Hacked

My first try at getting a hosted site has been a disaster. I never thought it would be this stressful.

During my first week, the server went down and restored only about three days.

Everything went well for the past three weeks. For some reasons, I got inspired to post an entry daily. I loved my entries. I had my settings changed so that a backup is sent to my email everyday.

Today, I wake up to find out that my site has been hacked. I'm sure that's a blogger's worst nightmare. I asked for help from my host but they can't do anything either. The backups are not of any use at all. They advised me to start from scratch. I gave up.

Do we have (universal) health care in the Philippines?!?

Sorry for my ignorance.

Watching Michael Moore's documentary on free universal health care made me realize that I don't even know what a health care or health insurance is. Maybe because I dread stepping in to a hospital?

Now I understand what my sister is talking about months ago; Canada has one of the best health care system in the world. They don't pay hospital bills?!? The same is true in the UK, France, and believe it, Cuba!

If they don't have free universal health care in the US, that makes me believe we don't have this system in the Philippines either? Where in the Philippines could we get free medicines, medical check ups, operations, etc?!? Do we even have such thing as health care?

***

Let's pray and help Northern Luzon... too.

After typhoon Ondoy, typhoon Pepeng is overstaying,


in Nothern Luzon.


He spared Metro Manila, but not the north.

Some barangays in Baguo are sinking. Main roads have been closed due to landslides. The city is now isolated.

Farms and rice fields in Cagayan are still under water.

Some 1000 people are trapped inside SM Rosales in Pangasinan. 60% of the province is flooded.

My friend and her family, and many others, in La Union have evacuated due to flooding too.

No vehicle can enter Vigan and Abra now. Roads have been closed.

I can't contact my family in Ilocos Sur today, the last news I received; half of our town is flooded.


What's happening to the Philippines?



I always believe that God listens everytime I pray not for me, but for others. I ask for His guidance and help in keeping our families, friends and love ones safe...

***

Ba't ayoko ng mga team building?

Team building na naman. Sa kasawiang palad, napilit nila akong sumama. Ano pa nga ba magagawa ko? Mahirap matawag na walang pakisama di ba?

Nagulat lang ako sa nakita ko sa mga nagdaang team building na sinamahan ko. Iba kasi idea ko sa team building dati, yun ung may kung anu-anong activities, kung minsan may konting dramahan, may katahimikan, ung mag-iisip pa konti, parang counselling. In short, boring.

Ngayun, gather lang kayo sa isang lugar, maingay, may alak, mag-iinoman, lalamon, magkakalasingan, may extra curricular activities minsan, tas wasted kinabukasan; team building na yun.

Ayoko sila pareho. Mas napapagod at na-iistress lang ako.

Hindi ko kailangan ng team building para maging team player.

Sayang ang pera at oras. Yung pang-gastos, sana pinadala ko na lang para pambili ng gamot ng nanay ko. Sana pahinga ko na lang yung free time ko, matulog maghapon, para fresh sa work kinabukasan. Have fun? Madali lang yan, andyan naman mga tunay kung kaibigan na pwede ko yayain anytime, at walang plastikan, just plain fun.

Basta ayoko lang talaga ng team building!

Pag nagresign ako, san ako pupunta?

I've been wanting to resign since my first day at work. Kung meron man pumipigil saken, yun ay kung saan ako pupulot ng ipapalamon ko sa sarili ko pag wala na akong trabaho. Sometimes, I want to consider myself lucky especially pag nakikita ko ang ilang kilometrong pila sa mga job fairs. Araw-araw paglabas ko ng opis, pila pila din sa lobby ang mga bago naming aplikante, most I believe, are more than willing to take my place anytime!

Gusto ko na magresign. Pero kung magreresign ako, san naman ako pupunta? Magtatanim ng kamote at mag-aararo kasama ng mga kalabaw sa bukid? Mumundok kaya? Amf!

HTML what?

I can't believe I actually have the patience for it!


Like as if my work isn't enough to keep me busy, I found myself shuffling signs, symbols, letters, numbers, characters, HTML.

See? I've been using my good ol' Blogger template for over two years now. As much as I wanted to modify my blog layout earlier, I just don't have the patience needed to do so, not to mention uninterested to learn how. Obviously, reading dummy guides and tutorials has never gotten in my to-do list.

Alas! Out of no where, I started digging thru the world wide web for nice templates the other day. I set aside my "today" files and put some of them to "later", and the rest "tommorow". Figuring out how to make all these codes work has become my main concern. Enough with the stressful work related reading, typing, calling, emailing!

My battle with HTML is sorrowful! I ignored every how-to guides there is. I followed my own trial and error procedure. Hence, it took me hours to finish.

Actually, it's still unfinished. Perhaps, when (short) free time peeks once again?

A question of faith

Why do other people have to suffer for the rest of us to realize that we are blessed? If we are in distress, why should we feel better that others are in a more difficult situation than we are?

Isn't that unfair?

Alcoholic

I think I'm addicted with alcohol.

I keep a small bottle of it in my pocket everywhere I go. I have one in my desk at work. I have two of them in my room, one just beside my bed. I'd wash my hands with alcohol no less than 10 times a day.

Am I an OC?

Numbers

When did I start having problems with numbers?

For as long as I could remember.

During preschool, missing a number between 1-100 was one of my worries. Back then, being able to count all hundred of them is a sign of uhm...intelligence. Enough to make a parent very proud.

I swear, mathematics is a subject I would have loved not to take in school if only that was possible. One of the reasons why I decided to enroll Architecture is because of the idea that I won't be encountering the X's and the Y's again. I got depressed when I saw the curriculum. Aside from the tons of drawing papers and blue prints that I needed to submit, I also endured solving numbers my entire college life.

Looking back, I actually miss the times when those are my only issues with numbers. When my only responsibility was to get at least half of them right, and come up with good numbers in my report card too. Nothing else.

Amazingly, from test papers to report cards, it made it's way to my pay slips and bills. These bills made me I realize that I need to reconsider my way of dealing with numbers once and for all.

If before an envelope left in the mail box bearing my name is a delight, now I almost dread looking at those unpicked envelopes in that box. Anything that has my name on it means I have to grab a calculator and start counting once more.



I wish I'd wake up one day without having to worry about the numbers on my bills again.

Power Outage and Global Warming.

"Ely!

Wala lang, ndi makatulog eh...ang init!"

That's a text message that I received from an officemate today. It came right after I was denied of my REM sleep; this time not because of a nightmare or my Hyena-yelping neighbors, but also because of the heat! Worse, I realize that there's a power outage. No means of ventilation-add that to the agony I had to endure.

I hurried to the nearest mall. Thanks to Henry Sy for his air conditioned structures. I understand now that they're the most inexpensive solution to every Pinoy's struggle to beat the heat. I stayed there for over an hour until a neighbor texted me the good news.

"May ilaw na."

This reminds me of a friend who dreads brownouts. He stayed in the US for years that when he decided to finally come home, he chose to live in Baguio. He couldn't bear the hot weather here in Manila anymore. He use to whine about the power outages, which during the rainy season, would occur almost every week. He would tell me that brownouts never happen in the US, a.k.a "Walang ganyan sa states!" Something I considered an overstatement until the NY brownout that made headlines in 2004.

Anyway, I am here back in my room. Trying to keep my cool despite having been deprived of my sleep, and waiting for American Idol to start.

Paano mamahalin ang isang bagay na ayaw mong gawin?

source

If there's one thing that separates me from other employees especially those who are working in the call center industry, that's my reluctance to get promoted. I just don't see myself pursuing a long term career in a call center.

A few weeks ago, my immediate supervisor, without my knowledge, endorsed me for a higher position. I was surprised when they called me for the initial interview. I humbly begged off. Two weeks later, I was asked to reconsider the offer. I though it would be too much to decline again, so with an assurance that I could quit anytime within a certain period of doing the job, I finally said yes.

I have been here for a week now, and I am so ready to quit.

Waaaaaaaah!!! Ano gagawin ko?

Blessings? Lemme count...

Just got back from a 5-day absence, which (due to some reasons) turned out to be a 2-day rest day, 1 vacation leave and 2 AWOLs. That may entitle me to a 2-3 days suspension, which sounds more like a vacation to me.

For someone who's tired with what he's doing, I Just realized that I'm not afraid to lose my job.


Once again my friend gave me this advise; mahirap maghanap ng trabaho, andami dyan gagawin lahat magkawork lang, mahirap walang work...pasok na!

I dragged myself to the office... and there came their birthday surprise!



That was touching.

I just realized, I have to thank God for the blessings!

After twenty something years, I finally got a cake on my birthday.

Thanks to Joy and May.

Boy Suplado 2

I don't really chat at YM very often. Minsan lang pag kinakailangan. I have two email accounts at yahoo, one for my "regular mails" which i consider private, and one for my Friendster. And because my sister abroad keeps on asking me to go online when she's logged in, I started to keep my YM busy lately, I get some "Stranger wants to add you as a contact" messages from time to time.

Someone just added me again today. I got this message before my shift ends:

Too lazy to double click? Here's how to conversation went:

Stranger: Hello

Me: hi, sino to?

Stranger: pinoy. taga los angeles ca. ikaw taga saan sa atin

Me: ha? san mo pow nakuha YM ko?

Stranger: sa friendster. puede ka bang maging kaibigan. kasi uwi ako sa pinas sa dec.

Me: hindi eh, hindi naman kita kilala (insert: hahaha emoticon). sorry

Stranger: ok. lang kung ayaw, di na bale. akala ko this could be the start of frinedship. (he corrected the spelling)

Me: Madami dyan, naghahanap ng friends. dami ko na kasi friends.

Stranger: ok lang. huwag na lang kung gayon.

Well I feel sorry for him. I didn't get the answer that I want so I gave him what he deserve. I was asking kung sino siya, "taga-LA" ba naman ang sagot? Anu un? Ang layo naman ata ng "sino ka?" sa "taga-saan ka?"

Just another day...



The truth is, konti lang talaga friends ko, pero lahat "real friends". At ok lang kahit iisa na lang matira, basta totoo...

forced RDOT?!? is it legal?

I'm furious, our office declared an RDOT for tomorrow a week ago and it is FORCED as in attendance is a must. I asked an HR from another company and he told me I have all the rights not to attend since it's a rest day.

My TL just informed me that "neglect of duty" would be my maximum possible sanction should I be absent.


That angers me more!!!

Pregnancy test

"I'm pregnant..."


That's my friend's message when I opened my YM today.

I wasn't really surprised, she has a boyfriend and they're living together outside the country.

I didn't know what to type at first, I'm not just good at this. So after a few moments of letting her see an "Ely is typing a message" at her YM window, I hit enter and there's my response:

"Pano na outing natin niyan?!?"

I tried not to make her feel worried with her situation.

She's not married. She's away from home and she just resigned from her job. She and her bf have no plans to get married yet, she doesn't want to. A decision which I completely support. Problems between the two of them make her feel unsure about marriage. With that, I thought it is not right for them to get married just because she's preggy.


Well, I guess we should prepare for our gang's newest member, coming soon!

Madadagdagan mga inaanak ko.

Split System Air Conditioners

During my architectural apprenticeship days, we had this one project where I was assigned to do a mechanical layout. I dread doing that. I spent long hours studying the sizes of air-conditioning systems that will be installed and plot the areas where they would be located. I can remember browsing a lot of brochures with all those air-conditioning specs. One of them is Split System Air Conditioners which I find to be one of the most interesting air-conditioners out in the market. They’re more affordable and splitting the hot side from the cold side of the air conditioner, and are flexible for zoning, heating, or cooling individual rooms.

Away for a week and didn't want to come back.

The best place on earth for me now:

Anywhere else except work.

I’m back to my daily routine today. I woke up, with my brain screaming, asking me to go back to sleep. Just sleep!


Groggy, I was literally dragging my ass to work.

I wish I could take a three-day off from work every week.
I wish I could go to work without really working.
I wish I won’t need to work at all.

(Sigh!)


Before a new post, I thought I should do this one first. I saw Alternati taking a picture of it and posted it in his blog...that was about over a year ago. I was with my friends the other night and saw this again, it may seem a copycat but I'm showing it here too:

The irony: I had a misunderstanding with one of my friends I was with that night, we haven't talked since then. That San Miguel beer friendship claim isn't true.

Update: 10 posts too late

Channel surfing, watching the news, movies, dreaming...trying to keep myself busy doing the things I love. My being a loner always makes me happier doing things by myself. Boring? Well, being with a lot of people doesn't always make me feel better.

After my previous post, I could hardly type a word to start creating a new one. I swear, the backspace on my keyboard is already overused.

Anyway I now take comfort with the fact that a lot of people here do care. The advices, although given virtually are very heart warming.

Thanks to everyone.

I was halfway done with a post when I saw an update about the missing Ces Drilon and crew at the Philippine Star the other day. I went through the comment section and I was surprised to see unsympathetic remarks for Ces Drilon, mostly because she’s from the Kapamilya network. How silly. If say, Jessica Soho is also missing in Sulu, I wouldn’t go online and posts nasty comments about her because I am a Kapamilya. Being abducted by some terrorists is a no joke. I was particularly shocked by this one:

If you don't have a magnifying glass handy and too lazy to double click, here's an enlarged screen shot:

Too blurry? It says:

"Yabang mo kase Ces! Dapat lang sa iyo yan. Gusto mo kaseng maka scoop para maunahan mo ang siete. Ngayon ikaw ang headline.

Gahasain nyo yan!!!!!"

djangopool99 (Jun 11 2008 11:21:41)


I admit I also curse a lot but this is something that I'd never wish to happen to anyone.
Whoever djangopool99 is, I hope she/he doesn't have a mother, a sister, a female relative or friend.

I checked the website 3 hours later and the comment is still there. Looks like the Philippine Star moderators are not reading their disclaimer and feedback policy.

What quitting means to me

I remember someone saying “a quitter is the ugliest person on earth”. How many times did I try to quit before? Countless. Does that make me ugly enough?

I tried to quit school. I tried to quit my first job, the second, the third… just tried. At least there’s a difference between trying and doing.



I’ll forget about quitting.
For now, I’m on the verge of giving up.

My officemate saw me typing this and had just reacted: “Duh? What’s the difference?”


I’m doomed. Maybe I need some counseling.

Masaya na ako sa pipty!

I've noticed, the Dollar-Peso exchange rate has gone up to Php43 = $1.00

Yehey! Sana bumalik ulit sa pipty!

I used to argue with my friend about this. Kasi daw pag tumaas ang halaga ng Piso, sisigla na ang economy ng Pilipinas.

Blasphemy!

Tag-hirap pa rin kahit bumaba pa yan hanggang 30. Nung tumaas ang value ng piso, tumaas din lahat ng presyo ng bilihin, pamasahe, at ayan may rice shortage pa!

I'm sure, kung meron man nakinabang, si Gloria lang at mga kalahi niya. Amf!!! Amf silang lahat!

Ngayon, ipinagdadasal ko na sana bumalik ulit sa ang palitan sa $50! Sigurado, sisigla din ako...


...sa pagbablog!



Cheers!