Sendo-nate! Let's Donate Cash to the Victims of Sendong.

First of all, I'm thankful that my friends and office mates got out of CDO before the typhoon wrecked the province. However, there are a lot people who were not so fortunate. It's time to help.

Red Cross is asking for cash donations. The easiest way to donate cash is through texting RED [space] <amount> to 4143 for Smart subscribers (valid amounts: 10, 25, 50, 100), and to 2289 for Globe subscribers (valid amounts: 5, 25, 50, 100, 300, 500 and 1000).

The second easiest is through the internet. You may go to Red Cross Donate. Several options are listed there. My choice would be Paypal, although they add a little fee for the transaction. But what's a little fee if you can help, right? :)

For those who don't have load or credit cards, you may opt to donate via bank deposit. Here are several bank accounts to deposit to:

SAGIP KAPAMILYA

1. BDO Peso Account
Account name: ABS-CBN Foundation Inc.-Sagip Kapamilya
Account Number: 39301-14199
Swift Code: BNORPHMM

2. BDO Dollar Account
Account name: ABS-CBN Foundation Inc.-Sagip Kapamilya
Account Number: 39300-81622
Swift Code: BNORPHMM

3. PNB Peso Account
Account name: ABS-CBN Foundation Inc.-Sagip Kapamilya
Account Number: 419-539-5000-13
Swift Code: PNBMPHMM

4. BPI Peso Account
Account name: ABS-CBN Foundation Inc.-Sagip Kapamilya
Account Number: 3051-1127-75
Branch: West Triangle, Quezon City
Swift Code: BOPIPHMM

5. BPI Dollar Account

Account name: ABS-CBN Foundation Inc.-Sagip Kapamilya
Account Number: 3054-0270-35
Branch: West Triangle, Quezon City
Swift Code: BOPIPHMM

GMA KAPUSO FOUNDATION

1. METROBANK
Peso Savings
Account Name: GMA Kapuso Foundation, Inc.
Account Number: 3-098-51034-7

Dollar Savings
Account Name:GMA Kapuso Foundation, Inc.
Account Number:2-098-00244-2
Code: MBTC PH MM

2. UNITED COCONUT PLANTERS BANK (UCPB)
Peso Savings
Account Name: GMA Kapuso Foundation, Inc.
Account Number:115-184777-2 or 160-111277-7

Dollar Savings
Account Name: GMA Kapuso Foundation, Inc.
Account Number: 01-115-301177-9 or 01-160-300427-6

3. CEBUANA LHUILLIER
GMA KAPUSO FOUNDATION

GAWAD KALINGA
Gawad Kalinga Philippine Peso Current Account
# 3101 0977 56 BPI EDSA Greenhills

Gawad Kalinga US$ Savings Account
# 3104 0162 34 BPI EDSA Greenhills

Swift code: BOPIPHMM

These groups are also accepting donations in kind, but I suggest people donate in cash since it would be easier for them to handle. Plus it's also for the uniformity of stuff they will buy and give to the typhoon victims.

SmartBro WiMax X: Smart's Response on SIM Card Only Plan Migration

Apparently my suggestion for WiMax to SIM Card Only plan migration was not approved, and I'm back to square one - waiting for the approval of the pre-termination fee to be waived.

I'm not so sure if they are really processing it, and I am losing patience. It's been two, almost three weeks since my request. I've been really, really patient with them and professional. Tell me, does it really take THAT long to process such a request? I know for a fact that SmartBro WiMax in Luzon has been their problem for awhile now, due to their faulty modem. I have my sources. Even one former celebrity (hence, VIP) has been submitting a similar complaint with mine.

I already told them that this December will be the last month I pay for that internet connection until my request gets approved, and I'll pay it in full (monthly fee of P799), even though I have not used it for two to three weeks already.

I CC'd NTC with my latest reply to Smart; hopefully they read the email trail and see how unfair and slow Smart's service is. I'm really disappointed.

SmartBro WiMax IX: NTC's Response

Here's NTC's reply to my email:

Good am,

Thank you for your email. With regards to your concerns, rest assured that we will act on your complaint accordingly and inform the parties concerned for the immediate resolution of the said matter.

For your guidance and information.


God Bless and have a nice day.



Kind Regards,

Victor A. Gusto

Permanent Support Staff

OSPAC - NTC

-----

Smart has also replied regarding te plan migration. To my dismay, Angie offered SmartBro variants that are even more expensive than my current subscription:

Dear Ms. Rafols,


Thank you for writing us back.

[area hidden for confidentiality - author] has SMART Bro Fixed
Wireless Canopy and SMART HSPA coverage. However, successful
installation of the Canopy antenna will depend on the Line of Sight
(LOS) from the actual installation address to the nearest serving site.

Please write us again if you need further assistance, Ms. Rafols.


Sincerely,

Angie /edb
Customer Care

-----
I responded by suggesting the SIM Only variant of SmartBro, and that I will not consider plan migration if I pay for anything other than the P999 first month fee for the SIM card. I'm still waiting for the waiver of pre-termination fee.

SmartBro WiMax VIII: Smart Wrote Back Part II

Guess what, Smart replied again! I think they read my blog. Anyway, they're offering plan migration, wherein I get another SmartBro variant, although this is also subject to approval. I'm still waiting for the details. I would consider it if I don't have to pay for anything for the process.

SmartBro WiMax VIII: Smart Wrote Back

After a few days' wait, Smart responded to my email. A customer care attendant named Angie replied:

-----
Dear Ms. Rafols,


Thank you for writing us.

Request for disconnection of your Smart Bro subscription is done
over-the-counter through any Smart Wireless Center branch. Here are the
requirements for Voluntary Permanent Disconnection (VPD):

- Completion of the contract or settlement of the applicable
Pre-Termination Fee (PTF) if still within contract computed as: Monthly
Service Fee x number of remaining months under lock-in period

- Settlement of outstanding balance
- Completely filled-out and signed form for the said request
- Valid ID of the registered subscriber

You may also send a representative to transact on your behalf with the
following documents:

- Letter of Authorization (signed by the subscriber)
- Photocopy of the subscriber's valid ID
- Representative's original valid ID

Meantime, we have forwarded request to our support group for waiving of
Pre-Termination Fee. Please note, that this is still subject for
approval. We will advise you of any updates once we received feedback
from our support group.

Should you require assistance on other matters, Ms. Rafols. Please
write us again.


Sincerely,

Angie
Customer Care
-----

I told her that I was looking forward for the pre-termination fee to be waived and said (again) that the internet's too slow even during the dawn.

Please help me pray that I get this internet subscription disconnected before the year ends without having to pay anything other than my outstanding balance.

SmartBro WiMax VII: Request to Terminate

Fed up by the super slow connection even late at night, I decided to send an email to both Smart and the NTC. No response yet though. I still have no idea what to do if I get ignored. :(

SmartBro WiMax VII: Fast Connection in the Morning

I'm already at the office but I felt the need to share my observations earlier with the new modem.

1 AM.
Torrent download was fast - it reached 60kBps, but surfing was slow. I could open a website, but I'd have to wait for a few minutes. I tried Speedtest but I lost my patience and just went to sleep.

6AM-7AM
Torrent download reached a speed of at least 100kBps. I tried surfing and it was fast. I tried Speedtest, upload was at least 1MBps, download at least 0.4MBps.

I wonder what's slowing down the connection at night. Will test again later when I get home from work.

SmartBro WiMax Part VII: New Modem

I have a new modem. Or so I think it is. I'm testing it right now. No, I'm not using it to post this entry. I'm still using my phone's 3G connection.

The modem seems to be fine, aside from it takes awhile to find a decent signal. Forget about the internet speed. At this time, it's really

really

really

...

slow. I-can't-even-open-Speedtest.net-slow. And it restarts ever so often.

This thing has 1-year warranty. Although I'm giving it a month or two to die. I was hoping that there wasn't any extra unit in the Smart Wireless Center so that I had grounds to terminate, but it seems like they have an endless supply of modems. Or maybe they're just recycling the old ones.

Anyway, this is another chance for Smart. I hope they come through this time.

SmartBro WiMax VI: Modem Problems Again Part III

So I'm bringing the modem back to Smart today. Let's see if they give me another replacement this day.

If they do, I'll give them another chance; if I can't get a modem today, I'll ask for the email of the person/s I could write to for the termination of my subscription.

SmartBro WiMax VI: Modem Problems Again (Part II)

I haven't brought my modem yet to the Smart Wireless Center. I've been stressing about it lately and finally decided that I've had enough. This WiMax connection has been one of my stressors since the day I applied for it, sad to say. I don't have the time to bring their defective modem back and have it replaced only for the replacement modem to break down after a couple of weeks. I don't have the patience to do that anymore.

I wrote a letter to Smart Communications requesting termination of their service without having to pay for the pre-termination fee (PSF) and other such payments related to disconnection. I sent it through their WebConnect service 24 hours ago, and they haven't responded yet. But then it says that "valid" requests will be responded to within 24-48 hours of submission. I wonder how they classify a valid request. Anyway, if they don't respond within the hours they said, I will send them an email again or maybe go straight to the NTC.

I am actually very, very tempted to just ignore it, get another broadband subscription from one of their competitors. After all, all they could do if I don't pay up is to sell my account to one of the collection agencies, and then these collection agencies would send demand letters, have a "lawyer" call me and threaten to sue me. They can sue me all they want, I know that I won't be jailed for it. Section 20 of the Philippine Constitution states that: No person shall be imprisoned for debt or non- payment of a poll tax.

Real lawyers don't threaten people or coerce them to pay up or they will sue. That only happens on TV. I know that for a fact because I come from a family of lawyers too, and they don't act that way. 

Au contraire, if the consumer is actually forced to pay up or threatened, these "lawyers" can be the ones to be sued as stated in the Revised Penal Code Article 287.

SmartBro WiMax Review VI: Modem Problems Again

So I think my Motorola CPEi 23825 is broken. As you might remember, this is the second modem I got from Smart in a very short span of 3 months. They replaced my old modem of the same model because the tech supp couldn't figure out what was wrong with it.The new one right here has a different problem though: it couldn't get past the initialization stage, where the 3rd LED just keeps blinking. Different from the problem I had with the old one.Anyway, I'm about to write a letter addressed to Smart concerning all my past problems and that which is bothering me now, hoping that it would be enough to have them waive the pre-termination fee. I'm also prepared to bargain with them to just transfer my contract to another service as long as they agree to waive the pre-termination fee of my wimax subscription.I'm tempted to just ignore this and not pay for the remaining months but I don't want any legal stuff under my name so I'll just bring the modem in this weekend and be patient enough. *sigh*

Hanging Out at The Fort

So here I am blogging in the middle of the night because I'm still wide awake. Thank God it's a holiday today, so no work later. :) I've been so busy it's been more than a month since I last posted something. Ugh. So I'm doing this just for the heck of it.

I actually just came home with a meet up with some of my former teammates/officemates at The Fort. It was my first time to hang out there at night, and it was actually nice, if not for the fact that it was difficult to get out of there if you don't have a car, like I don't. Bummer.

But that's another story. 

We met up at Rue Bourbon, a bar and restaurant at the Burgos Circle. Ambience was bar-like, and the place was really small and dark - that's why I don't have any photos.

One couldn't really consider it a restaurant because it was hard to eat with the high chairs and dim lighting. It's really more of an honest-to-goodness beer pub.

I tried their Mojito, but since I am not really a fan, I didn't get to finish it, and ordered another drink instead: Raunchy Root Beer Float - one of their new drinks.

I was not sure if it had alcohol in it, I didn't feel anything after drinking it up; but since it was put in a small glass, I assumed it had a little alcohol. It was a bit on the sweet side. You could really taste the cherry. It did not have ice cream on it too. Instead it had whipped cream with a dash of cinnamon powder and a piece of cherry on top. Yeah, now I'm pretty sure it had alcohol in it.

After that we went to Coffee Bean (still at Burgos Circle) to have coffee and have a little chit-chat, which went on until 12AM. Which explains why I'm still awake, but now getting sleepy as I end this post. Good night. :)

Note: This is NOT a review. :-p

Recruiter Pet Peeves

I can't believe how some recruiters do their job here in the Philippines. Some of them can't seem to take a hint that they are already disturbing and/or harassing a potential recruit. Anyway, I've listed my biggest pet peeves, which are based on experience, from day one of my job-hunting days until the present:

1. Calling during non-working hours. I mean, sure, I didn't have a job back then and I was eager to have one. I was a fresh graduate. But that doesn't mean you can call me up at 7 in the evening to conduct a phone interview! For most families, dinner is at 7PM so at least have the decency to call at a reasonable time! Sheesh. I can name at least two huge companies who do this, one still "makulit" after telling her that I couldn't possibly have the interview at that time, but I don't have proof and I don't want to be sued.
2. Not sending an e-mail or text first and waiting for a response first before calling. At least wait for 30 minutes to an hour to get a response before calling. I don't understand why some recruiters are so hungry to get their quota that they become "bastos" and don't consider their prospect's situation first. I know of a few recruiters who email/text first. This actually happened to me earlier, at least three similar numbers called me (of course I didn't answer.) I reprimanded him/her through text, saying to at least send me a text or email before calling. I also declined the last call, and will keep declining until he/she learns to text.

Ok so I've got only two biggest pet peeves, some of their habits are kind of tolerable already. How about you share yours? No company name-dropping please. :)

Smartbro WiMAX Review V: Modem Problems

This morning my modem restarted suddenly. Now I didn't see any problem with it since I think it's a normal thing. However, I noticed that it could not find a signal, so I went ahead and checked it's control panel.

It turns out that it had hard-reset itself and now Smart's configuration (Security, Username, Password and Realm) is gone, so obviously it would not be possible to connect to Smart WiMAX internet. (I'm using my other internet connection now, btw).

I decided to call customer service despite the numerous claims that they sucked. I got a technical support rep in just one try. I then proceeded to tell him my story, and that I needed Smart's configuration to make the modem work. However, this happened:

1. He asked me if the modem had "running lights", and told me that it was looking for a signal. He suggested that I reconnect the modem and wait for it to find a signal. Which is a stupid thing to suggest, by the way, since the modem does not have Smart's configuration, obviously IT WOULD NOT FIND A SIGNAL.
2. So I asked him if it was possible for him to give me the configuration instead, but he told me that they don't cater to that request, and then proceeded on the "running lights" solution once again. This time I told him that I was actually an EcE and I at least knew the basic things about modems and how they FREAKING NEED the username and password from the freaking internet service provider for them to work. Actually, one does not have to be an EcE to know that! Nowadays, it's called "common sense".
3. Again with the "running lights".
4. When I asked him if I should just bring my modem to the wireless center, he actually was discouraging me to do so! He told me that what they do is the same with what the wireless center would do. It also seemed that he wanted to waste more of my time by lengthening the conversation. What, do they have a time quota for every call they get?

I'll be bringing my modem to the wireless center later, and hopefully they fix it as soon as possible.

*******

Update:

When I had my modem checked at the wireless center, the customer care representative did not get to find out what was wrong with it, so she had it replaced with a new one, which I am using right now. She also did not have any idea about the username and password necessary for the modem to connect to the internet. The tech support was right about one thing though: that the wireless center customer care would do the same exact procedure he was asking me to do (although I've done it numerous times already, that's how I knew what was wrong), although of course as he was on the phone, he couldn't replace my modem, which the wireless center could do. LOL.

Tatagalugin ko na: Smart, pwede ba paki-update yung mga manuals ng mga customer service at technical support reps nyo para hindi sila nagmumukang tanga. At wag nyong pagmukaing tanga ang mga customers nyo, matagal nang gumagamit ang mga tao ng modem kaya kahit papano alam na nila yung basic troubleshooting. Nagsasayang kayo ng pampasweldo sa kanila, wala naman silang naitutulong sa mga customers.


Ok I'm done ranting. It's just so frustrating that the one thing that you need, you couldn't get because of stupid people. Anyway, I'm just glad I have a new modem. And now for the test drive.

*******
Another update:


I can surf now! I was expecting the internet to be super slow at this time yet here I am updating my blog. So the modem was really the problem then. Or the base station. Since I have a new modem I also got a new serving site too. Hmm. Lemme ask my friend who works at Smart. :)

Smartbro Wimax Review Part IV

So it so happens that I have a close friend working at Smart whose expertise happens to be Wimax technology, and I happened to talk to him this morning.

This post was what started the grueling whole-morning troubleshooting of the problem of my connection. Unfortunately, the only thing he can check is the status of the serving site if it's behaving efficiently. So here's what I got from him:

1. The modem doesn't have to be in the line of sight of the serving site.
2. I'm the only one using Wimax on the sector I belong in so there shouldn't be a problem. Sorry I couldn't explain what a "sector" exactly is.

After he checked the status of the serving site, he said that there was no problem there, so I'm back to square one. He told me to try to call customer service but he also forwarded my problem to the complaints department already. I guess I'll just have to wait and hope that this gets resolved soon. :)

Smartbro Wimax Review Part III

So today's the 5th day of my Wimax connection. And it's getting pretty frustrating on the browsing part.

I've noticed that the connection almost stops - yes, STOPS - from around 7PM to 11PM. I could download my torrents but it's a bit slower than normal, and I could *not* surf the internet. I just hope this improves overtime. I hope someone from Smart reads this. :)

Smartbro Wimax Review Part II

As promised, here's a photo of my WiMax modem:

Motorola CPEi 825

As you can see, I'm very fortunate to have good reception (the five signal lights on the left side of the modem are all lit). This with my room at the back of our apartment and surrounded by high walls. I hope this does not change though.

This is almost my 3rd day of testing the internet connection. It has been pretty stable most of the time, but as is expected with Philippine internet connections, there are "set" times when the connection is slow and/or intermittent. I've observed that this certain connection bogs down at around 6 or 7 PM until 11 PM. Unfortunately for me, those are the times I am most active online, although I don't really do heavy stuff; I just surf and also check my email.

Torrent downloading is definitely fast - fastest I've seen is 125kBps (multiple downloads); I don't do streaming so I haven't observed it, but I'll try it one of these days if I remember. :)

Smartbro Wimax Review

Last September 17, I bought a voucher from Cashcashpinoy on Smartbro Wimax 1Mbps (125MBps ***edit*** 0.125MBps ***edit***) subscription plus *free* modem for Php799/month, with lock in period of 24 months. I redeemed this yesterday, and since there were a lot of people in the Smart/PLDT center, it took almost 2 hours before I got my modem and subscription. I actually already have another internet subscription from another network, but since their connection is below average, I decided to try Smartbro Wimax.

The moment I got home, I ran to my room to test my new toy - a Motorola CPEi 825 Wimax modem. It was a breeze to install the product, but it took quite a while to find a signal. When it did, all the five signal bars were lit, which means I have perfect reception from my room. Oh and by the way, I first placed the modem on the window ledge to get maximum coverage, but since I didn't want to damage it (I heard it was hard to get customer service from Smart - haven't confirmed this yet, but I'm just playing safe. :D), I transferred it on my desk, which is still near the window so there was no difference in the signal bars. It took me a little more than 30 minutes to completely finish the setup (what, there were a lot of cables involved! :p).

When I started browsing though, was another story. I thought I'd try to check my connection's speed through one of the speed test sites. I noticed that my internet kept disconnecting and it was so slow. The speed test site even barely finished loading. I was really worried then because of the lock-in period. I could not last two years with that kind of connection. It was even slower than my 3G internet. :(

I tried all sorts of experiments to make the connection smoother and faster - I straightened the ethernet cable, updated the driver of my ethernet controller, restarted the modem - to no avail. But then at around 1130pm, the internet came to life! I had my torrent downloader on and it registered 60-80kBps download speed; although surfing was still kind of slow for me. I tried another speed test and it only registered 0.25Mbps download speed, which should be around 30kBps download speed only (is my assumption correct? Sheesh, I'm a certified EcE and yet I'm not so familiar with this stuff).

And so I tested this connection until around about half past 12 - way, way past my bedtime - and there were no downtimes unlike when I first fired up the modem; and yes, it was faster than my 3G internet, which is the way it's supposed to be.

In the morning, upon waking up, which was around 5:30, I checked my torrents and was satisfied that at least 600MB worth of files has already been downloaded, and there was another 300MB+ file about to finish, plus my 50+% One Tree Hill Season 7 download (7.5GB) has reached 70+%, which is not bad. True to their word, Smart's claim of it being more stable has been proven, at least in the first day of my subscription. I sure do hope this does not change for the worse though, I'm actually beginning to love my Wimax. <3

I'll still be observing it for the next couple of weeks and posting reviews every now and then, so stay tuned! :) Photos will be posted soon, I promise!

Train Commuting Pet Peeves

I don't have a car. Well, we have a family car but I don't drive and we don't have a driver (if you don't count my brother hehe), so I have no choice but to commute.

Just recently I was assigned to a new project. New project = new client = new location. Fortunately for me, the client's office is pretty much near our house. However, this project entails me to know stuff, which results to me needing training. This training happens to be in Makati, which means that I had to ride the train.

So, after 3 days of the train experience once again, I've observed certain things that I hate about riding the train.

1. Getting in the train without much effort - because of all the shoving and pushing. A woman even made me leverage so that she would not be shoved as much, but then I wouldn't be much help because I WAS WAY SMALLER THAN HER. >.<

2. Ladies/Women who wear too little - sleeveless, backless, everything suffixed with -less. Super short shorts and skirts are also a no-no. Girls, you are upping your risk of contracting skin frakkin' diseases. Also, if you already have one of those diseases, we - the people who wear much more - are also at risk.  Plus the sweat, my gosh. I don't want your underarm sweat on my arm or cheek! Can you imagine? Eek. At least wear a cardigan over that tank top.

3. People who hug/put their face on the vertical handrails. Can I say, eew? I mean, hundreds, if not thousands, of people put their dirty hands on that tube of metal, and you have the courage to put your f-a-c-e on it. Come on. Plus I don't have something to hold on to, so move.

4. People who have something to hold on to - except their balance. Please, please, please don't rely on the handrails for your balance. The person at your back, who's not holding on to anything, hates you more than anything right now.

5. Tall people who use shorter people as their tables. Come on, we have our stuff to carry, we don't need the additional weight.

That's my list. Or at least what I remember. Anyway, tomorrow's the last day I ride the train (at least for now), so yay for me! :)

Cutex Nailcolor Review

I wanted to try the more expensive nail polishes, to see how they would fare with the cheaper alternatives, that's why last Monday, I decided to try Cutex. Since it's P109.75, it's still cheaper than the other imported nail polish brands, although they have small bottles. I guess that is enough for me since I don't know if I can use up a big bottle.

I first chose a plain purple color, but then I saw this one:

Indie Glow

It's not obvious in the photo but this nail polish is like a swirl of different colors.

Applying it was fairly easy, although the polish easily thickened once exposed to air. I had to shake the bottle a few times every one to two nails.

Two good things about this polish: no bubbles and streaks! Or have I just become better at applying nail polish?

A tip though: don't apply this too thin, else you'll end up with bald spots. After all, it dries quickly so no worries!

Compared to cheaper nail polish brands (those P35 and below), Cutex is much, much better. Applying it took me half the time I used to take when using other nail polishes. Looks like my nails  found a new best friend. Aww. :p

What it looks like when applied on the nails:

It looks grey-ish right? But it seems to change in color depending on the lighting and angle. Sometimes there are green specks, sometimes yellow, or purple. I wish I could show you but I just used the iPhone camera. Anyway, why don't you try it yourself? :)

Drugstore Asking for Prescription for OCPs

For the past few months, this certain leading drugstore has been asking ladies who buy oral contraceptive pills (1) if they have been using the OCP for some time already, and (2) to bring the prescription next time.

The first time I encountered this, was at a mall in Ermita, Manila. This female pharmacist asked the same things from me, but seemingly more judgmental than the next times I bought from the other branches. It felt like she was disapproving of women who use OCP because of the way she looked at us (there were two of us buying OCPs at that time), and the way she handled our orders.

I was thinking, what the heck does this person know about me to treat me like trash just because I was buying a box of OCPs? I mean it's not that I use it for its actual purpose. I use it because I have PCOS, and OCPs are used to somehow treat it, and she should know that because she is a freaking pharmacist.

Sorry for the rant. Anyway, I decided to never buy my pills from that branch ever again. After all, their service is so slow that you have to stand there for about 30 minutes just to get your order taken. But that's another story.

The following times I just bought OCPs in a mall at North EDSA. Both times a male pharmacist handled my order, asked the same things, but without the judgmental-slash-disapproving look in their faces.

It's still disturbing though, that they ask those things when the drug is supposed to be over-the-counter. My OB did not even give me a prescription because it is OTC. It bothers me that other people have to hear what I answer when the pharmacists ask, "Matagal na po bang ginagamit?" (Have you been using this for some time already?) and then they never ask for what purpose. Whenever I experience this, I get certain looks from people at the drugstore. Every time I buy my pills now, I get anxious. It's torture.

Does anybody know why this drugstore is doing this?

Causeway Seafood Restaurant Review

Last Monday night we ate dinner at Causeway Seafood Restaurant for my mom's birthday. It was my first time eating there even though our house was only a few blocks away from it (I know, right?). My boyfriend even often ate there with his family when he was a kid and he lives far, far away.

Anyway, I did *not* think that I would like the food here because I don't like Chinese food much. However, to my surprise, I did! Their food was so delicious that I only had 1/2 cup rice and proceeded to just eat the viands.

Here are some photos courtesy of my mom:

Patatim

The meat was tender, although there were a lot of skin and fat. The sauce was not too sweet or salty. 

I don't know what this is called, sorry.

This was like chop suey, only not that saucy.

Assorted Seafood with Beancurd Pot

I love seafood so everything with seafood is yummy for me. :)

Honey Roasted Asado

The meat was easy to chew, plus it was tasty that I did not need to put sauce on it.

For dessert, I got the mango sago. It wasn't too sweet and they obviously used fresh mangoes. I wish it had a thicker consistency though. :)

Ratings:

Food - 10. Surprisingly, I loved the food here.

Ambience - 7. Typical Chinese restaurant ambience. :)

Service - 5. Not too good. Servers did not know how to excuse themselves when getting used utensils. Plus they were hovering around our table when I was still eating my dessert and my mom was preparing the payment and tips.

Causeway Seafood Restaurant is found at:

883 Banawe St. cor. Del Monte Ave.

Quezon City, Metro Manila

Philippines

(02) 410-8690

Beware of YM Hacker

A friend, J, told me about this yesterday. She has not opened her YM for weeks and yet *she* managed to chat up another friend of hers a few days ago. Her friend told her that it was about finding 5 people who have IQs higher that 110. I advised her to change her password.

Awhile ago I also experienced this. A college acquaintance suddenly said Hi through YM. Not wanting to be rude, I responded, and the following conversation ensued:

I did not click the link the hacker sent me. Instead, I deleted and blocked this contact of mine. I could not warn him because I did not have any other means of contacting him, sorry. I also changed my password immediately.

You have been warned. :)

Micromanagement

According to Wikipedia, "...micromanagement is a management style where a manager closely observes or controls the work of his or her subordinates or employees."

Image from Coxnewsweb.com

I hate being micromanaged. It's the worst feeling ever. I feel like a 5 year old who needs supervision. Heck, a 5 year old does not even need that close of a supervision.

It's not that I don't like being told what to do. I do. Because sometimes I have no idea what to do. What's not fine is being told a specific way to do it, when I have or want to create my own style of doing it. This is the artistic and creative me speaking.

I also don't like being told what to do several times. Like I need a reminder everytime. I'm not *that* young or old to not remember things. Doing this to me will only make me *not* do what you want me to do.

What's worse is when I'm micromanaged even when the "micromanager" is not within my environment. That really, really gets on my nerves. It's like the "micromanager" doesn't trust me enough to do what I have to do. Having trust issues much?

If anyone here is being a micromanager, quit being one, please, for the sake of your subordinates' self-esteems.

Chic Nail Polish Review

I was feeling adventurous one day and wanted to color my nails - I usually don't wear nail polish - so I went to the mall and decided to buy cheap nail polish. I was looking for another popular local brand but I couldn't find any, and then I saw Chic.


The bottles were actually hidden from view, because of course they were showcasing the imported and obviously more expensive brands.


Anyway, I took three bottles of Chic:

Love Orchid (Peach-pink), Purple Frost, Simply Red

Two weeks ago I decided to try the red one. It was fairly easy to apply and dried fast. The following days I reapplied again. I was OC about the way I applied it the first time. I noticed that the nail polish became thicker. I tried mixing it with nail polish remover but still the nail polish stayed thick. Looks like it seemed to be affected by the cold weather, because the next time I checked the bottle it was humid and somehow the polish thinned already.


Just today I got bored with the red color so I tried the purple one. Again, fairly easy to apply, and it quickly dried.

A few minutes later I noticed that the consistency of the liquid has thickened. I'm not sure if this also happens to other brands of nail polish - although the other local nail polish I've tried haven't thickened as fast as these ones did.


As soon as I really learn how to put nail polish on flawlessly, I'll try the more expensive brands. I hope they'll be better. :)

Christopher Lao, The Media, and Cyber-bullying

I admit that I laughed when I saw the video of him driving his car into the deep flood. It was pretty obvious that the flood was deep because there were no cars passing by the area, and yet he proceeded to still drive into it. I even re-posted the video, which I believe was taken down by the original person who posted it because I couldn't find it on my wall when I wanted to delete it; even clicked Like on the page created for Mr. Lao, which was wrong of me to do so, so I eventually clicked Unlike and decided not to be part of the cyber-bullying.

Mr. Lao's accident was an act of stupidity, but it was not entirely his fault that he is now "famous".

First of all, the network's reporter shouldn't have interviewed him. It was an unwise move because he risked humiliating the person on national TV - which is exactly what happened. Plus he appeared to have provoked Mr. Lao to continue talking which then turned into ranting. He should have just interviewed those who helped Mr. Lao push his car out of the flood.

Secondly, the network should not have approved the report. In my opinion, this network is slowly becoming notorious in broadcasting "high-risk" reports. I feel that they think that as long as they have something to show on TV, it's all fine.

Last on the list, well, is Mr. Lao. He had a choice not to be interviewed, not to publicly humiliate himself even more. He would have been anonymous. And yet, he proceeded and had himself shown on national TV and ranted about him not being informed, that it was the government's fault that there was no roadblock before the flood, even blamed the people on the street for not informing him. For me, that was him digging a deeper hole of humiliation.

I'm not including the government here, because it's very typical of Pinoys to blame the government for everything, and it's has become overrated. Honestly, the government can't take care of every single little problem we have because they have much bigger and more important situations to handle other than putting roadblocks to inform motorists that there is deep flood ahead. I mean even MMDA is depending upon the Filipino citizens for flood reports because they simply could not be everywhere.

I understand that Mr. Lao, even before the flood incident, has been stressed because he is currently reviewing for the bar on top of him being a family man (a friend re-tweeted something about this, that's why I know). And it's normal to have bouts of stupidity sometimes; we are, after all, human. But it's really partly his fault that he is receiving this kind of attention, which has now turned into cyber-bullying.

Bill Belsey of cyberbullying.org defined cyber-bullying as, "...the use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behaviour by an individual or group, that is intended to harm others." According to the definition, a lot of Pinoys are doing just that. Some people also have resorted to racism.

I hope we stop this already. It's normal to laugh at such events, but it's already considered cyber-bullying to continue humiliating and posting hate-comments about Mr. Lao online. I implore to the creator of Mr. Lao's fanpage to take it down, as it promotes cyber-bullying; also I request my readers who are guilty of this crime, if you haven't already done so, to take down your hate-comments and re-posts of the video. Thank you.

**Due to the sensitivity of this issue, I edited out the names of the reporter and network involved, in the title, the entry itself, and labels/tags. I also re-published the entry as a new one since the url of the original reflected the network's name, hence the comments were also deleted.

Fely J.'s Kitchen Review

Last Friday night, we had a family reunion because my mom's cousin came home from Massachusetts. They decided to have dinner at Fely J.'s Kitchen, and there were a lot of food ordered. Here are some photos:

Fely J.'s Kitchen Greenbelt 5

Kamias Crush. I felt woozy and dizzy and sleepy after drinking this, not sure if it has alcohol.

Ginataang Gulay at Hipon. This tastes great. Not too salty. :)

Piniritong Hito. I did not taste this because it was difficult to get a piece.

Chicharon Bulaklak. This I was addicted to. Really crispy and not too salty.

Fely J's Dilis-cious Rice. This really went well with Ginataang Gulay at Hipon.

Binagoongang Baboy. Not too salty either. Sorry I took the picture late.

Lola Ising's Adobo. Lot's of garlic, and it tastes kinda sour, which is what I like in adobo.

Tilapia with Sweet Plum Sauce. I did not taste the sauce because the fish was tasty enough already.

Crispy Patang Bawang. Very garlicky as seen in the photo. Meat was really tender.

We also ordered KKK, their kare-kare. I don't have a photo because I was far from it and I did not also get to taste it.


For dessert, I got their home-made vanilla ice cream. I did not want a heavy dessert because I ate a lot already. :)


For my ratings, 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest:
Food - 10. I really think I'm getting to like Kapampangan food. I love that their food is not too salty.
Ambience - 7.5. It actually felt like the usual mall fast food restaurant maybe because of the clear glass, but they had wooden furniture and their comfort rooms were clean.
Service - 7. Servers were fast but they did not serve our whole table with glasses of water, only those who requested for one.


The overall experience was good though. :)


Fely J.'s Kitchen is a part of The LJC Restaurant Group. It is found at 2/F Greenbelt 5, Ayala Center, Makati City.

Clicking LIKE

If you read something happy or good on Facebook, do you click the Like button? I do. How about when you read something tragic, sad or unfortunate? Do you click the Like button too? I don't, and my friends don't either. We find it offensive and thoughtless, as if you were a robot that is designed to click Like on whatever post it reads. But apparently, some (or maybe even a lot) of people do so.

The wife of a very close friend of mine posted in Facebook that she had a miscarriage yesterday, and to my shock, three of her "friends" liked it. My boyfriend and I confronted them, implying that it was insulting to like a post about a miscarriage. Plus it contradicted their intention of condoling with him and his wife. We were expecting them to at least click Unlike, but no:

My nose bled. So what *did* she mean when she clicked Like?

According to Merriam-Webster, to "like" means to feel attraction toward or take pleasure in. So, did this person "take pleasure in" the miscarriage?

Cajun Red Rock Review

Last Friday, we met up with my college barkada and their +1's to have dinner. Since we were late, my friends got to choose the restaurant, and they chose Cajun Red Rock at SM Megamall.

When we reached Cajun Red Rock, my friends were seated outside the actual restaurant, since there were a lot of people because it was Payday Friday. They already had their food but were only starting it, they said that service was slow. They actually encouraged us to order immediately.

I ordered Chicken Marsala (grilled chicken with mushroom sauce), with saffron rice and hash browns for sides. It kinda reminded me of World Chicken, but it tasted better.

My boyfriend ordered Mustard Peppered (grilled chicken with mustard and pepper sauce), with saffron rice and crispy mojos for sides. I liked their mojos, they were really crispy and not sloppy.

For drinks, we had bottomless green iced tea.

We also had a complimentary dessert - chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream on top with chocolate drizzle (okay I just invented that name because I don't know what they call it) - I guess because we were singing happy birthday to one of my friends.

Again, sorry I don't have any photos, we were starving! :)

For my ratings, again 1 to 10, 10 being the highest:

Food - 7

Ambience - 5. There were a lot of people and I did not really get to go inside the actual restaurant.

Service - 8. Although service was kind of slow, the servers were actually kind, approachable, and almost always smiled at the customers.

Cajun Red Rock has three branches according to Munchpunch:

108 NS Amoranto St.

Quezon City, Metro Manila

Philippines

(02) 415-2605

Robinsons Galleria, EDSA cor. Ortigas Ave.

Quezon City, Metro Manila

Philippines

Megastrip B, SM Megamall, EDSA cor. Julia Vargas Ave., Ortigas Center

Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila

Philippines

(02) 638-8387