Thursday, December 31, 2015

Goodbye 2015, Hello 2016

I almost couldn’t believe that today is the last day of 2015. Before the year ends and I bid goodbye to the year of the sheep, let me recall this year’s highlights and what made it memorable for me.



First off, the Papal Visit happened in January from the 15th to the 19th. As a Catholic country this is the time where Filipinos experienced a renewal of faith when Pope Francis came. The Pope came to the Philippines during the first leg of his Asian trip and brought about the message of “Mercy and Compassion.” Pope Francis was the second Pope after Pope John Paul III to have visited the country.


I am still addicted to online shopping so my sister and I got ourselves mason jar cozies. I will never forget how cute this cookie monster cozy was and the hassle of buying a made to order item. It took a month before I got it but I swear to God I will not order from that seller again. My cozy will turn 1 year on the 25th of January. 


Pets come and go. Our house cat in Antipolo that I named Moonie passed away on February 13th. I don’t know how long he lived but he definitely died of old age. The last time I saw him alive was April of last year before I left for Cambodia to spend my 34th birthday.


I’ve always been a health buff but no matter how careful I am I had some minor health issues in March. I was diagnosed with G.E.R.D and was on medication for two weeks. I had my second endoscopy since my gallbladder operation in July of last year because of some bacteria that thrived in my stomach and was on medication for a month. 


I want a birthday present for myself and I couldn’t think of anything so I had my second piercing and I loved it. I thought it’s cute. My piercing is eight months old and will turn one year on April 12, 2016.


How can I forget my 36th birthday getaway in Hongkong (April 25-27)? It was my first time in HK though I never get the chance to visit Disneyland, I was happy to see the largest Buddha, the Tian Tian Buddha at Ngong Ping, Lantau Island.


It was a sigh of relief when I finally quit my job in July. I got my final pay in August (yay!).


Pets need TLC too. On August 2nd my sister and I brought our 10-year-old German Shepherd to the vet due to his infected hygroma and was on medication for 2 weeks. 


On August 21, Typhoon Ineng hit Northern Luzon big time. Our town was enveloped in darkness for 3 days.

I enrolled in a driving school in September, the rush course lasted only for 2 days. Whew.


Typhoon Lando badly damaged Northern Luzon last October 18. That was the worst typhoon ever. We had no electricity for 4 days. 


Moving into a new house this year in October was the best thing that happened to our family this year. God is good and I couldn’t ask for more.


Just three days after moving into our new house we took Yumi, our 4-year-old Lhasa Apso to the vet because my sister and I noticed that she’s losing weight and starting to smell weird. According to the vet that Yumi's blood test showed that she was positive for some blood parasite. She was bitten by an infected tick so she was on lots of vitamins and antibiotics for 2 months because she was still positive on the 2nd month. Poor little dog, thank God she’s all well now.


Our senior dog Brandon was rushed to the vet again and was confined for three days from November 16-19 due to dehydration. We had Brandon’s CBC checked and was told that his kidney and liver are no longer in good condition because of his age. He was able to recover after three weeks.


I'm a little bit of a gadget freak and an Apple fan. I couldn’t live without my iPhone or laptop so I got myself a MacBook Air 11 as a Christmas present. Happiness overload.


I was happy for a while but that happiness turned to grief when Brandon, our most loved guard dog passed away 2 days after Christmas. His kidney and liver finally gave up. He will be missed. 


I guess life is all about balance. Good and bad things happen for a reason, it is not just mere coincidence. Everything that happened this year gave me a lot of things to ponder. On that note, let me share a quote to wrap up 2015 for me:


“As the year comes to an end, don’t look back on yesterday’s disappointments. Look ahead to God’s promises yet to unfold.” ~ Buky Gelabi ~


Goodbye to the year of the sheep. This is going to be my year so let me welcome the year of the Monkey with a bang. Hello 2016, Let's rock this.












Thursday, December 24, 2015

Merry Christmas Baby

Merry Christmas


It’s the festive season and food is just sooo hard to resist I still have a hangover from last night’s sumptuous dinner. Overeating is no good for someone who lost a gallbladder a year ago but I care less even if I suffer from heartburn because Christmas only happens once a year right?  


There’s a bunch of things to be thankful for this year thus, a reason to celebrate. I can’t wait to have Internet service installed in our new home. It’s been 3 years since we had postpaid Internet and I really miss the good ‘ol things that I used to do such as downloading movies, music, etc. I’m a big leecher, not proud of it but I just am.  


They say the best things in life are those that money can’t buy, I totally agree. I’m a hardworking person, I keep working and working even if I’m not happy with what I do anymore until I just quit and move on to the next job. My life has become a broken record, it just played on and on. I take a break by traveling at least once a year to get some fresh air but I guess a temporary vacation didn’t help at all I realized that life is getting way too monotonous for me, a never-ending cycle. I thought I needed to do something to change how things are. 


I must say that this year is the best so far and I think I finally got what I always wanted…time, for myself and I couldn’t ask for more. This year had a lot of unexpected twists, mostly good ones. 


It’s just a few more days before the year ends and I have a feeling that the best has yet to come so bring it on.


Excited over the new year.


Cheerio! 




Tuesday, December 08, 2015

Shopaholic


Christmas is just around the corner and I'm feeling excited but haven't started shopping for presents yet. I'm addicted to online shopping I pretty much buy everything online because I love the convenience right at the comfort of my own home plus going to the mall as the holiday gets close is such a pain, the crowd is unbearable especially during SALE season. Online shopping has it's own risks too so make sure to buy from legit sellers only. As a piece of advice coming from someone who've been shopping online for 10 years, make sure to always check for customer's feedback especially if you like to purchase from international sellers just like in eBay.



I was an active eBay shopper until I got tired of waiting for ages for my package to arrive. I like to shop in eBay because that's where I find real cheap imported goodies plus the shipping is free, however, I still pay a postage fee of Php100 per parcel once it arrived in the country. Talk about free shipping but not really.


I was never a victim of bogus sellers (thank God!) because I know how to spot them. I like to shop with ease so whenever I encounter sellers that are quite unresponsive, I will keep in mind not to purchase from them again in the future. I'm not very hard to please. I lover sellers who are very accommodating especially in answering inquiries and those who give updates. I appreciate it when I'm provided a tracking number so I can personally track my package. I know how it feels to buy and sell. I have sold gadgets online as well as managed an online shop in the past so I know how it feels to win the trust of a complete stranger. I had the best and the worse customer experience but the worse of the worse just happened recently through LAZADA so for those wanting to purchase from them, think thrice. You have been WARNED.


Lazada sucks
I downloaded the Lazada mobile app last month because when my niece bought an all in 1 printer months ago she said she got it cheaper and it arrived soon so I thought that I will not have any problem since they are a legit and reputable company. I ordered a MacBook Air 11 on the 20th of November and got an email order confirmation immediately that it will be verified anytime. The following day I got a call from a customer service rep to verify that I really ordered the item. I thought this is good, I like that they really take time to call unlike in eBay, an email notification is enough.


According to the order details that I will get the item between November 29 - December 1st but I did not hear from Lazada after December 1st so I shoot them an email and got a reply (yes, they reply fast. Well, at least) that it is still in process by the supplier and that I will get my item no later than December 8 so I uttered to myself "okay, I'll wait then" though I'm starting to have doubts already that there is something that they aren't telling me but I still trusted them, that's how patient I am when I know that it is beyond my control. I started reading blogs and found out that Lazada has a lot of complaints regarding items that are taking way too long to arrive but I just shrugged it off because I don't want any of these articles to kill the excitement that I'm feeling. I stayed positive that I will get my item before the 8th until on the 4th of December, I got another email saying that the item I ordered is OUT OF STOCK from their supplier from the time that I ordered it although it allowed me to check out from their website and that they couldn't find any other supplier that have that model available so they offered me a P200 voucher that I can use on my next purchase. BEAST MODE ON. I was like, you gotta be kidding me... I waited 2 weeks for nothing and you expect me to purchase again and use that voucher? Seriously??? I was totally DISAPPOINTED. Who wouldn't be? They wasted my time. For a first timer in Lazada, this is just UNACCEPTABLE. I replied back to let them know how frustrated I was with their crappy website and that I will NEVER order from them I again. How on earth are you able to order an item that is out of stock? Ridiculous right?!


MacBook Air rainbow case
On the same day that I got the bad news, I went Macbook shopping with my sister in SM Cyberzone unfortunately, it was out of stock too on both Apple distributors thank God one of the sales persons from one of the stores told me that they have a stock coming the next day so I reserved it immediately and paid for the reservation fee. I was ecstatic when I got my MacBook Air the following day but still haven't forgotten about the bad experience. I told myself that if I wasn't too lazy to go to the mall, I would've have saved myself from all the s***. Moving on and lesson learned, if you're looking to buy a gadget do not do it online. It's still best that you are able to see the product that you are buying so you are able to test if it is in good condition, this is one of the things that you're not able to do when buying online plus it's still best that if something goes wrong, you're able to take it back to the store where you bought it to have it checked. Currently, I am pleased with my Mac. I am a first-time Macbook user but I find it very easy to navigate, it's very straightforward compared to Windows. I just love my new baby so I got her/him/it a rainbow case (ordered one from Shopee) that comes with a black keyboard cover, it's super cute.


Unboxed my MacBook Air 11






I guess my new baby will keep me busy again since our senior dog Brandon, is all well again after suffering from diarrhea and dehydration and was on medication for 2 weeks but we still have to watch his diet and administer his vitamins religiously. As of Yumi the tiny dog, she's still positive for blood parasite so this will be her second month of medication. I hope that her next check-up will turn out good. 


Back at It: A Long Overdue Update

It's been three months since I last sat down to write, and I've missed this more than I can express. Life has a way of throwing unex...