Eve of NY 2014

It's nothing different from last year's except that instead of Shifu, I have Coco for company. 

Earlier, I was already set to prepare chicken congee and ice cream to welcome the new year but when I got hold of this beauty, all other things escaped me. It was still light when I escape to Teruel and tinker with my new toy. By tomorrow I would have already overcome its novelty and find the inspiration to whip a mean New Year's lunch. In the meantime, laze is the operative word. 

Only two hours is left of 2013 and what a year it has been. As I have posted on FB, given the chance of living 2013 again, I wouldn't change a day and the decisions I made however bad they were. I can't remember laughing and crying and talking this much as I did this year, it's crazy.

Another Mait in the House

The plan was to help me make my bat cave earn its rightful name that is a "house".

Sensing though that Mimi just got off from her last shift for the week, arriving at night on a really late bus and eating a long overdue dinner, cleaning seem to be an unwelcome activity for a first time visitor. So after a short fellowship over our rather overcrowded dinner table, we hiked the few blocks separating mom's house with mine. There were myself, KZ, Mimi and a boy cousin from Jocelyn's branch of the family tree, Joshua.

For the night, Coco slept outdoors while I took the couch, the mattress for the out-of-towners and the low-lying-table for my house-sitter. It was a quiet night dotted with small talks, "The Big Bang Theory S7 playing at the background. Before the day's activities caught up with us, we all unboxed some gifts with the 'requisite' photoshoot to remember the night by.

I gave KZ a shower gel and body lotion set, Mimi a lip conditioner and a sassy pair of socks while I got a bottle of Red.

Some Christmas Eve

Why does this have to arrive tonight??? THANK you SUNCELLULAR for making my Christmas Eve SUCK.
Read this:

"SUN ADVISORY: Good Day! This referes to your request for bill adjustment. Based on our investigation, the usage charges on your account were valid. As such we cannot grant the requested bill adjustment. For further details, feel free to call hotline 200 and email us at Suncellular@digitel.ph."

I seldom rant online but this injustice is just too blatant to be ignored. I spoke to a lot of your customer service rep face to face and they don't have a clue of how to address the issue of an FB50 subscription gone awry resulting to an unusual data usage of a customer, who has been loyal to the network and never has since incurred such a QUESTIONABLE BILL. And guess what, I was never notified via sms when the promo has expired nor there has been an advise on how to unsubscribe from the promo.

When I filed my complaint with your celshop at Robinson's Bacolod, I have never met an agent so apathetic that she only took only brief notes about my complaint. I had to prompt her many times, "aren't you gonna take note of (that) as well" so that you (THE INVESTIGATION TEAM) would have a clear idea of what really happened.

Only the technician SM Bacolod celshop made sense and for a spell I was appeased by his explanation that the data usage indeed started with your stupid promo I was so excited to try out. It was through him that I learned that the promo wouldn't even work on Blackberry which phone I have been using since I enrolled (I never used the Champ and the Alcatel that went with the subscription). Also since I had this unli BBM as add-on for my plan, he said that the promo would have been incompatible as well.

That, I believe is true because though I already received the notification about my being subscribed in the promo, I have never ever connected to FB via that service because again, it simply won't work.

I did not even include in the complaint my being billed for the BBM that I wasn't able to enjoy for three months now. Because the first time I went to your shop for help, your lady agent in SM Bacolod did not see the sense first of turning off the STUPID DATA service and turned my EDGE signal off instead.

This is the first time that ever happened to me and you never considered THAT FACT in your investigation. I even paid promptly, even if it was against what I think is right. I should not be paying for the service I did not enjoy, much less I did not get at all.

This is really frustrating. And to think that similar thing happened to a friend of mine.

My, you have to take more good care of your customers. The fact that we chose your network over the others (a decision that I am beginning to regret) should get you thinking on how to serve us well. If this is a ploy to get bigger revenue for the Christmas Holidays, it's really lame.

You have to get you agents in line. Educate them so that they may take CUSTOMER SERVICE to that level enough to make us stay with you. 

Of Books and Bills Payment Woes

How do you manage to finish a book that you find so difficultbto read?

Thank you brain.

I have been struggling the the short second life of bree for weeks now. Its another Stepanie Meyer vampire story that, after the twilight series, seem to be a poor attempt to milk that cow yet again.

A opportunity presented itself when I was tasked to pay the bill (electric) on the DUE DATE. When I got to the payment center, the building was teeming with subscribers ffrom all around the city. The seats were all occupied, there was only one fan deployed to cool the congested room.

I got my qeueu number from the guard and spied that the qeueu system monitor doesn't work. The other guard calls out a range of number from time to time ànd guide the cutomers towards the cashier. When I came in, they were serving 231-240. So I went out again to do some other errands and bought slippers for Auntie and medicines for tatay.

I had lunch before I went back to Noceco. This time they were serving 261- 270. It barely moved in the past hour that I was away. Good thing, they added another window. Still, it was already 2:30 when I got my turn. Then, I was already done with my vampire book and has already started with Chrichton's Airframe.

What irks is the lack of system. Had Noceco split the billing cut off of customers, congestion might have been avoided. Each company has different salary payout dates so assigning a due date on a weekly basis is a workable scheme.

Just my thought.

Distraction or Devotion?

That was the message in today's service at Maranatha.

I left LC late and got in just in time to take note of the first point on the projected presentation on the church wall. It was difficult not to get emotional during the final prayer and it didn't help that I brought neither a hankie nor a disposable tissue paper on my person. I was my proud self but was badly hit by these two words: hipocrisy and arrogance.

As planned, I made my way to Capitol Heights for lunch. The gate was open so I made  my way to Mait's door. There were Joshua (from Jocelyn's side of the tree), Jedyl and Mimi. It was a short affair  but enough time to cure the glue on my shoes and recharge my phone.

Mimi went out with me and Starbucks was our first stop. JD has long given up about our 2pm adventure with Smaug  so we just lazed there until Kz had delivered Avem at the terminal. We joined her at Robinson's an hour and a half later for some Christmas shopping which lasted until past five.
As there was still time to spare (risking another late night trip home), I suggested that we catch the Hobbits second installment at Rob instead.

 At the end of the day, I accomplished everything I have set myself to do for today.

Yeah, Jogie! What would you do?

I seldom talk to my neighbors so when I found one waiting for me by the gate this morning  was something  to wonder about.

And it was a big issue indeed. In the middle of the night, a neighbor spied a stranger sitting on the curb partially hidden by the coconut next to the gate, and two un-numbered tricycles (painted blue body) waiting on opposite ends of the street.The police have been informed  but as they do in movies, they arrived an hour  late.

Thankfully, that was just  an attempt. The scary part was remembering the fact that I went home to an unlit house so late from being out with Mimi and KZ and Jing2 for some RnR (I had my hair 'repaired') the night before, and that I left Coco at Mother's.

When that was over, the first thing that popped into my mind was to tell Glen about it. I sent an sms saying: Two weeks  ago, your house. Last night, my house. Attempted :burglary. Happy holidays (sarcasm)!!! To which he replied: So will you blog about it too? I said: Hahaha! Maybe. About my missing the party because of it. And most of the neighbors were aware and I wasnt. Darn! His final words being: Missing the party. What a lame ass excuse.

So anyways, I ditched the company party and arranged for somebody to clear the area of o vergrown plants. It took most of the morning to finish.' In the afternoon, I had my ceilings reinforced.

The exhausting part of it all was the thinking. Considering all things to the best of my knowledge, staying was a good call.