The Two Hundred-Peso Challenge

Posted on August 24, 2008 at 9:58 am | 9 Comments
Filed under Daily Dose

Every single school day, I face this scary challenge. With only PHP 200.00 in my wallet, I have to budget it carefully just like a mother does for me to get back home safely. Okay, I have some of my savings in my wallet and I can always run to the nearest ATM since I always bring my ATM card with me, so technically I have more than that in my wallet, but I hate it when I have to spend more than what my daily allowance can buy especially when I have to withdraw money using my ATM card which is connected to my bank account. Right now, my Banco de Oro personal savings account is so low that I’m not earning any interest. So yeah, that’s how poor I am these days.

This year, we have seen drastic changes with prices of the basic commodities we have in the market. The buying power of peso has significantly dropped. Uh, why am I talking about economics? Haha. But you get the point. The poor people were pushed farther beyond the poverty line. I guess, even the richest families in the county could feel the effects of this crisis. No one can’t deny that we are experiencing such problem.

For the past two years, my daily allowance was PHP 150.00. And that was more than what’s enough for me. I could still get savings out of it at the end of a tiring day at school. When this school year had started, I realized that PHP 150.00 is no longer enough for me. I asked my mother for an increase, and fortunately, she agreed. But even though I have PHP 200.00 now, I still have to ask myself if my remaining money could still get me back home whenever I spend for something. It’s scary, you know. What if I spent more than what I could and that has left me only a few coins? What if all the ATMs went offline simultaneously? What if no one was willing to lend me money? What would happen to me? Where would I spend my evening? In my friend’s apartment? Well, that’s something that I don’t want to experience.

So where does my allowance go? Fifty percent of it goes for my jeep and tricycle fares. Around 28% is dedicated for my lunch, and the rest is for my other expenses such as photocopies of our lectures1, pre-paid load, and whatnot. Seriously, two hundred pesos is not enough, but I’m not going to ask for another increase in my allowance.

For the next two weeks, I’m absolutely sure that I’ll eat in a fast food chain at least five times. Don’t ask how I knew that. Obviously, that’s not going to help me with my allowance problem and the two hundred-peso challenge will be more difficult than ever. You see, when I eat at a fast food chain, I always get tempted to buy the most mouthwatering meal (which is always the most expensive meal) plus a yummy dessert. Can you suggest something that will prevent me from looking at the menu? Haha.

This only means that I have to extensively cut my expenses. We are no longer in those days when PHP 200.00 can buy many things. For the mean time, we have to say goodbye to our luxuries. But then again, let us not lose hope that in the near future, we can say hello again to them.

So… </blogging> eh? Well, I hope not.

  1. I’m tired spending for these. I’ve got tons of photocopied materials in my room already and I’m pretty sure that I’ll have more of them. [↩]

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Pichur!

Posted on August 9, 2008 at 3:47 pm | 12 Comments
Filed under Random Realities • Shameless Shot

Okay, I’m really sorry for not updating this blog for uh, almost a month? I hope you’ll forgive me. I guess, a bug bit me. Well, yeah, I have a writer’s block right now. So yeah. That’s mainly the reason why there are no updates in this blog lately. Another reason is school. Though I have lots of new experiences, I can’t post them here. By the time I get back home, most my energy has already been depleted. Then, there are still other things that I have to worry like endless paperwork, Ms. Irresponsible1, and other things that make me annoyed. Besides, the reason why I’m keeping my identity would be defeated if I published them here.

But if you can’t resist2 me, I suggest that you follow me on Twitter and Plurk. Also add me as your friend, contact, fan or whatever on Last.fm, Facebook, Flickr, Delicious (The new Delicious site is… delicious!), Google Reader, and Digg. But erm, there’s no 100% guarantee that I’ll reciprocate. XD

So, what’s with the title? Well, I dunno if I’ve already introduced you to the word pichur. Haha. Obviously, it’s synonymous to the word picture. Use it in a sentence? Okay, here we go: Have you seen NYTimes’ feature on Angelica Panganiban’s photoshopped pichur? I guess this word was created circa 2005 by my chemistry-teacher-slash-adviser who has pronunciation problems.

Because I’m really out of words, I’ll be using photos to express myself and I’ll try to put a short description. Hopefully, this will work. And uh, I hate to admit it but this post is very random.

Let’s get the film rolling!

Agony in the Garden
Agony in the Garden - March 25, 2005

I’m pretty sure I’ve already posted this photo here. This is one of our heirlooms. My Dad reckons it was sculpted around the last quarter of the 17th century. That makes it more than a century old. Every Holy Week, we go to Dangwa Flower Market (near UST) to buy flowers for the procession. The float is designed with various flowers. Around six in the evening, the procession starts. But lately, I didn’t like how the float was decorated (20063, 2007, 2008). My Grandmother insists on buying white flowers only. It looked too simple to me. Currently, this photo is in Flickr’s Explore. Uh, if you have a Flickr account and you like this photo, please add it to your favorites and leave a comment as well. Well, I’m not coercing you. Haha.

Eat
Eat - December 24, 2006

A little bit of history about this phone: before it landed to me, my younger and sister and mother used it. Well, I’m not really a fan of phones. So even though it came from the Jurassic Era, I really don’t care. Lately, it was malfunctioning which forced me to use the other old phones here at home. But now, it’s working again. The culprit was its bloated battery. On a related subject, I’ve already owned one Smart, one Sun, and four Globe sim cards. Currently, I’m using two Globe sim cards. One is for my offline life, and the other is for my online life (but I don’t regularly use it).

Fully Booked
Fully Booked - April 06, 2008

You know how much I love books. Books are the fuel of my life. WTF?! I really enjoy reading books, that’s why I don’t mind spending hundreds of Pesos on them. Yeah, reading is an expensive hobby. Unless you have other resources like borrowing reads from the library or from your friends, you’ll surely get broke. But owning a copy is still different, eh? Right now, I don’t have anything to read. The books in the local bookstore don’t look interesting to me. Someone suggested a Chuck Palahniuk book to me, but after reading the synopsis on the back of his book, I hesitated. I think I will not like his style, besides, the synopsis kinda scared the hell out of me. I badly want to visit a Fully Booked store!

Bread Talk
Bread Talk - August 08, 2008

I have to say that Bread Talk is officially my favorite bakery. The presentation of their pastries and breads is awesome! I always salivate when I see breads (and not to mention cakes) from Bread Talk. And oh, the structure of their shops is also cool. Simple but amazing. The only downside is that their breads are expensive. Oh, look at that sign! The “NO PHOTOGRAPHING, no smoking, no eating/drinking, no shoplifting4” sign can’t stop me from taking photos of this amazing bakery!
PS: I submitted this photo to the Flickr 888 pool.

Print Cartridges
Print Cartridges - August 09, 2009

I’ve been bragging on Plurk that I’ve used my HP 56 Print Cartridge (as seen on this photo) for a staggering two years. What’s more is that I didn’t have to buy a new cartridge because I used up all of the 19 milliliters of ink but because the cartridge malfunctioned. That’s how tipid I am with ink. Haha. You see, I usually use “fast draft” for Print Quality (for text). Well, the quality is good and the text is still readable. Yesterday, after checking the prices of the print cartridges in four computer shops at SM City Pampanga, I bought the cheapest HP 56/57 print cartridge combo-pack for my old printer-slash-scanner-slash-copier I’ve found. I was able to save more or less PHP 1000.00. In one of the shops I’ve visited, if you bought a HP 56 and HP 57 print cartridges separately, you would have to pay them for PHP 2680.00 (I’m glad I didn’t buy from that store)! Now, that’s an impressive deal! I guess, those are that last print cartridges I would buy until I graduate from college. Haha.

Uh, I guess this worked for me! w00t! I now have my first post for this month. I actually enjoyed doing this. I’m off to visit your blogs, then, I’ll try to catch the Olympics (read this article: 10 Fascinating Facts About the Ancient Olympic Games) later.

  1. That’ll be her name here in my blog from now on. Also, I believe that the whole class now knows how much I hate her. Wait, have I mentioned about her here in my blog? [↩]
  2. LOL. What’s wrong with me? Resist?! Seriously? [↩]
  3. Weird. I can’t find a photo of this in my Flickr account taken back in 2006. [↩]
  4. Uh, I’m not sure if it’s a “no shoplifting” sign. The illustration was so vague. [↩]

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Family First

Posted on June 21, 2008 at 3:39 pm | 15 Comments
Filed under Random Realities

I’m not sure if you are familiar with those annoying Family First agents in the malls. Nevertheless, let me tell you about them. These agents are found in the malls, usually near the entrances. They were trained to ask this single question to the passersby: “Do you have a credit card?” Some would even follow the shoppers carrying with them a bag and an umbrella — both bearing a logo of the company — until they get an answer. Reply with a “no” and you’re safe, otherwise, you’re caught under their bait which will they make more enticing with the stupid freebies they are holding. The next thing you’ll know is that you are in their headquarters listening to an agent’s drowning voice about saving money for the future and sign what-god-knows-what contracts while drinking iced tea (which my teacher back in high school commented that there must be something in it that would make you sign the contracts) for hours. And you’ll get even pressured because for ever person they tricked into signing, all the agents would clap in unison. Scripted… Eh? Nice tactics, right? But that’s not I want to talk about.

I asked my high school friends if these nagging agents already asked them with the same question. Well, they were. These agents are actually getting into my friends’ nerves. But me? No! I was never asked with that stupid question. Haha. I guess, they don’t perceive me as someone who is old enough to have a credit card. But I’m not saying that I have one. LOL. My Dad actually asked me if I wanted a credit card but I didn’t accept his offer.

Earlier this year, I had a hard time convincing a bank teller that I’m already a college student. During my summer classes, my instructor asked me how old I am (and I was the only one who was asked with that question). Last week, during our first meeting in my major subject, my professor asked me “Dear, are you lost? This is not high school.” Yesterday, another instructor told me “Mukha kang totoy!” If you were to compare me with my younger sister (who is a graduating high school student), maybe, you would say that we were born on the same year or I look younger than her.

When will this stop? I’m not enjoying it really. Well, I used to but not anymore. Maybe, some of my younger readers look older than me. I’m 18, a junior student and I don’t know if people will believe me.

I know, I’ve already ranted about this… but then again, this is my blog! Haha. I’m just really annoyed. For the past two years, I’ve been on constant stress, but it looks like that it didn’t affect my appearance. If this year was stressful enough for me, we would be able to see it draw lines on my face. Maybe, I have this power that can retain my youth. Haha. Now, I should be included as one of the main characters of Heroes.

I’m actually tempted to go to the liquor store in the mall and see if the cashier and guard on duty would stop me. Hahaha.

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Torture or no torture?

Posted on November 6, 2006 at 10:18 pm | 13 Comments
Filed under Pinoy Pride • Tube Talk

I sacrificed The Amazing Race (we don’t have AXN) just to watch Kapamilya Deal or No Deal. Well, it worth it, lol, if it’s not for it, I would be not updating my blog tonight.

Here’s a recap of tonight’s episode…

I don’t really know what happened at first but it looks like the contestant borrowed the necklace of his cousin’s. And after the first round (or was it the second?), Kris Aquino, the ever tactless host of the show commented that the necklace was not a lucky charm for him so Kris forced the contestant to hand back the necklace. But after another round, it turned out to be as bad as the previous one as two briefcases (not sure) that hold big amounts were revealed.

So Kris asked the contestant and his cousin to exchange with one another their tops as it Kris believed that it might help the contestant to get the luck that he needed. Well, of course, this was done during the commercial break. At first the two guys were reluctant but they submitted to Kris’ suggestion in the end.

After the commercial break, the cordless phone rang up again which Kris and the banker use to communicate with one another. As the banker had already gave his offer just before Kris called for a commercial break, Kris was shocked. The banker reported the cousin of the contestant to Kris. You see, the banker can hear everything from as all the microphones are connected to his panel. During the commercial break the contestant’s cousin said something like:

Ang ganda ng pasok niya kanina, tapos sinira ni Kris (His start was good but Kris somehow interfered with it).

Actually, the part where the kins of the contestant talked about Kris destroying their kin’s good performance was even showed.

Well, of course, the queen of tactless was surprised. I think she felt embarrassed which made her agitated to the cousin of the contestant and it also made the offer of the banker to sunk a little lower.

It was Kris’ turn to embarrass… she let the contestant’s cousin to choose a briefcase, and alas, the briefcase contained PHP 100000.00. And do you know what Kris did? She laughed (hahahaha) very hard! Whoa… it was so embarrassing for the contestant’s cousin and it was even televised nationwide! But that did not stop there, the banker asked the contestant to choose from two offers, a lower one and his cousin would stay in the studio or a higher offer but his cousin has to step out of the studio. The contestant chose the latter, what the?! And Kris said “Bye” to the poor lad with matching hand gesture to show the way out! Well, the contestant’s cousin also liked the latter option…

But wait, that does not end there! Every time the banker had the opportunity, he showed the contestant’s cousin on the screen being filmed on the hallway. He was showed after every round. It even looked like that the cops where looking for that guy as above him was the banker’s offer. Just add the word “wanted” to complete the embarrassing moment! Mind you, I think that person was almost into tears!

He was only allowed to enter again after the contestant had won PHP 100000.00.

*****

Okay, I’m not taking sides…

At the very first place, if the cousin of the contestant did not say that stupid comment, he would not end with that most embarrassing moment of his life now! Is he not aware that he had a microphone that was directly connected to the banker’s panel and everything that he said and did were being recorded?

As for Kris and the banker, what they did was so rude! Can’t they imagine what would happen to that person after that? They made him like a puppet! It was really rude! And why did they have to broadcast and show it to the viewing public? Why they did not just talk with that person after taping that episode with no cameras and no microphones?

*****

Now, I won’t be surprised if the show’s ratings would gradually sunk. I would not be surprised if the contestant and his family would go and support the greatest rival of the network that broadcasts Kapamilya Deal or No Deal. I wouldn’t be surprised if this news is on this week’s top rumors. (I would not be surprised if James Yap is under.)

And to close this entry, let me quote the line Kris has said just before the credits rolled:

‘Wag kokontrahin ang buntis (Do not interfere with the pregnant)!

* I got the title from one of my high school classmates.

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