spooky

an aunt passed away...  (may her soul rest in peace...)

me to sister:  'she won't haunt me because when we were there last friday she didn't recognize me anymore...   mom and <her niece> she was able to identify...  me, she couldn't recall anymore...'

sister:  'what are you saying?  ghosts won't forget anymore...  all the more that she'll haunt you...  she'll say, 'there were three who were here...  i didn't recognize bong (my nickname)...  i'm gonna visit her now and thank her for coming over...''

:O

opposite

so someone who hasn't seen me told me i'm pretty in my childhood (profile) pic...

ooops...  thanks?

we have a joke here...  you show someone a cute pic of you as a child, the person would go:
"ikaw 'yan?!  anyare?!"
->  that's you?!  what happened?!
i.e., how come you're ugly now?!  ; p

just like the ugly duckling, an ugly child supposedly grows up to be a good-looking adult.

a cute child, on the other hand, grows up to be nakakata-cute, a play on nakakatakot which means scary (~ ugly).

so i was a pretty child?

uh-oh...

how were you?

little drop of water

so many hours in a day, imagine i craved juice during Earth Hour...  ugh!

i could prepare a glass in the dark...  but i don't want to drink something i did not clearly see...

i could turn on a light...  but then it's just an hour...  and it's just juice...

i decided to just wait...  such a small sacrifice for Mother Earth...  i'm not gonna bail...

you sure you wanna know?

i initially signed up for e-mail notifications about the status of this shipment.

yesterday, i decided to sign up for SMS updates, too.

well, guess what...  3:16 this morning i was awakened by a text message updating me on the status of the shipment as of 3:10 a.m., i.e., "Clearance processing complete - HONG KONG,HONG KONG."

oh...  ok...

zzzzzzzz...  -.-

4:53 a.m., i was again awakened by another status update...  as of 4:44 a.m., "Customs status updated - MANILA,PHILIPPINES, THE."

wahehe...  okay...  0.0

i never thought i'd lose sleep on this package...  ; p

heightened

i bump into friends every once in a while.  these recent weeks, it's been rather frequent.

i bumped into three schoolmates from high school on different days and different places: a bank, on the street, at a department store.

a chilhood friend, at the land transportation office.

a grade school classmate, at a laundromat.

and today, my townmate then my sister-in-law, both at the supermarket.

i guess i'm now literally in the zone...  ; )

misheard

me, looking at my mom's pics:  'where was this?'

sister:  'T3...'

me:  'tea tree?'

sister:  'T and 3...'

me:  'how did you know?'

sister:  'that's what she said...'

i go downstairs to check with my mom:  'where did you go with your friends?'

mom:  'Book & Borders...'

me:  'huh?!  <sister> said T3...'

mom:  'oh...  we first went to The Eatery...'

; p

own up

i saw a long pipe (the length of my height) on my brother's roof...

i asked the workers on the construction at the neighbor's whether they were the ones who left it there...

the answer was no...

hmmm, an identical pipe is actually leaning against their wall...

i asked whether they're sure...

they said it's not them...

i said we're going to remove it if it's not theirs...

they said it's not...

okay...  i removed it myself...

had they admitted it's theirs, all i would  have done is ask them to get it...  since they denied, i did not give it to them...

lies cost you...  speak the truth even if your voice quakes...

same feather

i checked in at swarm...

"one other person is here"

oh?

i found myself looking around...

hmmm...  i could not identify who...

i wonder whether the other person also got curious who i am...

welcome to my world...  : )

the other way around

shirt print:

"I'm handsome.
You just need glasses."

hahaha...

hmmm...

there are couple shirts.  i'd pair that one with:

"My eyes are fine.
It's you who needs glasses."

joke!!!  ; p

peace...  : )

too late

logging in...  one-time password took too long to arrive...  by the time it did, it was already expired...  i had to get another one...

some things have to happen within a certain timeframe...  outside of that, they're for naught...

holiday

yesterday, march 14, was pi day.
3.14.

may 4 is star wars day.
may the fourth be with you...  ; )

between the pi and the sky is a swarm.

april 16 is foursquare / 4SQ day.
4, april.
4 squared, 16.

now what do you do on these days?

on pi day, you eat pie.

on star wars day, talk like yoda, you do.

on foursquare day, you check in through the swarm app.

there's joy in the little things...  : )

slowly

me:  'don't you have...  aw, what's that?  the one in that bin before...  the chocolate from davao...  wait!  don't tell me...  senior moment...  i will recall...  hmmm...'

i think and think and think and think...

guy looked amused...

finally:  'aw!  i don't remember...  don't tell me, just give me a clue...  first letter...'

sales assistant:  'M...'

me:  'M?  malagos!  yup, malagos!'

uhm...  officially not a senior citizen yet but i'm on my way...  scenic route, please...  ;")

forever

they say (who they?  hahaha) the monthsary came about because relationships don't last through anniversaries anymore.

magnolia (ice cream) used to have flavor of the month...  then there are the classics, too...  between flavor of the month and classic, there's limited edition / seasonal.

when it comes to the heart, i want it to be for all seasons...  <3 <3

better

i renewed my car registration at the land transportation office - quezon city extension office this morning...

i brought the car for emission test at 7:58 a.m.
and got Third Party Liability (TPL) insurance while the test was being done.

i was at the LTO office with the test results and insurance by 8:17 a.m.

i got the Official Receipt (OR) and sticker at 8:38 a.m.  ->  21 minutes...  not the quickest but definitely a BIG improvement...

kudos LTO...  keep it up...  : )

trivial

i wanted to blog about #4sqDayPH today.  nothing really.  it's just that i've blogged about it twice and i want to have a trilogy, hehe...

since i blogged about 4SQ Day last week and swarm check in yesterday, let me now blog about the announcement i posted.  yup, the jpg itself!  hahaha...

-  background is the color of the Swarm app
-  there are 16 squares bordering the text
-  each square is composed of 4 squares in the color of the Philippine flag
   (red, white and blue plus yellow for the sun and the stars)
-  the main text is in tricolor:
   1.  blue for the event
   2.  red for the date
   3.  white for the activity
-  the hashtags and twitter handle are the background color of Foursquare

the color codes for the flag, i googled.
the ones for the apps, i got through a Color Picker tool.

i don't have photoshop anymore so i used GIMP 2.8.22 running on ubuntu 16.04 LTS.

4SQ Day Philippines 2018 trivia...  ; )

swarm for 4SQ Day

Foursquare Day / 4SQ Day is on april 16.

4, april.
4², 16.

for 2018, there are official events/meetups/celebrations in 23 countries, the Philippines among them.

the activities are not organized by Foursquare.
they are initiatives from the Foursquare community
(users of the Foursquare City Guide and Foursquare Swarm apps).
Foursquare, however, does keep a list of confirmed 4SQDay Official Events
and only one event is considered official per country.

i am the organizer of the official Philippine event.
(story in my march 2, 2018 blog.)

more than the meetup,
which unfortunately not everyone could attend,
i am inviting everyone
to a nationwide check in
through the Swarm app
on april 16,
preferably between 4:00 p.m. to 4:16 p.m.

within those 16 minutes, please
- check in to our country, the Philippines
- check in to your region
- check in to your province or to Metro Manila, whichever is applicable
- check in to your city

and wherever you are throughout the day,
- check in to your venue/s.

i posted an announcement at the @4sqDayPH account in twitter at 4:16 p.m. today.  (the account is newly-created so it still does not appear in search.)

a public event for the synchronized check in is scheduled to publish in facebook at 10:16 tonight.  10:16 p.m. = 22:16 ~ 4:16...  ; )

if you're a filipino outside the country on april 16, you might want to join in by checking in wherever you are with the shoutout Philippines.

what better way to celebrate 4SQ Day than with a swarm check in in Swarm?

#4SQDay #4sqDayPH2018...  check in, Pilipinas!

spread the word...  : )

are you asking me?

at the service center...

me:  'what's a good day to have my oil changed?  what day don't you have too many cars here?'

service center personnel:  'tuesday...'

me:  'aw!  i'm coding tuesdays...'
[my car's not allowed on the road 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on tuesdays.]

service center personnel:  'then monday...'

me:  'monday?  what time?'

service center personnel:  'better in the morning...'

me:  'what time morning?'

service center personnel:  '8 a.m....'

me:  '8 a.m.?  that early?'
[it takes me an hour to shower...]

service center personnel:  'then up to you when you want to bring your car...'

;")

make it worth it

looking for hopia at the supermarket...  i couldn't find the one i like...

i asked one of the shelf-fillers...  he says there's no delivery...

and then this lady butts in:  'i remember ma'am...  she was also looking for hopia last time...'

me:  'yeah...  up to now they don't have...'

lady to shelf-filler:  'when there's delivery you should save one for ma'am...'

hahaha...  one roll of hopia, reserved?!  suddenly i feel like i should buy a dozen...  ;"p

loose end

so i was seated on queue and i found myself watching the video on the phone of the customer beside me.  well, he didn't find it as interesting as i did so he scrolled up without finishing the vid.

aw!

how do i search such a generic video in youtube?!
how long will it take me to find it?!

ugh!

some things you just file under unfinished business...  : }

swings

potato corner...

sizes:
-  regular
-  large
-  jumbo
-  mega
-  giga
-  tera

me:  'jumbo, please...'

flavors:
-  cheese
-  barbecue
-  sour cream
-  chili bbq
-  ranch o cheddar
-  sweet corn
-  wacky wasabi

me:  'just plain...'

i have simple tastes...  i like my potatoes to taste like potatoes, uhm, unless they're shakey's mojos...  : )

proximity

i received a text message from my niece asking something her professor asked their class...

i had no idea so i texted a friend...

he gave me a reply which i fowarded to my niece....

my niece was so happy!

and then, ta-daaannn!  her dad's friend also sent a reply  ->  different from my friend's!

my niece's delight turned into confusion, wahaha...

she initially wanted to go with my friend's response.  but then i noticed that the middle name of my brother's friend's response is the same as the last name of my niece's professor.

hmmm...  my friend is sure about his answer... i suppose my brother's friend is, too...

maybe there is more than one correct answer...

i told my niece to go the same-surname route  ->  there must be a reason the professor would ask what you could call a trivia question...  the reason could be that they are related...

; )

consolation

dropped by a branch of this pizza chain my friend likes...  she lives nearby so i intended to call her...  but first, i did a check-in in swarm...  guess what, right after checking in, my phone batt went empty!  waaaahhhh!!!  i didn't bring my powerbank!!! 

no phone.
no friend.
no photo.

♩ ♪  all by myself  ♫ ♬  :'(

hey!
"those who fly solo have the strongest wings."

flexin' my muscles!  hah!  ; p

don't look

waiter taking our group picture...

suddenly i heard someone say, 'you're just like bong (my nickname)...'

me:  'huh?!  why?'

the reply?
'his tummy is showing!'

me:  'oh!  is my tummy showing?!'

i look at my belly and it was very well hidden beneath my long, white shirt (which i wore because it had a MANILA print and we were having a send-off lunch for my cousin's italian guests)...

i go:  'i'm all covered up!'

my uncle clarifies:  'when you're taking a picture!'

i look at the waiter and, true enough, with his arms raised, his tummy was peeking!

ahahaha...  like me alright!

1.  i like to wear short tops, not really cropped but grazing the hips

2.  i like to wear low-waist pants

3.  i like to take pictures with my arms raised all the way up (i pre-dated the selfie stick, hehe)

result?
when i raise my arms to take a pic, my top goes up revealing a bit of my tummy, wahaha...

actually when i take shots i like to remind people to look at the circle / lens (uhm, not everyone knows where the lens is)...  it hits two birds with one stone:
1.  it makes everyone's eyes look in the same direction
2.  it stops them from looking at my belly

;"p

4sqDay philippines 2018

last february 20, a Superuser Level 9 (SU9) from sweden friended me in swarm.
nine days later, i am the organizer of the official Foursquare Day event in the philippines for 2018 (#4sqDayPH2018).  aaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!  :O

[there are 10 superuser levels in foursquare.  the highest is 10.  i am a 3.  no, it's not about how often you use the app.  it's about how you contribute to enriching the user experience.  a very simple example would be editing venues  ->  making sure the addresses are correct, merging duplicates.]

background:

foursquare day / 4SQ Day is april 16.
4, april.
4², 16.

foursquare day (#4sqday) is not an initiative of the company.
it was started by tampa, florida users in 2010
from an idea by nate bonilla-warford, an optometrist from the place.
foursquare recognized the user-initiative and officially declared 4/16 as 4SQ Day in a tweet on march 26, 2010.

the original foursquare app was launched in march 2009
and spun off swarm in may 2014.

basically
foursquare city guide helps you find places
while
foursquare swarm lets you do a virtual check-in when you visit those places.
foursquare is a directory/guide.
swarm is a gamified record/lifelog.
before swarm, you also did the check-ins in foursquare.

more than 105 million venues have been mapped around the world.  foursquare / swarm users can add venues and then do a check-in.

the foursquare website currently reports more than 50 million users for foursquare city guide and foursquare swarm per month.
they surpassed 12 billion check-ins in august 2017.
record high is over 9 million check-ins in a single day.

i've been using foursquare/swarm since september 2010.  i don't really play online/network/virtual/augmented reality games but for some reason this reality-based one was giving me so much joy it's embarrassing at times.  i'd be out by myself, i'd check in and unexpectedly unlock a badge and i'd be so very happy i'd be beaming like silly.

people would ask me what you get from it.
my standard reply is that
here in the philippines, it's just the virtual badges/stickers, mayorships, leaderboard rankings and, of course, the real-life lifelog.
in other countries, you could get discounts and freebies as well.
[-  "You become the Mayor of a place by checking in more than anyone else in the last 30 days.  Only 1 check-in per day counts and ties go to the reigning Mayor."

-  the leaderboard ranks a user and his swarm friends based on the quantity and quality of  their check-ins.

the more check-ins you have, the more points you get, the higher you go in the leaderboard.

you get bonus points for becoming mayor or retaining mayorship of a place, sustaining or breaking type of venue check-in streaks (e.g., 4 straght weeks at the mall), being one of the first 50 to ever check in at a venue, checking in with a friend, etc.

the leaderboard refreshes each week, i.e, everyone's back to zero.]

i used to go to swarm just to check in.  when the SU9 became my friend, i had to go there to read messages as well.  we were having exchanges about 4sqDay and, when one of his messages remained unread for a day or two maybe, he posted a comment on one of my check-ins, visible to my other friends, telling me to read my swarm messages, imagine!  waaaahhhhh!!!  i don't even read my e-mail and facebook messages.  swarm i have to?  nyahaha...  demanding!  (peace, vän!)

you see i mentioned to the SU9 that i've been wanting to unlock a Swarm badge for years.  you get it when there are 50+ people checked in at a venue.  i said i wasn't able to go to the big 4sqDay celebration in the philippines in 2013 but i did ask a friend to attend instead.  (i stil have the 4sqDay Explore Water Bottle swag he got that time.  he was sweet enough to give it to me.)  i said i hope there'd be an event this year and if there's none maybe i could just arrange one myself.  i was half-kidding about the latter part.

guess what, the SU9 said he'll check if there is one.  and when there was none, he sent me a form for those who want to help host an event for Foursquare Day.  the form said one event per country!

eh?!  i had in mind only a simple meetup without having to go through foursquare headquarters in new york.  and i wasn't thinking of carrying the name of the philippines at all!

well, he nudged/pushed me to take the initiative to arrange an event and gave me encouragement for every hassle that i raised.

hmmm...  i believe everything happens for a reason.  we became friends at this time for something.  maybe that something is to again have a Foursquare Day celebration in the philippines.

i decided not to overthink things and just focus on the desired results:
a Swarm badge for me finally
and
an official 4SQDay event for the philippines as well.
hello, adam smith  ->  invisible hand.
i therefore submitted the form to foursquare.

ta-daaannnn!!!  following day, march 1, i already received an e-mail from the Director of Community + Engagement at foursquare addressed to SU organizers for 4sqDay!  he was asking for something that had a march 2 deadline.  wahaha...  suddenly my working days flashed in my mind  ->  everything was due yesterday!  this one was sooooooooooooooooooooooo much easier though.  i replied right away.  no sweat, hah!

i thought araneta center would be a good place for the meetup/celebration because two train lines, the LRT and the MRT, have stations there.

i had a handful of venues within araneta center in mind but after considering price, accessibility and probable availability in april without early reservation, settled on this one that not just passed the foregoing considerations but also would have spillover space in case a lot of people showed up.

since april 16, 2018 is a monday, i thought 6:30 p.m. would be a good start to accommodate not just students but also those coming from the office as well.

for the meantime, what i intend to do is treat the first 20 (4 + 16, get it?) ordinary users at the venue to pizza and a glass of drink.
the first 4 get two slices each.
the next 16, just one slice each.
superusers and the rest pay for their own, wahaha...
(ei, i'm retired...  i'm all the more choosy now about my expenses.  i was telling the SU9, i would rather treat streetchildren to pizza than swarmers who i think could afford to buy their own.)

i have in mind one hour:
6:30 p.m. registration and pizza
7:00 p.m. group check in
7:05 p.m. raffle and a game
7:25 p.m. group picture

short but sweet.

target is 50 attendees checking in together to unlock the Swarm badge.  you can invite even your non-swarmer friends and we'll tell them about foursquare and swarm.  if they're interested, we'll help them to get started.  actually you can tell them and help them to get started yourself : )

other countries have from 5 to 100 expected attendees.  when i saw that, i thought it would be nice to go for 100+ and top the list.  leaderboard.  friendly competition, hehe.

we could raise the target but first i'm going to explore discounts and sponsorships.  i don't want people arriving at the venue after having ridden jampacked trains or enduring awful traffic only to have to pay for their own food.  they could check in anywhere.  i don't have to incovenience them.

please fill out the form below if you will attend the official 4sqDay philippine event on april 16, 2018:

https://goo.gl/forms/vZPjrw2X5Cy0ojzi1

i'm winging this one.  i pray it will be fly.

to my fellow philippine SUs, ' hope to get you on board so we can come up with a better celebration.  nothing is cast in stone as yet.  i'm just waiting for some event-related thing right now before i get in touch with you.

to the SU9 from sweden, a special shoutout:  tack ska du ha.

#4SQDay #4sqDayPH 2018 coming up...

let's...  check...  in!  : )

sweet

my parents went out today, separately and hours apart.  they came home together though.  not unusual.  they often agree to meet someplace after their respective activities.

today they did not agree to meet.  but then my mom says she bumped into my niece at the department store and my niece told her that she saw my dad near the Grab booth.  my mom therefore asked her to tell him to come to her at the store.

my mom and my dad therefore still ended up together.

awww...  meant to be...  :")

<3 <3