a friend sent me photos and a video of his breakfast, lunch and dinner... he has sent me pics of his food a lot of times but not usually all three meals...
i remembered my mom's friend... years back when e-mail and chat were still new, she told us she talks to this someone so frequently even her meal she already gets to tell the person. she said it's unlike snail mail where you had to choose the things you write about otherwise the letter will be too long.
haha... technology... from tidbits to trivia and everything else in between...
who are you?
i went out to close our water pipe at 3:26 a.m. yesterday, november 2, and, before going back to bed, looked out our balcony as is my wont. 'twas still dark and was i surprised to see a police car and two police motorcycles in our alley!
one of the motorcycle policemen was near this guy who was putting on his helmet and apologizing to the policeman saying he went out a while earlier -> "sorry, sir, lumabas kasi ako kanina." the policeman handed him a small piece of paper and then all four vehicles (the police's plus the guy's motorcycle) left.
i've told some other neighbor this years back: i can hear their conversations from my bed! 🤦♀️
at around 2:52 a.m., i was in bed and i overheard one of the neighbor's guests saying they were issued a ticket near the auto repair shop a couple of blocks away. the girl was saying her companion gave [the ticketing officer] a different name!
uuuhhh!!!
i don't know what procedures the authorities follow when issuing tickets but there should be a way to establish the real identity of ticket recipients. it would be dangerous to just accept whatever name people say. that name might just correspond to a real and innocent person.
his and hers
i was supposed to generate a MomentCam avatar for a male friend and was surprised to see that the hairstyle choices were the usual options i see for a female. wahaha... i unintentionally picked female as gender in the previous step!
back to square one.
anyway, i noticed that in the app's new (october 14, 2021) version, the bald 'hairstyle' is already available for female avatars. i dunno whether it's because of my suggestion.
i sent email last july 23 requesting them to add the bald 'hairstyle' for women. (there are templates where i don't want hair to show, e.g. templates already with fixed hair or those with certain hats or headpieces, but i have had to make do with some hair because the avatar could not be assigned a bald head.) i moreover said, "better yet, please make the men's hairstyles available for women, too."
well, the latter does not appear (yet?) but bald is available now.
one gender stereotype down 😊
to each his own
friend sent me a pic of his cat lying on his iPad.
i went, 'aw... it might get scratched!'
he said the iPad has gorilla glass and the cat's nails are trimmed.
i replied if it were me, i still wouldn't allow it. "develop good habits."
he said simple joy for his cat so ok with him.
well, as long as it doesn't affect mine, he can pile all his pets on his gadgets all he wants and i won't stop him.
your gadgets, your rules. 😊
regain control of compromised facebook account
how to regain control of your compromised facebook / messenger account:
assumptions:
- you are still logged in
or
- you can still log in
to yout facebook account.
while logged in in facebook:
1. CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD
1.1. Menu (hamburger icon / three stacked horizontal lines icon / gear icon)
1.2. Settings & Privacy
1.3. Settings
1.4. Password and Security
1.5. Change password
1.6. Current password
1.7. New password
1.8. Re-type new password
1.9. Update password
2. LOG OUT ALL SESSIONS
2.1. Menu
2.2. Settings & Privacy
2.3. Settings
2.4. Password and Security
2.5. Where You're Logged In
2.6. See All
2.7. Log Out of All Sessions
2.8. Log Out
1.8. Re-type new password
1.9. Update password
2. LOG OUT ALL SESSIONS
2.1. Menu
2.2. Settings & Privacy
2.3. Settings
2.4. Password and Security
2.5. Where You're Logged In
2.6. See All
2.7. Log Out of All Sessions
2.8. Log Out
opposite
friend telling me his cat is always gnawing at its tail so he put tabasco sauce on the tail. well, contrary to his intent, instead of making the cat stop it all the more persisted. the cat liked the hot sauce!
wahaha... deterrent turned incentive... sometimes life throws you a curveball ⚾
prevail
to some people, being kind means tolerating their obnoxious behavior.
to some people, keeping the peace means keeping silent when they do bad.
to some people, moving on means forgetting context and turning a blind eye to their ceaseless wrongdoing.
you don't give wrongdoers a run of the place.
you stand your ground.
you don't give up because the bad are stubborn.
you build resistance.
for evil to triumph all anyone has to do is nothing.
cold comfort
i told someone i fill disks so very easily. i'm used to "you're running low on disk space" notifications. even my gmail tells me it's almost full 🤭
he tells me he has four 8TB drives at home and two more still waiting to be deployed.
wahaha... rub it in! 😭
balance
it was a facebook friends's birthday so i posted a pic with the two of us in it. the pic was taken 14 years ago 🤭
i received a message telling me it's a "nice rare photo with [me] smiling with teeth showing."
ahahaha... yeah, i rarely go all out with smiles in my pics now... i noticed before i had such BIG, toothy smiles in my old pics while my companions had this sort of regal smiles. you don't notice it in just a few pictures. but when you go through albums and albums of photos, it becomes noticeable. i look too happy, hahaha... i therefore started closing my mouth.
not that being too happy is a bad thing. i actually have simple joys. i get happy just choosing what food i'll order for the day... i get happy with no-rush showers... i get happy with newly-changed sheets... i get happy winning 5 centavos in shoppee 🤣
it's perfectly fine to be exuberantly happy in real life... i just don't like it for myself in pics especially when everyone else looks chill...
not that i'd like to join the bandwagon.
"eagles fly alone; pigeons flock together."
but there should be some sort of harmony in the big picture.
plus i don't wanna look like the jester in a royal group photo 🏰🤴👸🃏🤣
authentication
our renewal credit cards were delivered yesterday. the principal cardholder is supposed to activate each card through SMS.
my mom told me she has sent SMS to activate hers. uhm, she's just my supplementary cardholder.
me: 'let's see whether <issuing bank> will activate your card. it's my number that's registered with them not yours. i'm the principal.'
mom: 'they've already replied.'
me: 'that's auto-reply. it's just an acknowledgment of your message not confirmation of activation.'
this afternoon i received a text message from my mom saying her card activation was not successful.
good!
it would have been dangerous if the card company allowed activation from any number. imagine if a card were intercepted/misdelivered and the recipient was able to activate the card from any phone 😨
step 1
my phone died so i connected it to the charging cable and turned on the AVR.
eh? phone didn't start charging!
ok. troubleshooting 101.
check the cables.
ta-daaannn! the cable was not plugged into the adaptor!
ahahaha... that was easy!
basic 🤭
no egg
1:12 p.m., i ordered pizza some place 3.2 km away.
2:08 p.m., i ordered chicken someplace 6.1 km away.
same group of restaurants; same food delivery app; same delivery service.
the two orders arrived 10 minutes apart, the chicken being delivered earlier.
the chicken came first 🥚🐔🤣
mental health
october 10 is #WorldMentalHealthDay.
i would like to share a very unpleasant experience i had two months ago.
on august 11, 2021, someone accused me of charging at her.
-> sinugod ko raw siya.
she called the barangay.
she was having a fit on the street. she was describing how i approached her!
she was pointing to where i went!
i was disputing her statements. she was insistent. we spent so much time repeatedly contesting each other's story.
bottom line, footage from the security camera shows i did not go near her at all!
good thing there was a camera. what if there was none?
her explanation for her behavior that time:
- wrong timing
- she was stressed
- she was thinking about so many things.
i told her parents to bring her to a psychiatrist.
they just shrug it off.
there are things you can brush aside. this is not one of them. this is grave.
i know we should be understanding of such cases. but we should look at the big picture and also consider the risk to others.
she is a working adult. she deals with people not just on a personal but on a business level.
not all places have a camera.
stress, thinking about a lot of things and wrong timing are part of life.
it is not normal to suddenly burst out screaming and conjure up false accusations when stressed, overwhelmed with thoughts or caught at a bad time.
can someone guarantee that that will not happen again?
is it the first time it happened?
or has she done something like that before?
i don't know whether her parents are just in denial or they're already used to it. either way, they should consult a psychiatrist. it will be good for everyone.
retrograde
friend telling me a drunk neighbor he had an altercation with later went to his house to apologize.
me: 'that's good... but me, i don't need apologies... what i want is for the incident not to be repeated.'
there are those who say sorry but keep on repeating the offense.
there are those who just continue with the offense and do not say sorry at all.
worst are those who keep on repeating the offense and have the gall to get mad and *demand* understanding when you complain about it.
there are levels of good and there are levels of bad. it's crazy how some people keep on topping their bad behavior.
progress, don't regress.
the giver
friend told me
he wanted to close his business
but did not have the heart to
given that his employees have families to feed.
what he instead did
was go the extra mile,
not just figuratively,
to keep the business afloat.
he did things he normally would not do. he did things others viewed as beneath his stature to do.
my dad told me before, "the true measure of giving is in the level of sacrifice."
hats off to you, friend.
he wanted to close his business
but did not have the heart to
given that his employees have families to feed.
what he instead did
was go the extra mile,
not just figuratively,
to keep the business afloat.
he did things he normally would not do. he did things others viewed as beneath his stature to do.
my dad told me before, "the true measure of giving is in the level of sacrifice."
hats off to you, friend.
through the lens of time
i was looking for a pic of my dad's yesterday and came across this 2-second video of him which is what i posted instead. moving over still.
the video is very short because i was supposed to take a picture of him that time.
i pressed the wrong button eleven years ago and now i am very happy with it.
some mistakes are fine.
appreciation post
i was supposed to share a blog and post birthday greetings in facebook last night. i couldn't. i was able to share the blog to twitter just a minute prior!
i checked whether facebook was down. i saw a basically blank graph that suddenly had a spike.
i went to twitter. facebook (and instagram and whatsapp) was indeed down! a rare occurrence.
i read today that it was down for more than six hours. uuuhhh!!! that is long.
i know users are not happy. but i also could just imagine how it was for the technical team.
i feel you, guys. thank you.
free lunch
i logged in to my shopee account and was surprised to see P100 in my ShopeePay.
i don't leave money in my e-wallets (except for minimal amounts left over from rounded transfers). i just load them when i'm going to use them.
the money cannot be from a refund because i have no pending order.
i checked. it was a Bonus credited to ShopeePay, Adjustment Reason: Free MoneyOct 4 Injection # 9999.
i remember seeing a "Get P100" in shopee a day or more prior. i clicked. that was it. i thought nothing happened. now i have P100.
easy money.
i wonder what the trade-off is. 🤔
concurrence
i was having second thoughts about opening a box of chocolates because i exceeded my self-imposed limit yesterday. i'm supposed to have only two per day but yesterday i had five 🤭
finally i decided to go ahead. just as i had taken my first bite, my phone rang. it was a courier -> delivering chocolate! 🍫
nyahaha... the universe just gave me a resounding yes!
life is sweet and i am thankful 😊
stars
friend sent me a message... there was mention of a first name... i thought it was the movie star... turns out it's an ordinary person 🤭
it called to mind something very remotely related.
i had this poster in my room when i was much younger:
"shoot for the moon.
even if you fail, you'll still be with the stars."
i loved it and, when i was already much older, got to mention it to my husband.
his reply:
"the stars are higher than the moon!"
wahaha... what a douse of cold water! 🤣
i wonder what elon musk would have said. i love his vision of "being out there among the stars" -> a "multi-planet species and space-faring civilization."
scientific 🔭... romantic 🥰... you can have it all 😊
strike
there are these garlic noodles that i really like. it's one of only a handful of items that i order repeatedly from foodpanda. (i try to order different dishes from different restaurants.)
monday, i ordered it and for the first time i did not like it. the noodles were almost plain. unlike the previous deliveries which were flavorful and tasty, this one was bland due to lack of sauce. i think the one who prepared it was not able to properly put sauce on the noodles.
i sent a feedback to both the source and foodpanda. foodpanda refunded me.
wednesday, i reordered. the noodles had sauce this time but seemingly not enough for the amount of noodles. i wondered whether the one who prepared it was scrimping on the sauce.
i wasn't happy with my two orders so today i ordered again (hope springs eternal, haha). this time, i ordered from the branch where i used to order. the last two orders i placed were from a new branch and i was thinking maybe the staff have yet to learn the proper preparation.
guess what, when my order arrived, it was not just the sauce that wasn't up to par (too little) but the noodles themselves were not well-cooked! they were hard! 🤦♀️
i dunno whether they changed their recipe, their ingredients, their method, their commissary. whatever it is, it's been three unsatisfactory orders -> in a row.
i love you, goodbye 😢
dental care
on viber with a friend.
i sent him a pic of my chocs.
he then sent me a pic showing
- a toothbrush
- toothpaste
- mouthwash
and
- dental floss.
♩♪ we go together 🍫 🪥 ♫ ♬
🤣
shades of green
i placed an order with special instructions to separate the
- meatfrom
- the rice and veggies.
when my order arrived, all the other stuff shown in the menu photo as being inside the earth bowl were each packed separately as well. the small amount of pickled singkamas had its own plastic container. the pickled red onions, too. the chili garlic mayo... the hummus... the peanuts...
my order from a green kitchen was green healthy but not environmentally green...
maximum convenience
someone ousted me as swarm mayor of a soup place in my hometown yesterday.
i was actually happy.
it means
the place is open
plus
there is at least one customer
and that person uses swarm which i love ❤️
i used to score 3,000+ weekly in swarm pre-pandemic. 4,000+ even.
i had 52 streaks, among them:
grocery stores and supermarkets,
banks,
shopping malls,
department stores,
bookstores,
clothing, shoe, furniture, hardware, electronics and arts & crafts stores,
hotels, bars, lounges, bakeries,
pizza and snack places,
fast food, chinese, japanese, ramen restaurants,
juice bars,
noodle houses,
bbq and burger joints,
bubble tea, coffee and donut shops,
gas stations,
parking.
i used to score 3,000+ weekly in swarm pre-pandemic. 4,000+ even.
i had 52 streaks, among them:
grocery stores and supermarkets,
banks,
shopping malls,
department stores,
bookstores,
clothing, shoe, furniture, hardware, electronics and arts & crafts stores,
hotels, bars, lounges, bakeries,
pizza and snack places,
fast food, chinese, japanese, ramen restaurants,
juice bars,
noodle houses,
bbq and burger joints,
bubble tea, coffee and donut shops,
gas stations,
parking.
(i know i also had an ice cream shop streak but it does not anymore appear in my profile 🤔)
now i score less than a hundred, most of the time zero.
instead of going out, i just 'check in' at grab and foodpanda. no traffic. no parking. no gas. no br_ 🍒🤭
now i score less than a hundred, most of the time zero.
instead of going out, i just 'check in' at grab and foodpanda. no traffic. no parking. no gas. no br_ 🍒🤭
preempted
the first beluga youtube video i saw was "Discord Mods Be Like..." it was posted june 13, 2021. i stumbled upon it in july.
i was amused so i binge-watched the channel's other vids.
my watch and search histories are off. i got to watch other beluga videos maybe just one more session after that.
this evening, beluga again appeared on my feed. it's the "Beluga Face Reveal" video posted september 22. the cat is out of the bag!
wah! i didn't even know beluga's identity was supposed to be a secret 🤦♀️
breathe
i posted a birthday greeting for a facebook friend.
then i received a text message telling me that the one i greeted passed away months back yet.
the texter moreover told me that four other former officemates are also now gone.
aw 😢
prayers for them all 🙏
i told the texter we should always take care and stay safe and healthy.
her reply:
let's all stay alive.
one and only
i saw this video from GMA News posted september 21, 2021. it's about a COVID-positive woman who went to the PAGIBIG Fund office in Calamba, Laguna.
the barangay reported her to the Public Order and Safety Office (POSO) whose personnel fetched her from PAGIBIG and took her to an isolation facility.
the woman was requesting that she just be on home isolation but according to POSO Chief Jeff Rodriguez,
"Hindi na po siya puwedeng iuwi dahil siya po ay nabigyan ng pagkakataon na mag-home quarantine pero siya po ay lumabag."
~ She cannot be brought home anymore because she has been given a chance to go on home quarantine but she broke it.
i like to say,
everyone deserves a second chance but not a third.
(yup, i know there's Matthew 18:21-22.)
but sometimes you do get only one chance.
don't blow it.
in a manner of speaking
someone was discarding old pics and sent me photos very similar to ones i have. same subject, same time but different shots from different cameras.
the unedited soft copies he made from the original hard copies were clear. the ones i have are pale. not faded but pale from the time they were first printed years back.
i didn't know then that cold drains batteries so i was taking pics on low batt.
my uncle even drove my brother and me from new york to harvard twice because the first time we went, the pics came out so pale. this was pre-digital, pre-easy fix time.
we really didn't want to bother my uncle again but he was the one who insisted because he wanted us to be able to show good pics to my dad.
my dad (who was not with us on the trip) gave emphatic instructions that my brother and i should visit harvard and stanford. he said as long as we go to those places, it's already up to us how we spend the rest of our vacation.
i was telling the photo sender i find it kinda weird on hindsight. it's like going to the philippines and making sure you visit the University of the Philippines. why???
uhm... that was a rhetorical question but he gave me a reply:
You can say with a straight face, “I went to Stanford.” BWHAHAHAHAH!
🤣🤣🤣
net
i was ordering food and noticed that i was only P7 shy of the minimum amount required for free delivery and a 30% discount. i therefore went over the menu looking for a low-priced item. ta-daaan!!! i found a side dish for P39!
with that additional P39, i got entitled to discounts totalling P218.50.
good deal 😊
plain and simple
i was going to order libertea from army+navy but noticed that the photo showed a bottle that's not full. i've ordered this countless times both in store (pre-pandemic) and online but now i'm not sure whether the actual and photo of the previous bottles were full.
ii'm thinking they were otherwise this current photo would not have surprised me.
i'm sure i have a pic of my previous orders (yup, i take pics of my food). i'll check tonorrow.
last august 18, we ordered and paid for a 940ml classic milk tea from army+navy through foodpanda but what we received was 470ml.
we reported it to both foodpanda and army+navy. up to now no action from both to rectify the error. maybe we should raise to DTI.
anyway, so there i was wondering whether i should proceed ordering when, ta-daaaan!!! my phone died!
nyahaha... okay... i think that's the universe telling me to have water for now. #LessComplicated 😂
rein it in
there are things you can brush aside.
and there are things you should not ignore.
some things are too grave to overlook.
highly irrational behavior should not go unchecked.
don't be in denial.
prevent a recurrence.
seek professional help.
and there are things you should not ignore.
some things are too grave to overlook.
highly irrational behavior should not go unchecked.
don't be in denial.
prevent a recurrence.
seek professional help.
time limit
i had to furnish photocopies of my IDs for the processing of certain documents.
when it comes to these things, i prefer to use my driver's license. it has a lot of personal data BUT the ID itself has an expiration date.
definitely there are many other factors at play but in its simplest form, unlike with permanent/lifetime IDs, in this case you are not giving someone a perpetual window for misuse.
in or out
Metro Manila is under General Community Quarantine (GCQ) with Alert Level 4 from September 16 to 30, 2021. Alert Level 4 "refers to areas wherein case counts are high and/or increasing, with total bed utilization rate and intensive care unit utilization rate at high utilization."
prior to that, it was under Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) from August 21 to September 15.
from August 6 to 20, it was under Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) -> the strictest quarantine classification.
since march 2020, Metro Manila has been placed under ECQ thrice.
i was kidding a friend he probably does not feel the changes in quarantine classification because he's been going out quite often even under ECQ.
he countered, 'i'm APOR!'
-> Authorized Person Outside Residence
i went, 'i'm APIR!'
-> Authorized Person Inside Residence -> no such animal, hehe... i actually could go out... i have a quarantine pass for ECQ... i just choose not to...
#StaySafe, #StayHome
know-it-all
"i don't know"
and
"i'll get back to you"
are acceptable answers.
no one knows everything.
don't pretend you do.
don't make up answers when you don't.
that was just a question
not an exam.
and
"i'll get back to you"
are acceptable answers.
no one knows everything.
don't pretend you do.
don't make up answers when you don't.
that was just a question
not an exam.
X
i use the free version of apps and a lot of times i get served a lot of ads. i don't realy watch them (ooops!)... i just let them play and close the window as soon as i can...
i check the countdown plus look for the button which i have to click to close the ad... the position varies but yeah, X usually marks the spot...
this morning, i was clicking and clicking on the X but the ad wouldn't close... then i realized i was clicking on the X in Ragnarok X! 🤦♀️🤭🤣
on screen
scrolling through my food pics... what the... there's hair!
next dish, too!
and next!
wait, turns out the hair was on my monitor 🤣
on the surface
i relayed something to my mom and she responded by saying maybe that's why she's been dreaming about my dad lately. (he passed away last year.)
she said in her dream my dad was leaving and told her to prepare snacks for eight.
first things that came to my mind were:
1. my dad was picking <someone> up?
2. eight is for the seven of us plus the maid
3. snacks/food because of an upcoming celebration
years back, i used to log my dreams and do dream analysis. i know interpretation is not that simple but offhand that's what i came up with.
not sure whether i'll dig deeper later. sometimes it's ok to just take things at face value.
games fortune plays
for more than three hours i was exchanging messages with someone.
then i decide to eat chocs -> chocs with gooey caramel that stick to my teeth and make it hard to talk.
and at that very moment when my mouth was full, that's when he asks to switch to voice! 😲
note to fortune:
you're just supposed to smile not laugh...
yield
someone sent me eleven (!) boxes of my fave see's awesome walnut square bars. each box has eight 42g squares. i therefore have (okay, had) eighty-eight 42g chocolate squares! 😊
i love chocolates.
i love see's awesome walnut square bars even more.
i, however, set a limit for myself that i'll eat only two squares per day.
uhm, i haven't been able to adhere to it.
so far i've been having three a day.
i, however, do not feel guilty at all. i had four on the day the chocs were delivered and everytime i finish three instead of just two, i find myself thinking, "well, at least it's not four."
precedent not good.
reference point not right.
i know yet i persist.
i'm not harming other people.
this is a self-imposed limit.
i am cutting myself some slack.
😊
casper
today, was i surprised to see that my late sister-in-law followed my instagram food account and liked my see's chocolate post!
i asked my niece whether it was her.
she said she doesn't have access to her mom's account.
well, it turns out 'twas my brother.
whew!
repurpose
i sleep with a himalayan salt lamp beside me. it's not on a table; it's on my bed. not upright but lying on its side, less than a foot away from my head.
i don't like light and lampshades when i sleep so i don't turn on the lamp. i've plugged it just once, when it was newly delivered, to check whether it works. it does.
i've long wanted to remove the cable from the lamp but retained it because i didn't want to remove the lamp feature from what was supposed to be a salt lamp. so for the longest time, the cable was also there on my bed.
today, i finally decided to pluck it out. and yay! the lamp looked so much cleaner and nicer lying beside my pillow 😊
product features are important only insofar as you use them. i've never used the lamp feature. i don't intend to. it's okay to let go.
purpose
talking long drive and radar detector cropped up in the conversation.
i asked how much one is.
whoa! kinda pricey!
i go, "why not just not overspeed..."
in reply, the guy sent me a picture of his car.
hahaha... okay...
what's the point of having a fast car if you cannot go fast?
maximum utility
today i received eleven boxes of my fave See's Awesome Walnut Square Bars ❤️❤️❤️
yes, eleven!
each box has eight 42g squares. that's a total of 88 chocolate squares! 😃
this is not the first time the giver has sent me so many. (i am overjoyed and extremely thankful 😊) this time and last, he had emphatic instructions that the chocs are all for me. the previous times he sent, i shared with others. (he sends other chocs for sharing. it's just the walnut bars he specifies as exclusively mine.)
i totally get it. the most value for those chocs would be if i'm the one who ate them.
you give them to others, they'd probably view it the same way they'd view any other choc.
me, i love those chocs. to me they're special. i take great pleasure and satisfaction in and really appreciate every single bite.
taste is subjective.
value is relative.
don't give a diamond to someone who doesn't appreciate jewelry.
don't give a diamond to someone who doesn't know what a diamond is.
you're not maximizing value.
you could even be negating it.
waste not.
this is not the first time the giver has sent me so many. (i am overjoyed and extremely thankful 😊) this time and last, he had emphatic instructions that the chocs are all for me. the previous times he sent, i shared with others. (he sends other chocs for sharing. it's just the walnut bars he specifies as exclusively mine.)
i totally get it. the most value for those chocs would be if i'm the one who ate them.
you give them to others, they'd probably view it the same way they'd view any other choc.
me, i love those chocs. to me they're special. i take great pleasure and satisfaction in and really appreciate every single bite.
taste is subjective.
value is relative.
don't give a diamond to someone who doesn't appreciate jewelry.
don't give a diamond to someone who doesn't know what a diamond is.
you're not maximizing value.
you could even be negating it.
waste not.
no-lose
went to my mom's place to share ice cream with my sister who i thought was working from home. turns out she went to the office.
so there i was at the dining table with my food tray when my mom walked in.
me: 'you want ice cream?'
mom: 'no, thanks.'
me: 'hehe... good... i've finished it already...'
mom: 'why are you offering me ice cream when there's no more?!'
me: 'in case you say no then good. there was a 50% chance you'd say no.'
and a hundred percent chance of things turning out well -> had she said yes i would have ordered.
twice the ice cream is twice the joy 🍧🍨😋😊
value
technician fixing my mom's internet connection: 'to get this speed you have to connect to the 5G not the 2.4... but then coverage is small... it won't reach downstairs...'
me: 'what?! my mom's house is not a mansion. her lot's only 200+ square meters. her house doesn't even occupy the whole space. are you telling me she has to go upstairs every time she wants to use 5G? that cannot be!'
technician: 'your walls are not thick?'
me: 'they're regular walls... concrete but not a fortress...'
technician: 'maybe it would work...'
me: 'it should... what sort of technology is 5G if it won't even serve an area this small?'
the technician went downstairs and checked near my mom's laptop... 5G good...
he went to the farthest end of the living room... 5G good...
he went to the yard... no more 5G...
that's ok... the important thing is that the signal is available where my mom normally uses it... there's not much value in having something someplace where it isn't needed.
not everything is mandatory. some are just nice to have.
feeling entitled
garbage is collected in our street six times a week, monday to saturday. you're supposed to just put your trash outside for collection.
when my dad was still alive, he used to go out to give the garbage collectors a tip every single time.
when he passed away, my mom continued the 'tradition' but halved the tip 🤭. she tasked the help with handing out the tips.
this morning my mom's help told me she wasn't around one time the garbage collector came so when he saw her next he told her,
"may utang ka pa sa 'kin."
-> you owe me money (i.e., the tip).
wahaha... you do a favor for too long, the recipient starts to view it as your obligation.
off
this afternoon, my favorite garlic noodles was at 40% off and free delivery. i was full, however, so i did not order.
9 p.m., i felt like ordering but by then the restaurant offer was down to 25% off.
i normally would postpone purchase to some other day when discount is 50% (which happens weekly).
this time, however, i decided to place an order even at just 25% off.
click...
scroll...
ta-daaannn!!!
noodles not available!
not meant to be 🤭
jealous
friend complaining about his girlfriend getting jealous of this woman who was so much older than him.
i told him i could understand his girl.
it's not always about being insecure.
it could be about instinct.
maybe she sensed something, whatever that is.
("Trust your gut.
It knows what your head hasn't figured out yet.")
some people meet and they have chemistry. they feel a certain connection.
it has nothing to do with age.
it has nothing to do with looks.
it has nothing to do with superior qualities.
to me therefore,
as far as jealousy is concerned,
everyone is fair game. 🤭🤦♀️🤣
i told him i could understand his girl.
it's not always about being insecure.
it could be about instinct.
maybe she sensed something, whatever that is.
("Trust your gut.
It knows what your head hasn't figured out yet.")
some people meet and they have chemistry. they feel a certain connection.
it has nothing to do with age.
it has nothing to do with looks.
it has nothing to do with superior qualities.
to me therefore,
as far as jealousy is concerned,
everyone is fair game. 🤭🤦♀️🤣
mind and matter
i was on the phone with a friend and windows cropped up in the conversation. i was sure about the windows i have on the side and in front. i could not confidently recall, however, what kind of windows i have in the rear. i had something in mind but i wasn't sure if i was remembering it right. mid-conversation therefore i jumped out of my bed to check the windows in my dining area. yay, my recollection was correct!
i don't eat in my dining area but i do see those windows everyday. why did i have doubts as to how it was? hmmm...
oh, well... i'll take that anytime over the way my mother-and-daughter neighbors so confidently remember things that never at all happened.
disturbing.
true self
i personally know people who have succumbed to COVID in this pandemic. my heart goes out to those who are infected and to those who have been exposed to the virus. i say a prayer for everyone's good health, safety and protection not just before i sleep, not just when i wake up but every time i come across possible health risks.
i must admit though that i find it hard to sympathize with our supposedly quarantining neighbors. just like last year, this week and last they again have been brazenly breaking health protocols. they go out (even waiting for their vehicle within our property!). they drive to i dunno where. they walk the dogs. they walk about.
well, today, the barangay sent watchmen to put them in check. i am happy and thankful for the barangay's action. at the same time i am also sad and angry that you have to have guards for these people to comply.
character is who you are when no one is looking.
self-incriminating
barangay personnel was calling in our neighborhood this morning.
i was supposed to respond but then i heard her ask who brought out the mattress on the street.
i then heard the neighbor say he did.
the barangay said he shouldn't have because they are supposed to be on quarantine. she told the neighbor to call them next time so they will be the one to handle it. she added someone called the barangay to have the mattress removed.
guess what, the neighbor said he was the one who called!
ok. let me break that down.
this guy
who was supposed to be on quarantine
brought out a mattress
from their house
to the street
yesterday.
he passed four houses
(ours included)
plus a condominium on one side
to get to the spot
(ours included)
plus a condominium on one side
to get to the spot
where he left the mattress leaning against an electric post.
this morning, he calls the barangay
because the mattress was not collected with the trash.
🤦♀️
reminds me of something his wife did four years ago.
i saw their maid throwing cooking oil in the gutter in front of my brother's house.
i got angry.
the wife writes me an explanation later.
she says she ordered her maid to throw the cooking oil in the gutter because in her understanding, the gutter is, in her own words,
"public owned,"
"public property,"
"public use."
if that weren't bad enough, she said she was looking for the number of the barangay so she could call and confirm whether the gutter is really for "public use."
🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️
like attracts like.
what a tandem.
this morning, he calls the barangay
because the mattress was not collected with the trash.
🤦♀️
reminds me of something his wife did four years ago.
i saw their maid throwing cooking oil in the gutter in front of my brother's house.
i got angry.
the wife writes me an explanation later.
she says she ordered her maid to throw the cooking oil in the gutter because in her understanding, the gutter is, in her own words,
"public owned,"
"public property,"
"public use."
if that weren't bad enough, she said she was looking for the number of the barangay so she could call and confirm whether the gutter is really for "public use."
🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️
like attracts like.
what a tandem.
ace the pace
this someone and i were on the topic of amazon and somehow i mentioned this "tesla guy." i couldn't recall his name so that's what i used to refer to him.
of course i tried to remember. i was going, "larry ellison is oracle..."
i could envision the tesla guy's face vividly. his name, however, was nowhere near the tip of my tongue.
i didn't want to google.
i didn't want the one i was talking to to tell me.
i wanted to see how long it will take me to retrieve the name from memory.
well, it took me 8 minutes. 🤦♀️
the name escaped me at 3:57 p.m.
it was already 4:05 p.m. when i finally blurted out, "elon musk!"
(there were intervening topics but in my mind i was trying to get hold of the name all throughout.)
the guy i was talking to said he too forgot but was able to remember in 15 seconds.
waaahhh!
15 seconds vs. 8 minutes?!
boy, what a scenic route i took! 🚵
life is a journey not a destination. 😉
more of the same not
i have this favorite garlic noodles from jackson's fried chicken. i've been wondering what the difference was between the P179 and P129 menu items. the pictures are exactly the same. i was thinking the P179 was a bigger serving so i just kept on ordering the P129.
well, today i kinda craved the noodles a lot more. it was raining so with the rider's safety in mind i postponed placing an order intensifying the craving. when the rain stopped, i went for the P179.
the rider arrived and was i surprised when he handed me my order -> the bag was cold.
hmmm 🤔
it turns out the P179 includes a 295 ml bottle of coke.
let's drink to that 😂
thingamajig
niece pointed out this clear goo she's been unable to remove...
me: 'wipe it with, what do you call that cleaner? i suppose your dad has one.'
niece: 'WipeOut?'
me: 'not WipeOut... i can't recall the letters but it has 40... DS-40? WS-40? DW-40?'
niece, chuckling: 'DSWD?'
hahahaha... that's the Department of Social Welfare and Development 😂
when the cobwebs were cleared,
DS40 is my photo printer.
WS-40 and DW-40 were products of my brain exploring possibilities.
the cleaner i couldn't identify was... ta-daaannnn! WD-40.
it didn't come quick but eventually it did. 🐌
taste
i had my niece try the ice cream i ordered -> black forest by puro. it had chunks of auro sponge cake.
(auro is a filipino bean-to-bar chocolate brand that has won international awards.)niece: 'the chocolate tastes expensive!'
huh?!
hahaha...
not 'sweet.'
not 'delicious.'
'tastes expensive.'
what exactly is that??? 🤔
air hugs
it's my late sister-in-law's birthday today. she passed away early this year. cancer diagnosed in 2019.
i love her so much.
she's one of the best mothers i know.
so loving, so caring, so selfless.
i am really thankful for and i deeply appreciate everything that she has done for her children, my nephew and my niece.
i often told her all those when she was still alive. yes, even before she got sick.
i am really happy i did.
no regretting not being able to tell her so.
she heard it from me -> frequently.
rest in peace, mamu.
you know you are loved.
you know you are deeply appreciated.
thank you very much.
love and prayers ❤️🙏
raise
there are things you mention in passing and there are things you say emphatically.
last month, i called BPI requesting for
reversal of the monthly membership fees
and
cancellation
of my BPI edge mastercard
in that order.
i was emphatic about the sequence. i was telling the agent i don't know how their system is designed but there are designs where once you cancel a record you cannot anymore alter the transactions associated with it. (well, you can do a data fix but that is not the regular process.)
i'm not sure whether once they cancel the card they can still reverse the membership fees through the regular process so, to be safe, reverse then cancel.
i was emphatic.
i was repetitive. 🤦♀️
sometime later someone from BPI called me asking for confirmation of my request for card cancellation.
i asked whether the membership fees have been reversed.
he wasn't sure.
i asked whether the fees can still be reversed even after the card has been cancelled.
again, he wasn't sure.
he suggested the fees can be left as is since the card will be cancelled anyway.
i said i don't like that especially because i have other cards with BPI. it's just the edge mastercard i'm having cancelled because i don't use it anyway and it's a hassle to call everytime i have to have the membership fees reversed.
ending: the guy advised me to call BPI again to request for reversal of membership fees.
yesterday i called BPI for something else then later asked about the reversal of membership fees which i said i've requested from another agent before.
this agent told me no such request was filed.
nyeh!
i told the agent to have the conversation reviewed.
guess what, the agent actually did and today BPI called to apologize about what happened. the caller said they've reviewed the conversation and there really was a lapse on their part.
okay.
i told the caller i don't want the agent fired, punished or anything. i'm also not after their apologies.
all i want is for people to learn from what happened so service can be improved.
the caller told me it won't happen again.
hmmm... i'm not sure about that but with my raising it i think the chances of recurrence have been reduced somehow.
read between the lines
talking about this and that...
i asked what to me was a simple question...
i was surprised by the reply: "i'll never tell."
eh?!
simple question answerable by yes or no, he won't answer?!
hmmm... this won't fly legally but that means to me it's a yes. it's so easy to say no but he wouldn't. it must be a yes then.
i ask another question, again answerable by yes or no.
again the reply was: "i'll never tell."
ahahaha... these refusals to answer could be answers in themselves.
same league
a friend i haven't seen in years just liked a birthday greeting i posted for her in facebook in november 2020.
it's august 2021.
i can totally relate. 🤭
birds of the same feather... 🐦🐦 🪶 🪶
substitute
i went to my mom's place yesterday and upon opening their door, i saw a cat jump out from the phone area.
i told my sister there's a cat inside their house. we both, however, could not see where it went.
so there i was in the dining area when i suddenly heard my sister shout the cat is going my way. true enough, it passed under my chair! waaaahhhh!!!
my sister and i both tried to drive it out through the front door but it instead wiggled out through the window above the kitchen sink. a jalousie was broken. a mug was broken. plates were broken.
well, in our family we view the (unintentional) breaking of plates and glasses favorably. it means misfortune was absorbed by the broken object.
#spared
#thankful
in memoriam
a cousin passed away today.
he lived nearby but we were not really close. just the usual hi-hello with which you greet even non-relatives. understandable because we have a 14-year age gap. add to that that we're the opposite sex.
there were, however, two notable incidents in our otherwise uneventful coexistence.
the first was four years ago when i got mad at him for blocking my car. i don't remember anymore how we patched things up but somehow things went back to normal as if nothing happened.
i'd say he's an affable guy. me, i'd see you on the street and i'd usually just smile or nod (unless i'm mad at you, nyahaha). in his case, he'd greet you verbally with a smile.
the second was three months ago. we chanced upon each other and, as is his wont, he greeted me cheerfully. instead of just smiling back, i admonished him for mixing biodegradable with non-biodegradable waste. he was obviously taken aback but i've already proceeded to our gate so he was not able to answer.
i heard him complaining about it later, wondering what was wrong about the garbage he just brought out. he thought i was referring to current day.
the next time i saw him, i showed him footage from our security camera where he and two scavengers helping him clean up were throwing garbage in our sack. (our sacks are on the unfenced part of our property.)
the moment he recognized himself in the clip, he immediately and repeatedly apologized!
no hesitation whatsoever.
no excuses whatsoever.
just humble and profuse apologies.
he earned my admiration on that day. it takes a good heart and a sound mind to so readily recognize, admit and apologize for a mistake.
Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May his soul
and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God,
rest in peace.
Amen.
stress tolerance
last august 11, i had a 6-second chance encounter with a neighbor and, for reasons i cannot fathom, she came up with an altogether different version of how it went. she accused me of things i did not at all do!
she was insisting on it.
i kept on disputing it.
well, footage from the security camera matched my version, not hers.
she has said
timing was off;
there were so many things on her mind;
she was stressed.
you can put those forward as an explanation but they're not an excuse.
there are so many occurrences in this life that will catch you at a bad time.
there are so many concerns in this world that will occupy our mind.
there are so many possible sources of stress in daily living.
it cannot be that your response to them is to
fabricate false accusations,
call the barangay
and have a fit on the street.
consult a psychiatrist.
seek professional help.
it ain't sweet
sister eating caramelized banana... she asks the help how come it is salty not sweet...
the help bursts out laughing...
she said she was supposed to roll it on sugar but mistakenly used iodized salt 🤣
your health and mine
i was going to order breakfast for someone... no particular preference provided, just a generic "anything healthy."
i was stumped... to me, healthy food is all-natural, no preservative ice cream 😂
weather the storm
sometimes people do certain things and on hindsight they realize they were wrong.
there are those who keep quiet.
uh-hum...
there are those who admit the mistake.
why not? nobody's perfect. everyone makes mistakes.
there are those who deny what they did.
liars.
and there are those who try to paint a different picture of what happened to put themselves in a better light.
what's done is done. you cannot alter the past.
we had a 6-second chance encounter and, for reasons i cannot at this point fathom, you came up with an altogether different version of how it went.
you called the barangay and accused me of things i did not at all do!
you can try to morph it all you want now but you cannot erase the fact that you described and reenacted a physical "sugod" (~ charge). that's what we were going back and forth on. you were insisting on it. i was disputing it.
there was no objection about the verbal part, i.e., the word "bobo" (~ dumb), because that is something that i acknowledged FROM THE VERY START.
it was the physical aspect that was contentious.
well, the security footage matches my version and not yours.
i am really, really thankful there was a security camera there. what if there were none? between your words and mine, how can what actually transpired be determined?
and ironically, i am also thankful you did it to me. what if you hurled those false accusations at my sister? what if you hurled them at my mom's help? they probably would have clammed up in fear!
in my case, i wasn't intimidated by your screams. the more you insisted, the more i disputed. i stood my ground until you finally changed tunes. what if the one you accused were made of weaker stuff?
you say now that you were just demonstrating how i go down the stairs. yes, you did that, too. but it came later, when you were already jumping from topic to topic after we've moved on from the sugod issue. it was just one sentence. unlike the sugod, there was no argument about it. it was short and quick.
you can spin all you want but, if you're in your right faculties, you yourself would know that you are only spinning.
you cannot hide from yourself.
i don't know whether you realize the gravity of what happened on august 11.
how on earth can you describe and reenact something that never happened???
how can you be so insistent about it???
you seemed so sure!
you had details!
disturbing and alarming.
do i now have to retain a copy of security footage whenever we're on that alley at the same time lest you again conjure up some falsehood? how 'bout in other places?
if this were the office, i could simply have your alter privileges revoked. your access will be limited to read-only as a precautionary measure. i don't know whether these things recur but what if they do and you suddenly imagined that someone ordered you to add a record? to modify? to delete? to be safe, you'll only be given view access. (safer actually to strip you of all system access.)
where we are, however, is not an office. things are not that simple. i don't really know what precautions to take. i can only hope that truth will always prevail.
questions
there are the 5Ws and 1H:
- Who- What
- When
- Where
- Why
- How
normally the first four can be easily determined. it's the latter two that could get complicated.
there's a Why that hasn't really left my mind for several years now. it's not one of those dramatic Whys about life and love or whatever. my unanswered Why is simply:
WHY did this someone offer my credit card for use by others, three times (!), even if i've told her not to?
it's a simple (?) question that got bigger than what it was because it has remained unanswered for so long.
had the question been answered satisfactorily (i must say i don't really know what a satisfactory answer would be) the first time i asked, i probably would have forgotten it by now. hmmm... probably not. but, at least, i won't be asking it anymore.
i am really curious about the answer.
i am curious as well why the one who did it just keeps on deflecting the question instead of addressing it.
her standard reply is they don't owe me money. that is going off on a tangent.
then just recently,
a HOW and more
that would remain unanswered
for i don't know how long
was added to that one.
on august 11, 2021, someone came up with an altogether different version of our 6-second chance encounter.
she seemed so sure of everything.
she called the barangay.
she demonstrated what supposedly transpired.
she got them in detail!
i was disputing her.
she was insistent.
we were going back and forth with her accusing and me disputing and she was so bold as to say it can be seen in the CCTV. well, you watch the footage, it does not match her story. it matches mine.
WHAT on earth happened there?!
this is disturbing, alarming and really grave.
HOW was she able to conjure up something like that???
WHY did she seem so sure about something that never happened???
did she really believe it happened?
WHAT goes on inside the minds of these people???
HOW do their brains work???
good thing there was a security camera to capture what actually transpired. WHAT if there were none?
interestingly enough for the WHO, the two persons involved in these two cases are mother and daughter.
i do not know whether that would form part of the answer or it should trigger another question.
there are mysteries that have remained unsolved for centuries -> about natural catastrophes, about ancient civilizations... my concerns are nowhere near that import. i hope i get the answers in my lifetime.
questions and answers
neighbor's dog out on its own without a leash on august 13, from 4:57 p.m. to 5:26 p.m.
dog owners' questions/statements*
*bakit, nakagat ka ba?
- did the dog bite you?
the law does not require someone to be bitten before unleashed dogs become an offense.
= = = = =
*bakit, na-allergy ka ba?
- did you contract an allergy?
the law does not require someone to contract an allergy before unleashed dogs become an offense.
= = = = =
*(aug) 13 (video) 'yan. ang hinahanap namin (aug) 14.
- that video's (aug) 13. we're looking for (aug) 14.
their dog out without a leash (and peeing) on august 13 is an offense in itself.
background:
august 13 i saw in the security cam that the neighbor's dog was in our property then it moved to the neighbor's fence right beside our entrance and peed at 5:25 p.m.
when i went to my mom's house morning of august 14, i told her to tell the neighbor to splash water where the dog peed, the one near the doormats. i said have them splash water on the doormats, too. (their dog roams and even lingers in that area.)
the neighbor's dogs also pee in other parts of our property, as in, within our property line, so i specified doormat for this instance.
the neighbor says what my mom messaged them was that the dog peed this morning (aug 14) so splash water on the doormats. something got lost in the transmission 🤭
in reply, the neighbor asked for a video. 👏
i'm the one who has the clips so i showed the neighbor. i was referring to august 13 when i told my mom so that's what i showed them.
they want the 14th.
uhm, pet owner, your dog should not be out without a leash regardless of date. the august 13 incident does not cease to be an offense just because it is not august 14.
= = = = =
*hindi naman sa doormat ninyo umihi, kina <neighbor>.
- it didn't pee on your doormat, (it peed) on <neighbor>'s.
just being on our doormat is offense enough. the dog does not have to do anything else.
= = = = =
*sina <neighbor 1> nga may mga bata, nagpupunta din du'n 'yung aso, mas lalong dapat siyang mag-reklamo pero hindi nag-re-reklamo.
dogs out without a leash do not cease to be an offense just because only <neighbor1> and not <neighbor2> complains.
= = = = =
bonus round:
me to the neighbor (on other dates) :
bakit mo in-offer 'yung credit card ko sa iba, tatlong beses, kahit sinabihan ka nang huwag mo gagawin?
- why did you offer my credit card for use by others, three times, even if you've been told not to do so?
her 'answers.'
1. wala kaming utang sa 'yo.
- we don't owe you money.
me:
i'm not asking whether you owe me money. i'm asking why you offered my credit card for use by others, three times (!), even if i've told you not to do so.
(two of the people she offered it to, i don't even know.)
if it happened just once, i could consider it a lapse and maybe let it pass. but three times? that is not a lapse anymore, more so after having been told not to do it.
let's be lenient and say you did it the first time because i did not tell you not to.
but c'mon, why would it enter my mind to tell anyone not to offer my credit card for use by others?
if, by some stroke of genius, the thought did cross my mind and i suddenly told someone not to offer my credit card for use by others, how do you think that person would react?
i'm thinking he'd blurt out, "why would i do that?!"
a normal reaction.
learn.
2. ang tagal na nu'n.
- it's been so long.
me:
it wasn't long the first time i asked.
as long as you don't address the question, it will continue being asked.
in your eyes
mom reminded me it was someone's birthday so i got my external drives to look for a pic of hers with the celebrator for posting in facebook.
i found one. and i was in the picture, too. i'd say i was more noticeable than my mom. my top was rather colorful.
i therefore told her the pic seems more suitable for posting in my account than in hers.
she agreed.
i'd just tag her so 'twill appear in her account, too.
on hindsight, i'm thinking regardless of how supposedly noticeable i was, if i post the pic in her account, her friends would still be looking for/at her and not me. she's their friend, after all.
an ex told me before, no matter how many people there are in a room, his eyes will always try to find me.
sweet 😍
blast from the past 🤭
insane
the other day, the neighbor whose dogs past and present have been roaming around not just in public but within our private property for ten (!) years reported me to the barangay.
i was at my mom's place and there was a call from the gate. i checked and two barangay personnel were there looking for someone with my nickname.
i said it's me.
they said someone is complaining about me.
i put on a face mask, went out, and there was the neighbor having a fit.
she was screaming.
she said i called her "bobo."
she said "sinugod" ko siya.
she said "sinabayan" ko pa raw "talaga" siya.
she even demonstrated how i supposedly turned and followed her to their gate!
(bobo - dumb
sugod - to charge toward someone
sabayan - time one's actions with someone else's)
i said i did not charge toward her. i was going in the opposite direction to my mom's place. neither did i time my going with hers. but yes, i called her "bobo." to my recollection my words were:
"hoy, <toot>, 'yung aso mo nasa labas na naman! 10 years na 'yan! masyado na kayong bobo!"
- "hey, <toot>, your dog was again outside! it's already 10 years! you're too dumb already!"
the day before, her dog was out. days before that, it was also out, on consecutive days peeing, even right in front of me!
this afternoon, yes, literally to this day, the dog was again out. it was on our doormats then walked over to pee on its favorite spot.
we don't have a dog. i shouldn't have to deal with dogs within our property, much more their pee and poop.
under normal circumstances, you venture out of your property to encounter these things. in this case, no, the nuisance is the one that ventures into your own privately-owned space.
imagine what ten years is.
grade school is only six years. in that span of time you learned how to read, write, add, subtract, multiply,
divide plus a host of different things.
junior high school is only four years.
add two years of senior high school and you have a total of six years.
college is only four years.
the current Medium Term Philippine Development Plan is only six years.
these people, through different dogs, could not learn how to restrain their pets in ten years! what sort of brains do they have?! to think there is urgency of compliance because there is a Republic Act.
the neighbor was insisting i charged at her and i kept on disputing it.
what she's talking about happened less than an hour earlier. how come we remember things so differently???
the neighbor so boldly declares,
"kahit panoorin sa CCTV!"
- you can see it from the CCTV!
we did not watch the footage there and then but i did watch it the following day. well, the footage matches my recollection and statements. it does not at all match hers!
how on earth did she conjure up such a story? a product of her imagination she was so convinced was real she even called the barangay.
the security footage shows me saying something to the neighbor while i was crossing over to my mom's place from mine. i was walking continuously diagonally away from the neighbor and in 6 seconds i was already inside my mom's gate. yes, i walk fast. yes, i live very near my mom.
where is the part where i charged at the neighbor???
where is the part where i followed her???
where is the part where i went near their gate???
she was so sure i did those things she even demonstrated my supposed movements! gah! never happened.
the footage contradicts her story. this neighbor was either lying or hallucinating. either way, not good.
the real story.
i was at my mom's place and she told me that it was a cousin's birthday. i told her i will post a pic of them together so i went home to get my external drives where the pics are.
on my way back to my mom's place, i saw the neighbor. that's when i rebuked her about her dog.
was my statement too strong? i don't think so.
you have to put things in context. my strong words are a reaction to the neighbor's repeated, frequent, long-running and ongoing offenses. these offenses run the gamut. they're multifront! and yes, i have pictures, videos, messages, files, even structures to prove it!
and this neighbor has the gall to be so livid about being called bobo? if that is her reaction to something like that, imagine what my supposed corresponding reaction should be for all that they've done!
going back to the arguments in the presence of barangay personnel... i point to a spot where one of the neighbor's dogs like to pee.
the neighbor's response floored me:
"dilaan ko pa 'yan, e!"
- i could even lick that!
yuckkkkk!!!
why on earth do i have to deal with these people?!
i dare her to actually go lick it and she backtracks.
whew! good thing! could you imagine if she actually knelt there and licked the concrete? 🤣🤔😨
she instead moves on to dog poop. she angrily denies that her dog poops.
i also angrily shoot back i have it on video.
guess what happens next:
she angrily stomps her foot on the ground and repeatedly goes, "bakit, nandito pa ba 'yung ta_?! nandiyan pa ba?! nandiyan pa ba 'yung ta_?!"
- why, is the poop still here?! is it still there?! is the poop still there?!
aaaarrrgggghhhhh!!!
she was the one who brought up poop! if she wants to get mad about sonething she herself raised, then do it on her own time, not mine.
the neighbor was jumping from topic to topic and even agonized about things that have yet to materialize. pleasssseeee!
for ten years you could not even handle the present and here you are making a problem out of things that you simply imagine could possibly arise?
grrrr!!! i'm not interested in your ramblings about the what ifs! conserve your brainpower for the what is! don't put too much on your plate, you can't handle the load!
the apple does not fall far from the tree. similar experiences i had with this neighbor's mom come to mind.
the neighbor's mom once accused me of doing something i did not do.
she even said she told her cousin and her friends and they were all appalled.
she was insistent i did it.
i was insistent i did not.
to settle the matter, i asked for a reenactment.
guess what, two of them, she and her maid, attempting separately several times, could not execute what she was saying i did. the physical environment simply would not allow it.
did she go back to her cousin and her friends to retract her falsehood?
i don't think so.
another time, our family came from lunch and on the way home my mom decided to visit someone in the hospital. we were just supposed to wait for my mom in the car but at the last minute she told me and my sister-in-law to go with her so we did.
the aftermath?
the neighbor's mom imputed all sorts of imaginary bad intentions about our presence in the hospital!
again, she did not keep it to herself. she spread it to her friends. she even sent a message about what she and her friends think about it.
i asked my mom to inform the neighbor about what actually transpired.
having known the truth, did she go back to her friends and tell them she was wrong?
i doubt it.
these people have wasted too much of my time. next time they have these flights of imagination, spare me. make them talk to their clique, to a psychiatrist, to the man on the moon.
and this neighbor has the gall to be so livid about being called bobo? if that is her reaction to something like that, imagine what my supposed corresponding reaction should be for all that they've done!
going back to the arguments in the presence of barangay personnel... i point to a spot where one of the neighbor's dogs like to pee.
the neighbor's response floored me:
"dilaan ko pa 'yan, e!"
- i could even lick that!
yuckkkkk!!!
why on earth do i have to deal with these people?!
i dare her to actually go lick it and she backtracks.
whew! good thing! could you imagine if she actually knelt there and licked the concrete? 🤣🤔😨
she instead moves on to dog poop. she angrily denies that her dog poops.
i also angrily shoot back i have it on video.
guess what happens next:
she angrily stomps her foot on the ground and repeatedly goes, "bakit, nandito pa ba 'yung ta_?! nandiyan pa ba?! nandiyan pa ba 'yung ta_?!"
- why, is the poop still here?! is it still there?! is the poop still there?!
aaaarrrgggghhhhh!!!
she was the one who brought up poop! if she wants to get mad about sonething she herself raised, then do it on her own time, not mine.
the neighbor was jumping from topic to topic and even agonized about things that have yet to materialize. pleasssseeee!
for ten years you could not even handle the present and here you are making a problem out of things that you simply imagine could possibly arise?
grrrr!!! i'm not interested in your ramblings about the what ifs! conserve your brainpower for the what is! don't put too much on your plate, you can't handle the load!
the apple does not fall far from the tree. similar experiences i had with this neighbor's mom come to mind.
the neighbor's mom once accused me of doing something i did not do.
she even said she told her cousin and her friends and they were all appalled.
she was insistent i did it.
i was insistent i did not.
to settle the matter, i asked for a reenactment.
guess what, two of them, she and her maid, attempting separately several times, could not execute what she was saying i did. the physical environment simply would not allow it.
did she go back to her cousin and her friends to retract her falsehood?
i don't think so.
another time, our family came from lunch and on the way home my mom decided to visit someone in the hospital. we were just supposed to wait for my mom in the car but at the last minute she told me and my sister-in-law to go with her so we did.
the aftermath?
the neighbor's mom imputed all sorts of imaginary bad intentions about our presence in the hospital!
again, she did not keep it to herself. she spread it to her friends. she even sent a message about what she and her friends think about it.
i asked my mom to inform the neighbor about what actually transpired.
having known the truth, did she go back to her friends and tell them she was wrong?
i doubt it.
these people have wasted too much of my time. next time they have these flights of imagination, spare me. make them talk to their clique, to a psychiatrist, to the man on the moon.
andang isi
today is my late paternal grandmother's birth anniversary. uhm, probably.
she has two birthdays, the one they've been celebrating and the one on her baptismal certificate. the two dates are over a year apart.
she was born in the province in the 1890s when recordkeeping was presumably not so rigorous.
my late dad told me that she was beautiful. i don't think he said that only because she was his mother. i could glean the beauty from her youth even in her old age.
he also told me that she cooked very well, especially the kakanin (native delicacies) which she sold.
she was widowed in her 50s.
she got to go out of the country for the first time in her 70s when she visited a U.S.-based daughter.
she lived in the province and i did not really get to know her well. nevertheless, her blood flows through my veins and she will always have my affection.
remembering her with love and prayers ❤️🙏
of money and rabbits
today, GCash returned the P8K+ that was deducted from my account the other day even if it was not successfully GSaved/deposited to my CIMB account.
i am happy.
i am thankful.
on june 1, BPI likewise returned the P30K that was deducted from my account on may 27 even if it was not successfully loaded to my GCash account.
i was also happy.
i was also thankful.
all is well now.
i will be happier and more thankful if i (and other customers) do not encounter such unreliability anymore.
yeah, these companies do not exist for my joy and gratitude.
nevertheless, they should recheck why these things happen and implement whatever further improvements can be done asap. especially when it comes to money, service should be reliable.
this is not a magic show. it is not entertaining to see money disappear. 🪄
i am happy.
i am thankful.
on june 1, BPI likewise returned the P30K that was deducted from my account on may 27 even if it was not successfully loaded to my GCash account.
i was also happy.
i was also thankful.
all is well now.
i will be happier and more thankful if i (and other customers) do not encounter such unreliability anymore.
yeah, these companies do not exist for my joy and gratitude.
nevertheless, they should recheck why these things happen and implement whatever further improvements can be done asap. especially when it comes to money, service should be reliable.
this is not a magic show. it is not entertaining to see money disappear. 🪄
reliability
last night, i tried to GSave/deposit P8K+ from my GCash to my CIMB account.
no Reference Number appeared.i did not receive confirmation SMS.
but the amount disappeared from my GCash.
two and a half months ago, something similar happened.
i was trying to load my GCash from my BPI account,
the money was deducted from BPI
but was not loaded to GCash.
BPI later refunded me.
two incidents in a span of two and a half months do not speak well of reliability, i dunno whether of the banks or of GCash which is the common denominator in both transactions.
anyway, i logged a ticket with GCash Help Center and received the following response:
"We will validate your request and the refund will be processed within 1-3 business days once your failed transaction is valid for adjustment. An SMS notification will be sent to your GCash number.
For the meantime, we will be tagging this ticket as close [sic]. If you did not receive the funds within the provided time frame, kindly reply to this email or send us a follow up email."
hmmm... in my former office years back, Help Desk was not supposed to close tickets until they have been confirmed resolved or declared unsolvable.
you get insights from ticket aging. closing a ticket when the issue is still pending would be misleading. the dashboard would be unreliable.
not good. twice over. 🤦♀️
not quite right
friend told me his dog was going to poop curfew time* so he let it out on a 10-meter leash while he remained inside the house.
hmmm... he did not violate the curfew alright but he also did not conform to Republic Act 9482 (Anti-Rabies Act of 2007) on two points:
- "The owner shall be responsible for the proper collection and disposal of excreta/feces."
- "The length of the leash shall not be more than 1.5 meters..."
- "The length of the leash shall not be more than 1.5 meters..."
the long leash fell short. 🙃
do better next time.
= = = = =
*metro manila is under Enhanced Community Quarantine with an 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. curfew
solo order
got my order from the food delivery rider. i saw my nephew in the garage.
me: 'oh... so you're now doing jumping ropes...'
nephew: 'i exercise now...'
me: 'good...'
nephew: 'thanks, tita.'
me: 'what for? i didn't do anything.'
nephew: 'oh... i thought you said something...'
me: 'not really... you want my dinner?'
nephew: 'no.'
whew! thanks 😅
me: 'oh... so you're now doing jumping ropes...'
nephew: 'i exercise now...'
me: 'good...'
nephew: 'thanks, tita.'
me: 'what for? i didn't do anything.'
nephew: 'oh... i thought you said something...'
me: 'not really... you want my dinner?'
nephew: 'no.'
whew! thanks 😅
it's what i know
noticed specks on a supposedly final photo edit... i re-opened the file and removed them...
sister: 'that's okay already... they won't notice those anymore...'
me: 'yeah... but i know it's there so i'll clean it up...'
i cannot hide from me.
clamor
my sister was going to the barangay to get a new Quarantine Pass.
she asked me whether i want to go with her. (only one pass per household. we live in different houses.)
me: 'i don't want to go out. it's just two weeks. i can stay home.'
(from august 6 to august 20, metro manila will be under Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), the strictest quarantine classification.)
sister: 'the barangay announced the old quarantine pass will not be valid anymore.'
me: 'yeah, i saw their announcement. i don't understand these people. we're going on stricter lockdown and that's when they tell you to go to the barangay to get a new pass. how many people will be there? can't we make do with the old pass? if they really have to issue a new one, then distribute it house-to-house. they go house-to-house during elections.'
i did not go with my sister.
late afternoon, my niece tells me the barangay is in our street issuing quarantine passes.
yay! good!
i got a new Quarantine Pass.
my sister teased me, 'you didn't want to go to the barangay so they came to you.'
haha... nah! they must have read the angry comments on their facebook post.
good thing they listened.
degrees
editing old pics for a late cousin's class anniversary book.
me to mom: 'i've edited 6 pics... i've e-mailed them to <late cousin's sister>...'
mom: 'how many are there supposed to be?'
me: '8.'
mom: '8? how come you only sent 6?'
me: 'wait, mom... i'm not done with the other two... one has tears and missing parts... that's photo restoration already!'
color is easy. 😝
clean up is tedious. 🙄
restoration is the difficult round. 😭
stay home
caller: 'i'll go [to your place]... let's go out...'
me: 'what the... there's going to be a [stricter] lockdown and that's when you'll be going out?!'
caller: 'when it's lockdown, there are few people outside so it's safe.'
ugh!
it's this kind of thinking that prolongs the pandemic. 🤦♀️
same name, different girl
last night, i posted a MomentCam caricature as birthday greeting to a facebook friend.
today, i was surprised to see notification that this facebook friend from another circle commented on the post.
me: 'they know each other???'
i checked.
waaahhh!!!
i committed a boo-boo! i posted my greeting on the wrong account, a namesake of the celebrator's!
i immediately deleted and reposted to the correct account.
some mistakes you can rectify.
good thing.
shape up
so i was irked that the neighbor's dogs continue being out on their own, caught by our security cameras peeing here and there, even after one mauled a kitten to death in june.
me: 'can you imagine, something like that has already happened and they still would not change. this has been going on for ten years! what sort of brains do these people have? in ten years they still haven't learned how to be responsible pet owners?! did you see how their dog brutally killed a kitten?'
mom's help: 'i saw.'
me, taken aback (that was supposed to be a rhetorical question, hahaha) : 'how did you see? the videos are with me.'
mom's help: 'i saw it live. i was there.'
me: 'a, yeah! you were watching from the gate. eyewitness. in court, that carries a lot of weight. BUT through time your memory will fade. the video won't.'
i believe everything happens for a reason. that killing was caught on cam to serve as a wake-up call.
one of these days i will share it with the world.
goodbye
my mom requested a MomentCam caricature for her friend who's celebrating a birthday.
i do MomentCams everyday -> for my own birthday celebrator facebook friends. and just when my mom asked, that's when the app would not work! my phone was so full, the app won't update 🤦♀️
i therefore had to finally uninstall apps and delete pics and videos i've been holding on to for so long. i actually have copies of the files in my external drives. i just want them on my phone, too.
when push, however, comes to shove, you bite the bullet and let go.
i love you, goodbye ❤️👋
😉
precedence
so the neighbor's dog was out (nothing new) and again it peed beside the entrance to our place (the usual).
my mom's help asked me what if it bites someone and the owner does not know that the dog was out, who will pay for the teatment of the one bitten?
me: 'the pet owner!'
mom's help: 'what if the owner does not know the dog was out?'
me: 'regardless!'
mom's help: 'what if the owner is not at the house when the dog bit?'
me: 'you know, under the law, it is the responsibility of the pet owner to maintain control over their dog. it does not say only when they are home or only when they're not busy. regardless of where they are, regardless of what they're doing, their dog should be under control. it shoud not be out in public on its own. it should not be biting people. if it does, the owner is required by law to shoulder the medical expenses of the victim. that's a Republic Act. it applies to the whole country.'
mom's help: 'what if you enter their yard and their dog bites you? who will pay for your treatment?'
me: 'if they invited you and you get bitten, they should pay. but if they did not and you just enter unannounced, i think you'll have to pay for your medical expenses. you don't just enter other people's property. that's a bigger offense than their dog biting you!'
there is a hierarchy to things.
champion
when i was still working, i used to get,
"Masyadong mataas ang standard mo.*"a lot. yes, even from my bosses. it was not meant as a compliment. it was more of an admonishment. it was more of a complaint.
they'd even add, "Hindi lahat kapareho mo."
~ Not everyone is like you.
the expectation there is that you should go lower. i found it so frustrating. why go low? shouldn't it be bring the others higher?
and then i watch hidilyn diaz's post-win vlog.
on july 26, 2021, at the tokyo olympics, she gave the philippines it's first ever olympic gold medal. weightlifting, women's 55kg. she even set an olympic record by lifting a combined weight of 224 kg. woman power, not just figuratively but literally.
in her vlog posted july 27, she said,
"... last time na na-frustrated ako, sabi ng...
"Alam mo, Hids, okay lang 'yan. Masyadong mataas ang standard mo."
Ganu'n talaga. Kaya ka nga Olympian, e!"
amen to that.
congratulations, hidilyn 🎉
"Faster, Higher, Stronger - Together."
= = = = =
* Your standards are too high.
** ... last time i was frustrated, [someone] said...
"You know, Hids, it's okay. Your standards are too high."
That's really how it is. That's precisely why you're an olympian!"
a tale of two fur parents
so this neighbor's dog broke out, a rare occurrence.
what did the owner do?
she chased after it and didn't stop until it was brought home.
in contrast to this other neighbor.
they've been saying their dogs have simply been breaking out.
yeah, right. through the years for 10 years.
not just long running and ongoing, frequent -> even daily for their previous dogs for yearS.
what do they do when their dogs break out?
1. sometimes they try to catch it.
if they could not, with the slightest of efforts, they'd simply go home and close the gate on the dog.
the dog would be out in public or within our private property.
it would pee there.
it would poop there.
2. sometimes they do nothing at all.
2. sometimes they do nothing at all.
they'd see the dog go out the gate and they'd simply close the gate.
last month, their dog was mauling a kitten to death for a full 7 minutes and they did not even bother to come out. yes, they knew. it was some other neighbor who tried to stop it, in vain.
you'd think after what happened they'd step up in confining their dogs. no. succeeding days, their dogs were still out, unattended and unleashed.
two pet owners -> the good and the bad.
last month, their dog was mauling a kitten to death for a full 7 minutes and they did not even bother to come out. yes, they knew. it was some other neighbor who tried to stop it, in vain.
you'd think after what happened they'd step up in confining their dogs. no. succeeding days, their dogs were still out, unattended and unleashed.
two pet owners -> the good and the bad.
too early
yesterday, july 27, i saw a shakey's baaad burger at my parents' place.
today, i see that shakey's is offering a 50% discount on a baaad burger meal from july 28 to august 1.
what a difference a day makes.
identity crisis
the name of the store on this food delivery app is '<toot> Sushi Bake'... the menu has desserts, drinks, shakes, cakes and ice cream... the three different days that i checked, there was not a single sushi bake... in their listing on another food delivery app, the bakes were on the menu.
i e-mailed them asking whether it was an oversight or the dishes were just temporarily unavailable.
40 minutes later they replied saying "sushi bakes are uploaded and available."
ei, thanks 😊
#LiveUpToYourName
heroes
i was generating caricatures using the MomentCam app and i entered the keyword "hero."
the search results showed fictional superheroes, cartoon characters, sportsmen, armed persons and, ta-daaan! firefighters! 🧑🚒
aawww... so true... saving life and property is their occupation.
may they be safe always. 🙏
distant
mom: 'what's the [married] surname of <niece>?'
me: 'cabello...'
mom, pointing to the newspaper: 'there's camila cabello here... i wonder how they're related...'
me: 'huh?! that one's born in cuba! she's famous! she's the one who sang
♩♪ havana, ooh na-na ♫ ♬
and
♩♪ i love it when you call me señorita ♫ ♬'
😂
how'd you get there?
i go home and open my door and there was a lizard on the floor!
i was surprised that there was a lizard.
i was doubly surprised that it was on the floor.
i don't see lizards often but the few times that i did, i saw them on the ceiling. in my mind therefore, a lizard's place is on the ceiling 🤭
but yeah, they cannot just pop up there. unless they were born on the ceiling, they must have started on the floor, on the ground, someplace low.
just because i don't see it doesn't mean it isn't so.
thousandfold
i don't keep money in my e-wallets. i just load them exactly what i'm going to pay.
i called my niece requesting her to transfer 20 to my e-wallet.
niece: "twenty thousand?"
me: "no... twenty pesos."
for real 🤭😂🤣
tears of joy
today is my dad's first death anniversary. in the philippines, we call it "babang luksa."
baba is to take down.
luksa is mourning.
babang luksa is supposed to be the end of the mourning period.
you have one year to grieve.
you're not supposed to be in sorrow forever.
the ones who die are not meant to perish. they move on to eternal life.
that is cause for rejoicing.
dual-purpose
my mom asked me to buy flowers to bring to church for my dad's first death anniversary. i ordered an arrangement in a heart-shaped box online.
when my mom asks me to buy something, she usually pays for it. yeah, i accept the payment. to me an errand is an errand. a gift is a gift.
i normally get the payment later when my credit card bill is already due. i almost always charge stuff i buy to my card.
i posted a photo of the flowers on my mom's facebook account. was i surprised to see she replied to those who commented that they were from me for my dad.
oh!
i thought they were from her to my dad!
i don't give flowers. i give food.
if the flowers were from me, i would have gotten a chocolate or fruit bouquet. yup, even for the dead.
voice command
taking pics of food at my mom's house... i was triggering my phone camera by saying "smile."
my nephew arrived.
i continued taking pics through voice control saying smile-smile-smile.
after several shots, my nephew goes, 'are you telling me to smile, tita?'
me: 'huh?! hahaha... nope! have you been smiling each time?'
🤭😄🤣
return
i used a P40 voucher i won by redeeming a scratch card for 250 points in foodpanda's Rewards page.
ta-daaan! i unexpectedly earned 300 points!
my order awarded the points and unlocked the Winner Dinner badge which you get for ordering three times between 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
gee, winner dinner indeed 🍽️🪙 😊
consolation
yesterday, i preordered a slice of cake for delivery at 1:15 p.m. today.
then this afternoon, the status showed that delivery has been moved to 1:23 p.m.after that, to 1:46 p.m.
eventually, the order was cancelled 🤦♀️
i was refunded
and
given an I'm Sorry voucher worth P90.
(the slice of cake was P180.)
i don't think my craving for the cake is worth P90.
put P90 and the slice of cake in front of me, i'll choose the cake.
nevertheless, i can easily order some other cake anytime.
i've never chanced upon P90 my whole life.
good enough 🙃
(... is never good enough 🤭)
my bad
i asked my mom whether there's anything she wants as i was going out.
she touched her hair then said "eye color, medium brown" -> or so i thought.
i 'corrected' her.
"hair! hair color... contact lens if eye."
she countered: "letter I! iColor... that's the brand."
oh... wahaha... sorry...
"a little knowledge is a dangerous thing." 🤦♀️
i've never dyed my hair... uhm, i don't really comb it either 🤭
#clueless
thank you, next
i texted my niece saying i have ice cream to share. all-natural ice cream. no preservatives, blah-blah-blah.
my niece replied she was not at their house.
aw!
previous times when she wasn't home, i'd just leave her some ice cream in their freezer. this time, the help was not around and i don't have a key to their house so i just had the ice cream all to myself.
wahaha... it was nothing special, at least to me. i've ordered two other flavors from the same shop before: one i liked a lot; the other was just okay. if i were to rank all three, this one would come last.
no loss for my niece;
no gain for me.
next time we'll go for win-win. 😋😊
food pics
i was at my mom's house and i took pics of her food...
mom: 'that has rubbed off on <niece>... she did that yesterday, too...'
me: 'oh, she didn't get it from me... that's typical of her generation... i was just doing it too early...'
i've been taking pics of my food from back in the pre-digital camera days...
i do it for two reasons:
1. i want to have a remembrance of what goes into my body
2. i want a remembrance of the food before it disappears from the face of the earth 🤣
take two
i have two foodpanda vouchers expiring on july 14.
voucher terms:
1. valid for a minimum order of P300
2. valid for selected vendors
3. valid for selected chains
i don't really know how i got them. i just saw them in my account.
i tried to use them in different restaurants. i kept on getting, "Not valid for this order."
i e-mailed support asking where i can see the list of partners to which the vouchers would apply.
the reply:
"We would like to inform you that we are unable to provide you the selective vendor so you have to choose the vendor manually."
eh?
foodpanda has over a thousand restaurants and shops!
i don't intend to choose one on a trial-and-error basis.
i requested for escalation.
the new reply:
"... voucher only for categories under Pandamart, bakery and Pets."
that's more like it! 😊
some answers are not acceptable.
don't accept them.
eat alike
i texted my niece saying i have ice cream to share.
she declined saying she was at the very moment having yogurt.
haha... we're related alright 🍨😋
priorities
a friend sent me a youtube video in viber.
i was trying to watch it right away so i could react but my viewing kept on getting interrupted by our exchange of messages.
ok. drop the vid.
whatever reaction i might have to the video should not take precedence over my reactions to the here and now.
be present in the present.
plus and minus
i had my mom try this dark chocolate ice cream...
me: 'that's chocolate from davao...'
mom: 'it tastes so much like chocolate... the M...'
me: 'what M?'
mom: 'M...'
me: 'M bakery? M&M's?'
mom: 'no... the davao chocolate... it starts with the letter M...'
me: 'ah... malagos? no... that one's auro...'
i'm surprised that she remembered... i'm amused that it's only one letter...
1 out of 7... score, 14% 🤣
factor in her age, i'd deduct the 14 from 100... hmmm... 86% 😊
passed 🎉
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)