all by myself

there's this door at my place that i've long thought of removing... as in, it first crossed my mind seven (!) years ago...

well, finally today i did it. i never thought removing a door was that easy. i was thinking unscrewing before. when i checked youtube, you just have to hit the pin upward until you can pull it out of the hinge.  i did it with a hammer and a screwdriver.

now i know doors are heavy. i wasn't thinking mine would be that heavy though. but i was able to move it, with my bare hands, down from the third floor (no elevators) to my parents' place nearby.

i am pleased with myself, haha...

#Strong

what is it to you?

i have this app where you click one of the emoticons daily and you get a prize... i've gotten one point... two points...  five points... and most often, free 20MB internet through their hotspots...

one point is equivalent to only 50 centavos  (you can convert points to a load in your virtual wallet.  minimum conversion is two points for one peso.)...
20MB of internet access you can get from their shop also for 1 point...
still, i prefer to get the 1 point over the 20MB...

price-wise they might be the same but value-wise they are not...

i can use the fifty centavos...  it can be deducted from what i have to pay when i buy my fave cheesy pepperdog from their store...

the 20MB of internet access i won't really use...

theoretically, the higher the value, the higher the price and vice versa... but value is relative... what's precious to me might be nothing to you...  what's nothing to me might mean the world to you...

think twice before you give a diamond to someone who does not know what a diamond is...

fixin

at the kfc website (tip: i've placed orders online then pick up so i won't have to wait long). not sure whether it's been there a long time but i noticed just now that they have "vinegar 1.0." haha... i'm not a sauce/dip person but i'm curious what that means.

definitely not 1 liter.
1 ounce?

is that a measure?
a variant?
a version?

is there/will there be a vinegar 2.0?
-> a better vinegar? enhanced / with fixits?

hahaha... ; )

the feeling is mutual

surprising an aunt on her birthday... we snuck into her unit with balloons and buntings and cake and a tarp...

since it was still early, we kept the lights on for the meantime intending to turn them off before her expected arrival a half hour later...

so there we were, chatting away, when ta-daaan!!! the door opened! it was my aunt! she came home early!

we scrambled to our places for our respective assignments...

it turned out to be a two-way surprise...  : )

one to many

out-of-town with the fam... pajama party 81 km from home... before the 2 km mark, i realized i forgot my camera's batteries and memory cards... had this happened years back, i would have gone back as i used to be the only one taking pics during family gatherings... not anymore... nowawadays we're sure to have a lot of cams... a cousin even brought a drone...

1, 2, 3... wave... : )

chances

fam playing cards... in-between... you have two cards... you're going to place a bet that the card to be drawn will be between yours...

cousin's cards were, ta-daaannnn... ace and king!

fam got excited and placed side bets...

any card from two to queen will make them win...

<drumroll>...

ace!!!

wahaha...

a chance is a chance...
a low probability is not zero probability...
don't write it off...

watch and learn

i am a handywoman...  i'm fine with a hammer...  i've handled a drill...  i've fixed a broken pipe...  now i just installed a doorknob... hahaha...  thanks, youtube... : )

one of these days i also might just learn how to cook...  ;")

parents

i am OLD but my parents still have these comments about my outfits  ->  to think i'd say i wear regular / normal / bland / low-key clothes...

so yesterday i was wearing this long-sleeved tailored top...

mom:  'your top is too tight...  i can very well see the shape of your b**bs...'

me:  'haha...  it's just the shape... nothing obscene with that...'

mom:  'why don't you unbutton so it won't hug too close?'

eh?

that would actually show the cleavage, the flesh and the skin...

when that happens, i know what's next:  'why don't you change your top?'

wahaha...

♩ ♪  you'll always be a part of me
i'm part of you indefinitely
boy don't you know you can't escape me?
... 'cause you'll always be my baby  ♫ ♬

; p

tops

joined the fam late at a restaurant...

me:  'what's your bestseller that's not pork?'

waiter:  'chicken ala kiev...  there [pointing to my cousin's plate]...'

me:  'oh...  i won't order that...  i'll just try hers...
[hahaha...  sharing is caring...  <3 ]
what's your second bestseller?'

waiter:  'baked salmon...  there [pointing to another cousin's plate]...'

me:  'haha...  i won't order that as well...  what's your third bestseller?'

waiter:  'baked prawns...'

me:  'prawn?  what's the fourth?'

waiter:  'parmesan fish fillet with parsley sauce...'

me:  'ok...  i'll have that...'

so my order arrived and after giving it and my cousins' a try, the supposed last of the three bestsellers came out on top for me...

you can join the crowd but you need not follow it...  :")

1, 2, 3... more

at a family gathering, i saw a spiderman action figure on the table. i wanted a pic.

whenever i see spiderman, "with great power comes great responsibility" comes to mind. i like the idea as is. i like it all the more because i've come to associate it with being a foursquare superuser.

now kiddos were on the couch. i asked who could take my pic.

my granddaughter volunteered. it was a sporty-themed party and i told her i want the pic to show my shoes as well.

take a picture she did. it showed me from head to toe alright but the pic was blurred.

my niece then volunteered to take another shot. it was clear but my shoes were cropped. i usually wear sneakers only once a year, i.e., when i literally climb a mountain. i want my shoes in the pic.

so third attempt was by my nephew. guess what, he got the shoes but cropped part of my head! wahaha...

three kids, three shots, all not quite satisfactory.  i think if we had kept on trying we would have gotten a good one eventually.

the secret to good pictures is a lot of pictures...  click away... :")

external

our clan likes to throw themed parties. yesterday, it was a sporty party. most of us wore workout outfits, even those who don't really work out, never at all worked out.

so there we were and we even decided to walk over to the park so that the background for our photos would complement our attire.

going to the place, there were those who walked past the entrance stairs. when the rest called them, they said they're taking the flat route lest the stairs tire them.

a cousin chuckled, 'we're wearing these outfits and then we don't want to get tired???'

haha...

just because you wear a cape does not mean you can fly...

now i see

i usually check in before the mass starts.  today, however, i did the check-in after the mass.  swarm could not find me before the mass.  after the mass, it could.

nothing irreverent but

♩ ♪  i once was lost
but now am found  ♫ ♬

#blessed

yours then mine

my sister is in a mary grace cheese rolls phase now. she's been bringing home a box and since i go to my parents' place everyday, i, too, have been having my fill.

anyway, i like the roll a lot so at least twice when we passed the store, i recommended it to my companions.

guess what, both times, two different guys, they did not eat it right away and i was surprised to find the food in my stuff at least a day later.

this got me thinking, if something is meant for you, even if it was obtained by someone else, it will still end up with you.

not fair.
just meant to be.

happy heart

okay...  so i, together with the other foursquare superusers all over the world, received the Superuser Newsletter for the month of february with the subject line, "Happy Valentine’s Day, SUs! ❤️"

i checked and...  ta-daaannn!!!  they have the Top SU Editors of January and i'm 3rd worldwide in my group level!  whaaatttt???!!!  whoa!!!

they divided the SUs into two groups:  SUs 1 to 5 and SUs 6 to 10.
i'm just an SU3.
there's a BIG discrepancy between the figures for the two groups.
and within each group, there again is a BIG discrepancy
between the topnotcher and the runners up.
when i say BIG, i mean the figures more than double.

i dunno whether they really release global leaderboards.  this is the first time i've seen one.  good thing it happened when i've gone back to editing  :"D

for years i stopped doing edits...  i resumed only before 4SQ Day last year because i wanted to see how things were as i was the 2018 organizer for the philippines...

the reason why i stopped edits?  well, because once i start, i couldn't stop, wahaha...  i'd be on my laptop for hours on end, i didn't even want to get up and eat anymore...  insane!

anyway, so i'm in the global edit leaderboard for january
(shoutout to all the SUs who've been helping me out in the forum : ) ).
i've also been consistently topping my swarm leaderboard with points in the 3K levels.
if no one steps up, i just might again end up as the organizer for this year's 4SQ Day Meetup in the philippines.

i guess it's obvious i love foursquare / swarm...  <3 <3

valentine's day greeting to everyone,
especially to my fellow SUs and guides and bees...
happy hearts...  : )

ask

i just added photos to my check-ins and was scrolling to review when i deleted a post...  wah!  this is not the first time it happened...  :O

this time it was just a hardware check-in...  yup, valentine's day and i was at the hardware, wahaha...  ei, lemme think of it as heartware...  no, definitely not "hurt where?"  ;"p

anyway, enhancement request, Swarm app...  please add a delete confirmation pop-up...

thanks and happy hearts day...  <3 <3

worth it

i was at the electric company today to pay a P6.22 overdue bill. (nope, it's not mine.) yup, six pesos and twenty-two centavos! wahaha...

parking is P50.
if you commute,
fare is P9 one-way;
P18 to and fro.

while i was there, an acquaintance arrived also to make a payment.

she asked why i did not just pay online.

i said i don't have a [swarm] check-in at the venue yet and i wanted one.

there is a method to the madness... ;")

then and now

at the car wash today, i gave a very generous tip to the one who cleaned my car because it was chinese new year yesterday.

well, when i entered the car after, the seats were wet, the seat covers were disheveled and parts of the interior were obviously uncleaned. i called the attendant and pointed out the oversight. i also borrowed their cloth and wiped the surfaces myself.

the attendant was apologetic saying he's new.

it's okay. excused.

i'm just thinking now, when i come back next time, i'll be giving a regular tip. he might think i lowered because i wasn't satisfied today. aw! it's not that.

sometimes it's not you.
it's the timing.

joy

doing a bit of KonMari for the lunar new year and i find P2,000 in one of the gifts i just partially opened last christmas! ei... that sparked joy... : D

merry christmas : )
happy new year : )
happy chinese new year : )
and yeah, let me be early and include
happy valentine's day <3 <3
as well : )

oink, oink... cheers!