outnumbered

entered a shoe store... on the wall in big letters was:
"IRRESISTABLE
STYLE,
ADDICTIVE
SUPPORT"

me to saleslady: 'miss, wrong spelling... should be 'irresistible' not 'irresistable'...'

saleslady looks at the wall then to me then doesn't say anything...

me: 'tell your office there's a typo in what's on your wall...'

another customer looks...

i tell her: 'that should be I not A...'

she reads it aloud: 'irresistable... irresistable...'
then adds: 'it's correct.'

wah!

extra

requested a friend to download the latest ubuntu for me...

friend: 'why?'

me: 'i'm going to upgrade mine but my connection's slow...'

friend: 'where did you install ubuntu?'

me: 'my laptop... but not dual boot...'

friend: 'what entered your mind that you had to convert your laptop to ubuntu?!'

me: 'i did not convert...  i still have windows...  but not dual boot...  on separate disks...  i had spare disks and i wanted to use them so i installed ubuntu on one...  if i want windows, i'd plug the windows disk...  if i want ubuntu, i'd plug the ubuntu disk...'

i'd like to think i just gave myself an extra OS...  maybe though i just inflicted on myself extra effort...  :"}

the more, the many-er...  ; p

innovation

i was browsing an e-commerce site and saw the item "adjustable skipping jumping rope with auto-counter."

oh, wow...

i remember we used to play jumping rope in childhood. part of the fun was simultaneously counting aloud with your playmates.

oh, well... that was in my time... ;")

innovate or stagnate...

like it or not

i was at a supermarket hunched over one of the ice cream freezers when three young ladies walked over also looking for ice cream.  they wanted the cadbury but could not decide on the flavor.

i butted in:  'i prefer the caramel...'

one immediately blurted out:  'i don't like sweet!'

the other responded, 'then let's take the vanilla...'

the third went, 'vanilla?!  that's white!  we're getting cadbury because we want chocolate...  why get something that's white?!'

so there they were going back and forth, having a good-natured argument, and finally i decided to butt in again.  (they were right beside me.)

me:  'you want chocolate brand ice cream?  over there, that freezer has heath and whoppers...'

they didn't know where it was so i walked them over.  well, guess what, this time they could not decide because they wanted both flavors.

hahaha...

all or nothing of a different kind...

; )

our tribe

there's this check-in / lifelog app that i use, swarm, and it has weekly leaderboards and venue mayorships.

you get points for checking in to venues and these points determine your ranking in the leaderboard.

if you're the one with the most number of check-ins in a venue for the last 30 days, you become virtual mayor of the venue.

leaderboards, you compete only with your friends in the app.

mayorships, you compete with everyone using the app, be they friends or strangers.

i've consistently been topping my leaderboards lately. i even got 3,072 points last week, the first time ever that i hit 3,000 in a week in my 8-year usage of the app. (you used to check in to foursquare before it spun off swarm in 2014.)

but i also just lost four mayorships in a span of eight days.
(i have 168 mayorships right now.)

i get happy whenever i become mayor.
but it makes me smile, too, whenever someone dethrones me as mayor.
it's a concrete example that there are others out there also using the app. i hope they derive as much joy from it as i do... : )

utilitarian

friend egging me to watch the movie 'the hows of us'...

me: 'why?'

friend: 'i asked a friend to watch it and she cried and cried...'

me: 'ngek! i don't want to cry...'

my tears readily flow in movies, my sister finds it hilarious, wahaha...  she'd be composed and all and there i'd be crying a river... :"}

movies that tug at heartstrings are therefore not something i'd actively seek out... well, unless there's something that needs to be dislodged in my eye in which case tears are welcome...

'lorem ipsum dolor...

and i don't mean that as a filler...

; p

record

i've been using foursquare / swarm for eight years... my first check-in was at dad's-kamayan-saisaki on september 4, 2010 -> yup, swarm tells me that... it's a lifelog... : )

i used to get less than a hundred points each week... then it rose to the 600s... then a thousand... then 2,000 per week... well, today, i'm finishing with 3,072 points for the week! my highest weekly finish so far!

i was already home and have just uploaded venue pics when i noticed that i already had 2,975 points.  wow!  just 25 more to 3,000!

the weekly leaderboard closes sunday midnight.  i still had plenty of time.

i checked my stickers looking for one with a multiplier of 3.  (it triples the points you get for a check-in.)  i still had many that were unused!  maybe i could have hit 4,000 had i used all of them, hehe...  anyway, i decided to go to honeybon cafe  ->  they have cakes and, uhm, they have my name.  with that check-in, i hit 3,000...

i'm sooo happy!!!  : D

i'm sleeping with a BIG smile tonight...  :")

#SimpleJoys

us and them

parents and sister going out...

sister 2:  'you go with mom...  they're going out later than <sister>...'

me:  'they don't have swarm...  i prefer to go with <sister>...  we can check in together and get additional points...'

;"p

it shows

checking out stuff...

me:  'do you have this in blue?'

saleslady:  'no, ma'am...'

me:  'aw...  my favorite color's blue...'

saleslady:  'yes, ma'am...  your slippers are blue...  your power bank is blue...'

me:  'oh...  haha...  i have proof!'

: )

a simple question

talking youtube vids...

friend: 'where do you watch?'

me: 'usually on my phone... sometimes on my laptop...'

friend: 'no... where? what channel!'

oh... hehe... we're not great minds... ;"p

Someone is, actually

an uncle's first death anniversary... we were waiting for the priest who will officiate the mass...

i went near the altar to take a pic of the table where my uncle's photo was displayed... i noticed that the candles still had store labels so i rotated them so that the plain side would be the one in front...

i took a couple of pics then walked back to my seat...

was i surprised when my cousin (my late uncle's daughter) so appreciatively thanked me 'for rotating the candles because the price tags show.'

oh... i thought they were all busy chatting... i didn't even think anyone saw what i did... it was very quick and these were just small votive candles... yet it did not go unnoticed...

i wonder what people would do differently if they knew someone was watching...

space

there's this check in app i've been using since 2010 but only in March of this year did i really start posting photos there...

initially because i wanted to show the venue and the food for this event i was hosting,

subsequently because i wanted my new friend from miles away to have an idea what on earth these places that appear on his feed are (haha... presumptuous of me to think he'd wonder),

eventually, so venues would have the kind of photos that i myself would like to see when i drill down, i.e., i want to see how the place looks like...

a lot of the pics i've been posting are far from how i'd like them to be though... i'm currently in phase 1 of my take-a-pic 'project' and it involves taking a pic of the exterior... well, i just realized a lot of the places i go to have glass walls and if i stood where i should to get the shot i'd like then i'd be reflected on the glass... : }

i therefore have been making do with 'non-reflective' shots....
and i've taken a lot of awkward-angled shots because i don't have space... i'd literally be against the wall or against the shelves or against whatever while taking a shot...

i've actually thought of a drone but i don't think you can just readily fly one inside a mall...

i've also thought of getting a wide angle lens for my phone (i don't usually use my camera because security might start questioning when they see you using any professional-looking cams for the store shots)... i haven't though because i don't really want to attach anything, even if only temporarily, to my phone...

maybe i really should just be more creative in finding space...

haha... that word again:
space
-> always reminds me of the joke:

boyfriend/girlfriend asking for a cool-off: "i need space."

retort: "what are you, an astronaut?!"

; p

no, it's not

i have late uploads in facebook...
 it's already september 2018
and i'm still uploading october 2016 pics...
(i've explained why in an earlier blog,
https://maria0cynthia.blogspot.com/2016/10/shooting-and-sharing.html)

so last week i uploaded a pic of me holding a cake with a happy birthday sign.
suddenly people started posting birthday greetings in the comment!

hahaha... thanks but it's not my birthday...

reminded me of the bruno mars song:

♩ ♪  it's my birthday
no, it's not  ♫ ♬

; p

gaming life

i walk over to my parents' place and learn that my sister is about to go to the mall.

me: 'wah! i should have known earlier!'

sister 2: 'you want to go with her? then go.'

me: 'i haven't showered yet... i'll be there later... but i would have preferred to go with her because she has swarm and that means an additional 15 points when we check in together.'

[5 points for being with a friend then i have x3 stickers so 15.

if i'm hanging out with two friends that's 5 points x 2 friends x 3.]

sister 2 looks at me funny.
[she doesn't have swarm.]

me: 'swarm promotes camaraderie, y'know... more friends equals more points... variety, too... you go to different places so you'll unlock more stickers...'

well, unless you want to level up your stickers or sustain streaks in which case you have more of the same...

variety = more stickers
more of the same = more points

either way you get rewarded...

what a pleasant game... <3

your world and mine

sister mentioned a name...

me: 'who's that?'

sister: 'she's a high-ranking executive of <tv network>...'

me: 'aw... i don't know her...'
(neither does she know me, haha)

sister: 'i watch tv so i know her...'

me: 'yeah... me, i just watch youtube... guess who i know now... kuku palad... dendi...'

and demon... and fly... and no.tail...  and cer.mike...

;")

back to you

friend:  'who were you with?'

me: 'not you...'

friend: 'what sort of answer is that?!'

me: 'what sort of question is that?'

; p

how long can you go

supposed to eat at KFC which i've been craving since last week...
(my sister actually brought a bucket home last saturday but monday my cravings were back, hehe)
at the last minute, i opted for pizza because i wanted to sustain my pizza streak in swarm... ;")

i now have an 11-week streak  ->  actually not that long compared to my pre-foursquare/swarm track record...
there was a 4-year period in my life when i was having pizza every weekend, sometimes even during weekdays...
i read somewhere that pizza is a complete meal
(haha, i know, i know, depends on the toppings)
so friday evening i'd buy a box of pizza and that would be my main meal for the weekend...
(my ref had nothing but cake, ice cream and/or chocs...  sometimes it would even have nothing but water, wahaha)
if i felt like eating something else, i'd go out (i didn't/don't cook) but the pizza would be there as my standby meal...
monday morning when i drive out to the office, i'd give whatever's left to the village guard...

if only i already had foursquare that time...  that would have been a monster streak...  ; p

on balance

friend:  'have you eaten?'

me:  'yes...'

friend:  'what did you have?'

me:  'bread and tuna...'

friend:  'i thought you were craving KFC...'

me:  'yeah...  but i didn't feel like going out so i just had tuna...'

friend:  'i could bring you KFC...'

me:  'you're so far!  i coud have it delivered instead...'

friend:  'oh, yes...'

me:  'but i prefer to have it in store...  i'm not a fan of deliveries...'

friend:  'then go to the store...  it's so near...'

me:  'i will...  once my desire to have KFC outweighs my inclination not to go out...'

some feelings are stronger than others...  ; p

not holding on

waiter gave me ice cream...

i walked over to our table
and when my cousin saw it
she asked where i got it...

i said it was handed to me but she could have it...
so give it to her i did...

then i went back to taking pics...

when i returned to our table, my cousin gave me ice cream...  :O
she said the waiter brought cups to our table
and she's giving me hers to replace the one i gave her earlier...

wow, thanks...  : D

just then our aunt came back to our table...
she saw my ice cream and asked where it came from...

i said it was given to me by <cousin> but she coud have it...
so give it to her i did...

twice i had ice cream and twice i lost it...

some things are not meant to be...

; p

past

me to cousin-in-law; 'up to when will you be here?'

cousin-in-law: '<date>...'

me: '<date>? wait... is that my wedding anniversary?'

mom: 'look at you... how come you don't remember?'

me: 'mom, we've been separated for so long now it's understandable if i don't remember... but at least the date rang a bell...'

;")

just kidding

asked a friend whether i could order something online using his account.

he said yes.

so order i did.

then i saw in the status that the item has been delivered.

i asked my friend whether he has received it.

his reply?
'yes. i've used it. thanks for the gift. muahhh'

me: 'waaahhh!!! that's mine. you used it? do you cook?'

friend: 'just kidding. it's at the office. hehehehe'

whew!

hehehehe... ;")

restricted

my mom tells me my ex sent her a message (just a forwarded one)...
then she adds he only has two friends in facebook...

me:  'he has more than that...'

mom:  'oh, i mean mutual friends...'

me:  'we're fb friends, too...  did you see me?'

just because you don't see something does not mean it isn't there...

good call

i was supposed to drive an aunt to the bank today...
(nope, i'm not a driver by profession
but you could request me to drive you around,
in my car, on my gas,
if i love you or i can't say no to you, hehe...
my aunt, i definitely love... <3 <3 <3 )

they requested me to do it last sunday...

i said yes and told them to choose the day and time,
just not on a tuesday because my car is coding on that day,
i.e., it's supposed to be off the road 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
under the Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program (UVVRP).

they chose wednesday...

i said yes right away
then remembered i have an event probably on the same night...

i backtracked then said i'll check then get back to them...

i confirmed the event is on the same day...  :O

i was sort of agonizing
whether i should move my aunt to the following day
or just have both early morning and late night activities
on wednesday.
if it were someone else i'd easily postpone, hehe
but this is my specially beloved aunt, the oldest in our clan.
it's not that easy.

nevertheless, i thought it's best to prioritize safety.
i don't want to risk being sleepy on the wheel should the event finish late.
i therefore called my cousin and told him i'll just drive them to the bank thursday instead of wednesday.
he said ok.

guess what, this morning, i've set my alarm and all because i was supposed to be at their house 8 a.m. and i take an hour in the shower, blah, blah, blah, when i receive a text message from my mom telling me my cousin called saying the bank has delivered my aunt's card the night before and there is no need to go to the bank.

yay!

when you have your priorities right, everything falls into place...  : )

it's complicated

so i was trying to deposit a crossed check issued under my maiden name to my bank account that already has my married name.

i had three government-issued IDs showing my complete name:  my first names, my maiden surname, my married surname.

i first went to this bank branch but they told me if i want to deposit it there, i would have to have the check replaced with one showing my married name.  if it's under my maiden name, i would have to go to my branch of account.

just go to my branch of account i did.

guess what, first i was told i would have to submit NSO documents, i.e., my birth certificate plus my marriage contract.

later that was changed to i would have to fill out this form and have it notarized.  the form was an affidavit stating that i am also known by this other name, which actually is my birth/maiden name.
the standard form actually scared me a bit because it said,
"I have applied for the financing services of <bank>..."

i told the manager it sounds as if i had taken out or will be taking out a loan.  i am simply depositing a check.
he said the financing services there refers to my depositing of the check.
really?  whoa!
oh, well, fill out the form i did then i had it notarized.

only after that was i able to deposit the check.

i never thought using your birth name after getting married would be so complicated...  : }

wrong time

friend:  'where are you?'

me:  '<place>...  i just came from <place 2>...'

friend:  'i'm going there!'

me:  'well, i've left...'

not meant to be...  ; p 

twisted

so the other half of this greedy, lying, illogical couple
(yes, i can support every single adjective
and i can make the statement under oath complete with proof)
texted my sister supposedly explaining certain things
and my sister told me the guy told her to show the message to me.

i told my sister if the message is for me then tell the guy to send it to me.

well, no message.

twice today i saw the guy and reminded him to messsage me whatever it was he wanted to tell me.

his reply?
we're not friends.
he means fb friends, i suppose.

when it comes to greed, when it comes to lies, when it comes to twisting logic,
this couple can come up with all sorts of things.
you'd be surprised at how their mind works.
something as simple as sending a message to a non-fb friend, they're stumped.

some people are clever at undesirable things
but dull when it comes to regular stuff.

appalling.

coming around

i've been sleeping late lately, uhm, early mornings actually, because of Dota...
nope, i don't play, never did...  i've just been binge-watching vids i don't even understand on youtube...  :O

it started when i chanced upon this spicy noodle challenge video...
(for years now i've been wanting to do the samyang fire noodle challenge but none of my friends are willing to take it with me : ( )
the demeanor of the girl through it all impressed me...  she was so sweet and quiet, stark contrast to the guy with her...
i love spicy food but if this really were spicy on a different level, i was thinking i myself would most likely be so noisy and hyper trying to finish the bowl...

then later i find out that the couple in the video were wil dasovich and alodia gosiengfiao...
wil was Influencer of the Year at the Influence Asia 2017 social media awards
and Vlogger of the Year at the 2018 Shorty Awards...
alodia is a cosplayer with more than 6 million followers on facebook...

so i was moving from video to video...
from wil, i got to alodia;
from alodia, i got to cer.mike;
from cer.mike, i got to shoutcasting;
from shoutcasting, i got to the The International 6 (TI6) Dota 2 Championships match
where the philippine team TnC scored a major upset over the european team OG,
the underdogs eliminating the odds favorites in day two of the six-day Main Event!

TnC subsequently lost to Digital Chaos (DC)
which ultimately placed second to TI6 champions, Wings Gaming.

the prize pool for TI6?
$20,770,460!
->  this was in 2016 and it was one of the biggest prize pools in eSports history at the time.

the champions Wings Gaming brought home $9,139,002.
second place DC, $3,427,126.
sevent place TnC, $519,262.
ninth place OG, $311,557.

i never thought Dota had such prize money!

to think i used to scold a friend (i've given up) for playing till the wee hours of the morning even during workdays.  he's not there for the money and i don't think he's competition caliber (wahaha, sorry!) but i could see how something like that could consume you.

i've checked the heroes and the abilities and the talents and the items and whoa!  information overload!
you're good at that, you are good!

i don't think i'll ever play the game but i must say i am now impressed, not just at the memory but at the strategy and teamwork of these gamers.
i get excited just listening to the shoutcast, what more if you're actually the one playing.

now i understand why
"Girlfriend is life but Dota is lifer."