for you;
hopia love me, too...  ; )

baby, maybe

text message from a friend:
"call me baby"

me:  'how come there's "baby"?  it used to be just "call me."  now you suddenly have "baby"...'

friend:  'i had in mind the song:
♩ ♪  hey, i just met you  ♫ ♬'

me:  'carly rae [jepsen]?'

friend:  '♩ ♪  and this is crazy  ♫ ♬'

me:  'yea!  carly rae...'

friend:  '♩ ♪  but here's my number
so call me, maybe  ♫ ♬

ooops...  yea!  that one's "maybe"!'

yeah, baby, yeah!
->  <austin powers  dance>  ; p

knowledge-sharing

i was in line at the cashier when i saw 'my juice' (hehe...  i drink it everyday) in the cart of the customer behind me...

me:  'excuse me...  there's a promo bottle of that.  taller.  20% more but same price.  it's on the lower shelf.'

lady thanks me, goes to replace her bottle then very happily thanks me again upon her return.

i saved someone some money today.  let's drink (juice) to that...  : )

asset and liability

friend informing me about our party...

me:  'what time?'

friend:  '5:00 p.m...'

me:  'so early?!'

friend:  'because you have a camera...'
[no, it's not about a security check.  it's because i like to take pics.]

me:  'if there's no camera?'

friend:  '6:00...'

then i won't bring my cam...  ; p

beyond the season

noticed what looked like christmas trees on a plate my cousin posted in facebook...

i asked whether it's already a christmas plate...

she said yes, adding they start using the plates come -ber months until the first half of the following year...

wow...  that's a whole lotta christmas!  : D

uhm, i used to have a christmas lantern and christmas lights at the garage in my previous house and they stayed there daily for years...  the lantern was big and the christmas lights were coiled around this bar near the ceiling...  i had a hard time putting them up and i know it will be difficult to take them down so i just left them there...  :"}

christmas everyday...  : )

one and only

friend:  'is <toot> special to you?'

me:  'huh?!  what do you mean?'

friend:  'you said the one in your heart is not in your fb...  i don't see him there...  so is he in your heart?'

hahahahaha...  what i wrote in my blog was if someone is more than just a friend, he won't be in my [facebook] timeline; he'd be in my heart.

but it doesn't mean that just because someone doesn't appear in my timeline he's already in my heart!  otherwise it would be too crowded there...  my heart has room for only one...  <3

standard

i've been calling the PLDT hotline for several nights now because of high pings in my parents' internet connection...  300 to 600!  they'd refresh and then it will go down to 2 digits...

well, PLDT tech support showed up at my parents' place.  when i told them (as i have been telling the hotline as well) daytime ping's fine and it only crawls nighttime, they did not enter the house anymore.

and guess what, they told me they've been told a ping of around 300 is normal.  really?!  what are we pinging here, the farthest country from the philippines?!

hello, PLDT.  hello!!!

standard

i've been calling the PLDT hotline for several nights now because of high pings in my parents' internet connection...  300 to 600!  they'd refresh and then it will go down to 2 digits...

well, PLDT tech support showed up at my parents' place.  when i told them (as i have been telling the hotline as well) daytime ping's fine and it only crawls nighttime, they did not enter the house anymore.

and guess what, they told me they've been told a ping of around 300 is normal.  really?!  what are we pinging here, the farthest country from the philippines?!

hello, PLDT.  hello!!!

more ways than one

teen 1:  'ate, do you know <name>?'

me:  'aw, no...  what's the surname?'

teen 1:  '<surname>...'

me:  'ay, i don't know anyone with that surname...  what's their street?'

teen 2:  'she's female...'

me:  'yeah...  the name sounds female...  what's their street?'

teen 1:  'we don't know...'

teen 2:  'they have a tricycle...'

me:  'oh, tricycle?  you can ask any of the tricycle drivers when you see one...  or you can ask the barangay...'

teen 2:  'never mind...'

me:  'the barangay is so near!  it's just there!  <i point to a fence 5 meters away>...  i'm going that way...  you can follow me...'

teen 2:  'it's okay...  never mind...'

me:  'how will you find her?'

teen 1:  'let's try the barangay...'

teen 2:  'no!'

teen 1:  'all we're going to do is ask you're already saying no?!  c'mon!'

teen 2 balks but teen 1 pulls her...

they follow me...

some people are more receptive than others...

it's not what you think

my parents were at this fastfood outlet and when they come back my mom happily tells me she bought me chocolate mousse...

me:  'thank  youuu!!!'  : D
(i love chocolate mousse...  and turtle pie...  and brazo de mercedes...  and so on and so forth, hehe)

i eat the mousse and, uhm, i didn't like it...  i found it too sweet (i like sweet but for mousse i prefer just very mildly sweet)...

i didn't tell her but later i will...  otherwise she just might keep on buying me said mousse...

of some other food, my parents have had this exchange before:

dad:  'why do you keep on buying this?  no one eats it!'

mom:  'i see you eating it so i thought you like it...'

dad:  'i don't...  the only reason i eat it is so it won't go to waste...'

: }

nothing special

friend:  'who's the guy in your fb?'

me:  'which one?  actually whoever it is, he definitely is just a friend...  anything more than that he won't be in my timeline...  he'd be in my heart...'

friend:  'then i don't want to be in your timeline...'

me:  'haha...  why?'

friend:  'so i could be in your heart...'

wahaha...  hope springs eternal...  ; )

to the max

friend:  'what do you want for christmas?  material...'

me:  'material?  hmmm...  is time material?'

friend:  'something that can be bought...'

me:  'dinner?  a nice one...'

friend:  'not restaurants...'

me:  'chocs!  no raisins, with nuts...'

friend:  'not food...'

me:  'haha...  water?  is water food?'

friend:  'what the...?!  what material thing do you want to receive for christmas???!!!'

me:  'wahaha...  you mad, bro?  i already have so much stuff!  maybe something that will disappear eventually...  toilet paper...  toothpaste...  soap...  body wash...'

friend:  'those things?!'

me:  'why not?'

friend:  'for christmas!'

me:  'y'know, my house is already so full...  i have no more space...  unless you're going to buy me a new house...'

nyahaha...

♩ ♪  baby, i'm worth it  ♫ ♬

; p

selfish

so the neighbor was again playing basketball past 11:30 last night.  my dad got up from bed, walked over to the neighbor's and reminded them to limit their game up to 10:00 p.m. so as not to disturb those who are already asleep.  he was firm but this time he was not loud.

my dad already flared up on these people last august.  i teased him then that his voice was louder than the noise of the neighbors he was berating.  he was scolding them at the top of his lungs close to midnight!

my dad's rant:

1.  kaiingay ninyo
->  you are noisy

2.  gabi na, may natutulog nang mga tao
->  it's nighttime, some people are already asleep
[it was 11:45 p.m.]

3.  ilang beses na kayong sinabihan
->  you've been told many times

4.  matagal na kayong pinagpapasensiyahan
->  we've been putting up with you a long time

5.  hindi lang kayo ang nangakatira dito
->  you're not the only ones living here

6.   may mga kapitbahay kayo
->  you have neighbors

7.  hindi ba kayo nahihiya?
->  aren't you ashamed?

8.  hindi puwedeng palaging pasensiya
->  not all the time people will put up with you

the last one my dad kept on repeating...

it's really not just noise that has been annoying him.  he (and i, too) has many times called their attention to a host of other things as well.

if we'll go by track record, the scene will be repeated again in the future...  some people are just brazenly inconsiderate...  may the things they do to others come back to them a hundredfold.

rough diamond

at a fastfood...  noticed a little boy watching me eat...

decided to have some fun...  i overloaded my spoon then took a really unrefined heaping mouthful...

boy's stare turned into a squint!

wahaha...

women come in all shapes and sizes and ways and temperaments, little boy...  and we are all a gem... <3