SSS registration alert

i received a supposed system-generated email

from SSS Web Registration
sent from SSSWeb.notifications61030@sss.gov.ph.
it addressed me as "Ms./Mr. FRANCISCO" which is not my name.

part of the email read,
"We regret to inform you that your registration in the SSS Website was unsuccessful due to the following reason/s:

Your SS Number is already registered."

it is possible that Ms./Mr. Francisco simply committed a typographical error in trying to register my social security number instead of his/her own.

it is, however, also possible that someone actually tried to create an SSS web account using my SS number.

to be safe, i emailed SSS
at onlineserviceassistance@sss.gov.ph
(the reply address stated in the notification email)
and
member_relations@sss.gov.ph
requesting them
to look into the matter
and
not to entertain any request to register my SS number under someone else's name and/or email address.

forewarned is forearmed.

from here to there

i saw putin in the news and rasputin came to mind.  yup, that's how i'm wired.

i searched him in youtube.  yup, not google.

i was expecting serious videos about the rasputin you learn about in world history.  well, the search results showed boney m.'s song and tiktokers dancing to it!

♩♪  there lived a certain man
in russia long ago
he was big and strong
in his eyes a flaming glow  ♫ ♬

hahaha...  great song 👍
and i loved the dance of thrissur medical college students naveen razak and janaki omkumar ❤️
their rasputin dance video was first posted on march 23, 2021 and has since gone viral...  uhm, even controversial...

"life is queer with its twists and turns."

show and tell

friend:  'what did you eat?'

me:  'egg and corn...'

friend:  'corn on the cob?'

me:  'corn on the egg.'

friend:  'corn on the egg or egg on the corn?'

me:  'well, there was more of the egg than the corn so corn on the egg.'

friend:  'what do you mean?'

me:  'what do you mean what do i mean?'

friend:  'how can there be more of the egg than the corn?  big egg, small corn?'

me:  'i had bread with scrambled egg on top and buttered corn kernels sprinkled on the egg.'

friend:  'oh, sandwich!  you should just have said you had an egg sandwich!'

me:  'well, the corn was a big part of the sandwich so i thought i'd mention it, too.'

friend:  'yeah, but it's confusing.  i was thinking whole corn not kernels.'

me:  'that's your problem not mine.'

friend:  'is this war?'

nyahaha...  ask a simple question.

next time i'll  just send pics 😂

impossible dream

my father was a military man.  he was an officer of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.  his branch of service was the Army.

he was a member of Philippine Military Academy Class 1956 and was scheduled to retire in 1986.

from 1974 to 1986, he held the rank of Colonel.

several times before, he was already supposed to be due for promotion as General but it never materialized.  he was a principled man who was willing to end his career in the military without reaching star rank.

and then came the EDSA People Power Revolution in february 1986.  it catapulted Corazon C. Aquino to the presidency.  President Aquino extended his service for six months and promoted him to Brigadier General in june 1986.  (there were three of them who were extended and promoted that time.)

fight for the right,
no matter how hopeless,
reach the unreachable star.

p.s.
he retired from the AFP in september 1986 after which he was appointed to the  Economic Intelligence and Investigation Bureau (EIIB) under the Department of Finance, first by President Aquino, then by her successor President Fidel V. Ramos.

he served as deputy commissioner at the EIIB from 1986 to 1998.

pizza

i order food daily and my experience yesterday was not the usual.

12:28 p.m., i ordered pizza through this food delivery app (not one of the two major food delivery apps).

1:07 p.m., i got a call from the rider saying he couldn't contact the sender (the restaurant) and he was asking me whether he's supposed to go up to the restaurant or restaurant personnel will be the one to bring him my order.

eh?

i replied i've ordered several times from the same app and my order just gets delivered to me.  i dunno what the arrangement is between the restaurant and the rider.

1:26 p.m.,  i got another call from the rider telling me the restaurant wants to talk to me.

ok.

the restaurant was asking me what my order was.

huh?!

i asked whether they don't see it in the app.

the restaurant said it's a courier who's there so they have to know what my order is.

hmmm...  ok...  i said it's prosciutto and pepperoni pizzas.

(i've ordered from different restaurants from the very same app before and none of the restaurants ever asked me what my order was.  i'm not the one who books the courier.  i just choose food in the app, pay and that's it.)

1:31 p.m., i received another call and the restaurant was telling me they couldn't find my order.  it doesn't show in the system.

huh?!
i replied it's fully paid.  i have confirmation.  i ordered through their app.

i also mentioned that my last order from them took 3 hours to deliver.  (i'm only 3.5 km away from the source.  i know that the delay was on the restaurant's end and not the rider's based on the status, i.e.,  pending, processing, dispatched, delivered.)

1:52 p.m., i received a system message from the restaurant's umbrella group informing me that my purchase has been successfully delivered.

huh?!
i don't have it yet!

i texted the rider.

the rider said the restaurant has just handed him my order.  he said i could call the restaurant to confirm.

i didn't bother.

2:04 p.m., i received a call from the rider.  my order's here! 😀
i rushed downstairs.
i was surprised the rider had only one box of pizza.  he, however, also had a brown bag which he says the restaurant was giving me for free.

i said they're giving me a freebie but they didn't send one of the pizzas.  the pizza is more expensive!

anyway, i told the rider i know it's not his fault so i'll just raise it to the restaurant.

i opened the box and it was the pepperoni pizza.  it's the prosciutto pizza that's missing.
the brown bag has four pieces of their sister restaurant's complimentary bread.

2:17 p.m., i texted the umbrella group's help line.

2:25 p.m., they said they'll check asap.

3:18 p.m., i followed up.

ending, they're sending the pizza.  asap or dinner, they asked.

i said just send noontime tomorrow.

may the sun come out then 🌞

doggone

checking foodstuff online...

Beef
Pork
Chicken
Goat
Lamb
...
Fish & Seafood
Others

under Others, there was Meat Sawdust.
hmmm...  first time for me to encounter such item...  it looked like luncheon meat.

i checked Product Details... 
"Important: Not Recommended for Human Consumption; Best for Pets"

nyahahaha...  good thing i read descriptions! 😅

reminded me of an ex's story:  his crewmate bought and ate what turned out to be dog food 🤣

arf! 🐶

inside out

i was on our outdoor stairs and i thought maybe i should already bring down my trash.  suddenly there was a gust of wind!  the neighbor's undies hanging from their second floor window (yes, overhanging the public alley) swung so far back and forth!  i was afraid it was gonna fall!

years back it was fallen briefs i saw on the alley.  the image is vivid in my mind till now 🩲😨

uhm, nah...  not bringing out the trash yet...  'twill be traumatic to get hit by undies from above 🤯🤦‍♀️🤣

order

last january 30, i ordered a high heat-resistant silicone spoonula (spoon/spatula) from shopee.

i've since ordered eight other items from different shopee stores since then.  all have been delivered.

the spoonula, however, is still in transit.  expected delivery is march 22.

the first will be last
and the last will be first. 🙃

remove or retain

a common instruction given to recipients of suspicious / malicious messages is to delete the message right away.

there are pros and cons to this action.

one of the pros:  you are protecting yourself.
it is possible to get a virus even if all you do is open a message.
you don't always have to click the link within the message to get infected.

if you delete the message,
there'd be no message to open;
there'd be no link to click.

a con, you are deleting data and evidence, not just on your device but on the database side as well.
you can take a screenshot, yes, but that captures only the part visible to you.

there is so much more to messages than the content of the message itself.
there are technical details usually accessible only to administrators.
some of these details may be viewable to ordinary users (e.g. the software the sender used to compose the message,
encryption or lack of it,
the servers the message hopped through to get from the sender to the recipient),
but the recipients don't always know how to display them.
they normally won't have need for it anyway.

whether you delete the message or not, there will remain traces of it in the technical logs.  for how long depends on the security and housekeeping policies.  these logs could get very big so it is normal to put a limit on their size or on the period they cover.  the logs could, however, be backed up so they could be preserved beyond the usual retention period.

deletion might be the preferrable action for most recipients of malicious messages.
for those who intend to go to court, however, it would be better to preserve the evidence on your end.

BDO PHISHING ALERT

at 8:57 last night, i received the following message from AIMS:

"BDO ADVISORY:

Your Account  Has been Blocked.

We need to verify your account to continue our services.

Click here to verify :

<https link>"

i did not click the link.

we informed BDO through email.

at 3:04 p.m. today, they replied it's a phishing SMS.

"BDO will never ask for your Credit / ATM Debit/Cash card numbers and PINs when logging-in to Online Banking nor provide a link to click and update your information."

they will be forwarding the matter to BDO Fraud Management for investigation.

they said,
-  "Do not click on any website links inside the email or SMS."
-  "Change your email password and install anti-malware programs  in your computer and other devices."
-  "Call BDO Customer Contact Center Hotline if account information were provided."

be aware and beware.

#BDOAntiScam

the look of confidence

i have this friend who sends me edited photos of himself.  he's definitely not ugly but the pics he sends, intended to be amusing, border on, uhm, ugly.

a lot of people edit their pics to make them look better.  this one does the reverse.  it takes someone pretty confident with his looks to do something like that.

#PogiPoints
and yup, guapo 😎

feet off

checking out titanium spoons on youtube...  this backpacker had slightly better words to say about a Toaks spoon vs. this other brand i was considering.  haha...  actually, all he said was this other brand was 0.75 mm thick while Toaks is 0.95 mm < 100 mm.  that swung me to opt for Toaks.

and then i saw that Toaks has a foot logo.  and yes, it is on the handle of the spoon.  aw!  suddenly i was having second thoughts.

there's this restaurant that i always scroll past in the food delivery app.  it's a restaurant cum nail spa.  i somehow get this visual of someone giving a pedicure then preparing my food.  not appetizing.  i've tried reminding myself people stomped on grapes to make wine, at least, traditionally.
still i could not get myself to order 😬

i could eat with my hands.  foot in mouth though, pass.

better not

every tuesday, shopee offers a 20% cashback.
(it used to be daily but only from midnight to 2 a.m.)

it's a tuesday today.
but since they have a february 15 payday sale promo, the cashback today is just 15%.

what a promotion 🤦‍♀️

not Marie Antoinette

friend:  'what was the occasion yesterday?'

me:  'yesterday?  hmmm...  it wasn't your birthday yesterday...  what is it, national?  international?'

friend:  'no...  i mean, why did you order cake yesterday?  what was the occasion?'

me:  'huh?!  hahaha...  nothing!  i just wanted to eat cake...'

that's all there is to it.

there was a phase in my life when i used to buy cake fridays and that would be my meal over the weekend.

happy meal 😊
let me eat cake 🍰😋

level up

me to niece:  'do you know someone who sells car insurance?  i'm going to get a CTPL (Compulsory Third Party Liability) online...  if you have a friend, i might as well give the sale to her...'

niece:  'i only know someone who sells a car...'

🤭

not funny

customer service representative:  "good afternoon, ma'am...  this is orion...  how may i help you?"

me:  "your name's orion?"

customer service representative:  "yes, ma'am..."

me:  "hmmm...  is that greek or roman mythology?"

customer service representative:  "constellation, ma'am..."

me:  "a...  yeah...  orion's belt!"

good thing it's not omicron 😛🤭🤦‍♀️

stove

february 10, 2022 is a milestone for me, hahaha.  for the first time since 2011, i again have a stove at home!

i ordered it february 8.  it was delivered two days later.

it's a la germania single burner electric stove.  i got the one with the 145 mm hotplate.  that's the smallest.  if there were a smaller model, that's what i would have gotten.  my 650 ml titanium mug is only 100 mm.
(i read the cookware is not supposed to be smaller than the hotplate.)

so what made me decide to get a stove after a decade?

well, i was seeing all these samgyupsal and steak discounts online.  i wanted to order but how will i cook it?  i have a complete set of pots and pans but i don't have a stove, wahaha.

i used to have a 4-burner gas range with oven in my previous home.  (it was also a la germania that's why i opted for the same brand this time.)  i stopped using it in 2007.  it was just there at the house with me not cooking but simply eating out or ordering food to-go.  the gas tank that it had in 2007 was the same gas tank it had when i moved out in 2011.  it was unused.

i gave away the tank when i moved to my new place.  the range i did not even bring inside anymore but just put in the garage until it was sold.

so how did i end up with an electric stove?

since i got interested in something for samgyupsal, i checked out the usual samgyupsal portable stoves.  hmmm...  they run on butane.

i googled butane.  ooops...  health and safety hazards!  they have to be stored carefully.  eh?  i don't want that concern.

i checked out two-in-one models, those that run on butane or LPG.  i saw on youtube that the problem with the two-in-ones is that the LPG functions erratically.  nyeh!  pass.

i checked out induction cooktops.  wah!  they emit electromagnetic frequency (EMF) radiation!

okay.  go for the traditional gas.  i ordered and paid for a single burner gas stove.  before it was shipped out, i cancelled the order.  (of course my payment will be refunded.)  i just thought (kinda late, i'm sorry) i won't be eating samgyupsal everyday.  i won't be eating steak everyday.  i don't want to keep a gas tank for something infrequent.

later i got to thinking, rather belatedly, that i should have something to cook with at home, whether or not i intend to use it.  food is basic.  so i ordered this 1.5L electric multicooker.  again, i cancelled it before it was shipped.  (wah, i'm really sorry sellers 🙇‍♀️)  i was thinking, i have all these nice pots and pans, why would i order an 'inferior' pot?  why not just order an electric stove?

so i did.

🤭

no filter

trying to order from this food delivery website.

"We're sorry, your area is currently not available for direct delivery. Please enter a new address."

huh?!
i've ordered from them before!
but yeah, from a different restaurant.

i checked the address of the restaurant i chose this time.
nyeh!  Cebu!
i'm in Metro Manila!
that's a bird fly distance of more than 500 km 🤣

why on earth did they not filter the display??? 🤦‍♀️
other food delivery apps do.

hmmm...  is it because, unlike other food delivery apps which have thousands of restaurants onboard, they have less than 10? 🤔

show 'em all! 🤭

nonuniform

i was comparison shopping by dividing the price by the volume.  (haha...  yup, i do that...)

same brand and flavor...
me:  'how come this one's less?  but more expensive...  🤔'

i rechecked...  it turns out the bottle had two units of measure, g and ml.  one seller specified the grams; the other, the milliliters.

apples and oranges 🍎🍎🍎🍊🍊🍊

with what measure do you measure?  🤭😉

no woe

i was on the phone with someone this morning when the neighbor's dogs started howling.

the person on the other end of the line heard it and freaked out.

the old folks used to say when dogs howl someone will die.  i used to kind of believe it.  but i've since learned that there really are dogs who howl daily.  this neighbor who started renting right beside our place had such dogs.

if someone in the vicinity died everytime her dogs howled there'd be no one alive in our street by now.  the dogs have been howling daily for years.

in the first few weeks, it really creeped me out.  now i'm already jaded.
but yeah, it still feels creepy when they howl and you know someone is not well.

i pray everyone stays safe and healthy.
and i hope those who are not don't get disheartened should they hear any dog howls.

know what not to fear.

just in time

i was scrolling through Grab supposed to satisfy an ice cream craving when i heard my sister calling me.  i went to the door and, ta-daaannn!  she had Magnum almond for me! 😋

good thing i haven't ordered!

she does frequently give me food.  most of the time, i haven't really been craving anything.  sometimes i've just eaten.  other times my order is on the way.  this time the timing was perfect.

happy sunday 😊

#thankful 🙏

together at a price

these similar items from the same store in shopee,

fee shipped together, P226;
fees shipped separately, P100 each.

some things are better apart 🤭

beyond price

i stood up on my bed and, trying to avoid my laptop, almost stepped on my external drive.  uuhhhh! 😨

i have three laptops and only one copy of the thousands of photos in that drive.

the laptop is way more expensive than the disk.
the disk, however, is priceless.

price does not necessarily determine value.

because of you

3:07 a.m., my phone sounded off.

i got up to check.  'twas a whatsapp message.  i replied.

the sender went:  "whoa!  she's still awake!  it's already late."

uhm...  you woke me up 😴 👀😪

it's not me;
it's you. 😉

double-edged

i messaged my niece asking whether she'd like milk tea.

her response was, "okay lang, tita..."
~ it's just okay, auntie

hmmm...  i wasn't sure what that meant.  "okay" is normally an affirmative reply.  but the addition of the vernacular "lang" can make it go either way.  the intonation and context would give you a sense of what it means  ->  'it's okay' as in yes or 'it's okay' as in no.

i can't hear her tone on text.
context-wise, sometimes she says yes to the food i offer her; sometimes she says no.

wahaha...  something so simple yet i'm confused?! 🤦‍♀️

i don't wanna assume.
i therefore asked to clarify.
well, 'twas a yes.

whew!

now i'm thinking, when is okay not okay?
🤔🤭😂

full view

looking for my phone on my queen size bed.  i've just been sitting on the bed, my back a meter away from the headboard.  my laptops and my disks were in front of me, food to my left, pillow to my right.  i couldn't find my phone!

finally i stood up.  the phone was right behind me!

hmmm...  yup, you don't just look forward.  you also have to look back.