dr. jekyll & mr. hyde inside your wallet
Saturday, June 24, 2006
my saturday is not blog-worthy today. but i felt the urge to blog. but what about? then i remembered sumthin regarding or staff meeting last friday. it was about the deception of your cash plastics.i'm sure a lot of you have credit cards; if not i bet you are still trying to fill up that app form those ladies from the malls gives out every so often. with waived annual fee on the first month, everyone thinks its an advantage. so it is. i was in college when i had my first card. it was a student mastercard from hsbc, i still have it. saved me a lot from my no-allowance sentences. but let me warn you, it'll be an addition, if not now... soon. people who knows how to handle their budget don't get into trouble. so u better know how to use the plastic to your advantage. here's some tidbits.
did you know that merchants are not allowed to charge you for additional fee just because you used their cards? if you're using visa or mastercard, you have to call and report this incident before they swipe your card. its a bit tricky though coz merchants are allowed to give discounts if you use cash. if the merchant has this cash discounts, you should see a regular price tag and a discounted cash price tag. now if the item is labelled with just one price tag and the merchant asks for additional fee (or as they call it surcharge), inform the merchant that you need to call your issuer then report this incident. its a violation of visa/mastercard merchant agreement.
also, visa/mastercard merchant agreement states that the merchant should not impose a minimum card purchase. i remember an incident before that sm mall minimum card purchase is 50 pesos. i really don't care about this. but if you are really out of cash and/or fast approaching your credit limit, this info might just save you.
ever wonder why banks are willing to give out cards for free for the first. coz the chances that you'll keep the card and pay next year's membership is very high... specially if you're still unfinished with your previous 12-month installment purchase. so if you really dont want to pay the next annual fee, make sure you have paid the full amount before your first year expires.
the best way to fully take advantage of credit cards is on-time payment. by that i mean that you have to pay the balance IN FULL on or before payment due dates. paying the minimum payment won't do. you might think that you saved yourself from the late payment fees but you still be charge with the monthly interest that is 3.5%. chances are, you'll find yourself paying for the same merchandise for months. and if you try to go back and compute how much you've paid for that item... you might get an instant heart attack.
make sure you don't exceed your credit limit, otherwise you'll be penalized. i know you think you won't overcharge coz stores would not accept your card if you've reached your max spending limit in the first place. think about the last installment charge you made. credit cards only counts the retail payment for the month. these monthly payments are charged to your card on a specific day, say for example every 18th of the month. if you have a credit limit of 20,000 and you monthly payments of 5,000, you could still buy that psp for 16,000 on the 17th. by the 18th, you'll have the overcharge fee. nice huh?
here's a security risk that most of us ignore. know that the last 3 digits (some have 4 though) printed on the back of your card works like a PIN and its called cvv2/cvc (card verification value/code). if you hand me your credit card for less than 5 minutes or so, u also gave me access to charge to your account. how? internet purchases usually requires the cvv2/cvc, your credit card number, and the expiry date. no signature needed. some internet payment sites require users to put in the correct address and verifies the area code (zip code). so next time the you hand your card to a waiter/waitress, make sure you don't give the address associated with your plastic. i know most of you wouldnt give that info unless you got the hots to your server. just in case you decided to fill out that feedback form, make sure you don't leave your address associated with your plastic.
if you any more tips/advices/trivia about credit cards, please feel free to share it. consumers have the right to know before they fall victims of mr. hyde.
by h2Omelon GurL @ 11:21 PM with 0 comments
infiltration @ the palace
as soon as i arrived at the office, my boss inquired if i was anywhere near the president these past few months. i was like, president who? he said president arroyo experienced severe abdominal pain and vomiting. it was said that she was a bit pale too and was confined.(6TH UPDATE) FOR the first time since she was rushed to St. Luke’s Hospital for acute infectious diarrhea Thursday night, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo met members of a government media pool Friday afternoon and assured the public she was all right. read here
seems like my plan to spread my infectious disease worked. today... the president. tomorrow... the world!!! talk about biological warfare! bwahahaha!
ok, before the police arrest me... lets get this straight. i wasn't anywhere near osteria (ara mina's resto) where arroyo had her dinner before she was rushed to the hospital last night; bubba gump's is like miles away. i haven't even seen the president personally. c'mmon i'm too gorgeous to waste my life for stuff like presidential assassination. and i'm not about to let myself be taken away for spreading single-celled organisms. and of all diseases out there, it has to be diarrhea outbreak. que horror! that is just sooo ... crappy!
but im so glad im not alone in this kinda state. and with the president herself, im honored to share my fate with her. hahaha, just kidding. but i hope we both get well soon. i just got my meds. in 3 days time, i'll have another round of tests to see if those pests are gone for good. i'm tired of all these doc's visits. its physically and financially draining. it's killing my social life, not like i have a grand one. but the protozoa has got to go... i know its their nature to be pesky, but they're overdoing it....seriously! i'm not sure if arroyo says she's fine for publicity sake, coz im not fine... at all!
by h2Omelon GurL @ 1:55 AM with 0 comments
now THAT is TOO much! waaaay TOO MUCH!
Friday, June 23, 2006
i was delirious this morning. my boyfriend dropped by coz my mom told him i haven't feeling well. i wasn't able to catch my doc last night so i don't have my meds yet. when i woke up, he was looking weird at me. he laughed at me. when i asked why, he told me i was talking in my sleep. and he heard me call out beckham. at first he thought i said, baked ham; but i called out again. yup, it was beckham.thing is, i had this dream. i was at a building of some sort and below it was an open field. i think i was on 2nd floor and when i looked out i saw most of my fav futbol players were out on the stage, even that klose guy i haven't seen on the tv. everyone was screaming. and it suprised me that i found myself calling out to david, with two hand waving up high, jumping up and down, trying to catch his attention. david, who took noticed to that poor loser fan who's acting all crazy, gave a short wave. and i can't believe it... when i saw he that he did waved at me, i screamed... ok i shrieked like a loser girl in front of some one-shot-to-fame boyband. it was horrible and alarming. i can't even imagine myself being starstruck over beckham without seeing him on the actual field... playing a good game. he looks ok, but he doesn't have the voice to match it. so the only time he's worth worshiping is when he kicks that curve ball right into that goal and scores. that's it. i'm not going to act like a stupid loser fan when i see him walking on the street or something..... i hope.
anyway, last night my boyfriend and i went back to bubba gump with a vengeance. we order a bucket of shrimp-lobster-mahi-mahi meal and ate our full. i forgot the name but it was good. my boyfriend was saying it was a long time since he enjoyed a seafood course. it was really superb except that when i woke up, i'm not feeling well. hope i was home sleeping so i won't be able to feel this stupid tummy aches. it's really killing me!
by h2Omelon GurL @ 3:28 PM with 0 comments
let's not talk about it... OK?!!!!
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
in fairness to all nba fans out there, i have to say this. miami won... bleah! ok, next topic.i haven't really updated my blog these days. i've been out having those stupid diagnostic tests again last sunday and finally my doctor found out why i got confined in the first place. unfortunately, of all human containers, this irritating parasite with an much irritating name (entamoeba histolytica cyst) to match its really irritating existence on earth, decided to make my body its wonderland. i stopped my iron supplements already since it would only aggravates my bowel routine. apparently, this protozoa may have been a result of eating contaminated food and/or water. i've been out traveling a lot last april and may that i can't really pinpoint where i picked it up. thing is, that's irrelevant now unless i'm still eating or drinking the same stuff that caused this illness. i hope i didn't get this from my office water or from our home. the only good thing is that i drank a lot of water, ate a lot of... yes, watermelon, when i was not feeling well so i didn't end up dehydrated.
i'm feeling a lot better though. i dunno. whenever i work in the office, i feel good. except last week, when i kept on visiting the restroom every hour or so. problem is, i can't find/buy my meds anywhere. doc issued me diloxinide furoate which accdg to mercury drug, was phased out already. they were recommending meta-blah-bleh-bleah... i can't remember the name really... but that was my previous tabs. doc says its no good for me anymore. i'll go back tomorrow to get a new prescription. maybe i should drink lysol which my mom sprays more frequently now after she found out about my so-called pet.
speaking of pet, my boyfriend's sister's spaniel just gave birth to a male pup. just one pup. it was a shock really. everyone thought that pika (the dam) was not pregnant. i thought she was pregnant because i felt something inside her weeks ago. the vet "confirms" that she was not pregnant. then we noticed that she got milk. the vet says she might be having false pregnancy. then this afternoon she gave birth. the vet says it was impossible. hahaha. well, i guess it was a bit weird. coz it took her more than 80 days, i think. i haven't seen the pup. maybe i'll post his pic next week.
hmmm, what else?
oh!!!!! watch fast and furious 3 tokyo drift. believe me, it's the best! i know u might think its crap since the movie has a new cast. and why tokyo of all places?!!! but when we watched it, it was really cool. i mean, the movie was totally HOT! a really big turn-on to all streetracing fanatics and need for speed playas out there. i didn't really appreciate the drift mode on the need for speed play... but once u see this movie, you get the grip. imagine having a car race inside a building carpark like sm megamall. the adrenaline rush, man! make sure u'll watch it in a theater with really, really good sounds to get the real feel. for the guys, yeah some nice girls as usual. fine... the storyline is so-so but u really have to love those cars... and the drift! vroooooom! then in the end, u'll get a bit of a suprise as the writer links part 3 and part 1. watch it! don't mind the cast... for the sake of those cars, really, worth ur money.
gotta run and see if i could get some facial or massage somewhere near (girl-mode). laterz!
by h2Omelon GurL @ 8:17 PM with 3 comments
vanity check
Saturday, June 17, 2006
i was scheduled to have my cbc and stool test today but i followed my friend's advice... he said i should have fun this weekend. so that's what i did. i dropped all my diagnostic tests and decided to do something else.me and my boyfriend started the weekend early with friday night dinner at... friday's watching argentina vs. serbia & montenegro. of course that was a no brainer match, i knew argentina will win it... and so they did. we watched till half time pigging out with bbq and onion rings. i was so full that i didn't have space for my dessert so we decided to take the mudpie home instead. it was 3-0 in favor of argentina and by the time we arrived home, argentina is up on the rankings with netherland. they won 6-0 against scg but i was a bit disappointed that i wasn't able to see riquelme put in a goal. he almost did in the first half... almost but still didn't.
today, i went out to buy the shoes we reserved at adidas rockwell for my boyfriend. buying shoes for that guy is one of the most frustrating tasks i have to do. he got big feet which means he got big.... SHOES. here in my country, buying size 12 shoes is next to a miracle... and that miracle being=actually getting a pair that my boyfriend is comfortable in. i could almost hear the "hallelujiah" background when i heard the sales person say that there's a size 12 at rockwell. can't remember the model... i'll upload it and maybe some of you would recognize it.
then on my way home, i had to pass by the mall for some pampering. i remember my mom telling me to buy some cucumber for my eyes. believe me, when you hear such advice from my mom who doesn't usually say much about physical appearance... you're a disaster. i feel so ugly these days. i had my wax at let's face it... girls, i know they don't do good facials but the waxing is really superb. at least im satisfied with it. i had to do this first coz i've been so lazy these days and had relied too much on shaving, which is definitely not good. at let's face it, they don't use the honey-based wax with the cloth to strip off the hairs. i'm not familiar with the brand but they use a pinkish wax which they pull out as well. so no messy, sticky feeling. u should try it once, i'm sure you'll get hooked.
then i got a facial. let's not talk about it coz it's nothing special. i went to dermstrata and the place wasn't very relaxing. i had a whitening kojie mask+placenta collagen with eye treatment; i'm not sure if i did get the eye treatment but they did picked on my pimples. i bought tea tree oil from body shop coz i hate how my forehead looked after my treatment. hope it'll be gone soon. the staff from dermstrata told me not to wash my face so i postponed my plans to buy some makeup. maybe next week.
i also got a free workout stub at slimmer's world. gawd, my belly's getting really huge these days that i think it's demanding a liposuction. have to get the fat out fast. hopefully i get the free time and i'll find someone to go with me. maybe i'll ask mike. hoy mike! workout tau!!!!
until now, im not sure if i'll go to the salon to get a hair treatment. my hair is sooo limp and dry... like it's good as dead. thing is, i have to go to my salon like 4km away because my previous hair handler was so nice and i think my hair likes him. still contemplating if i should cut my hair really, really short. as short as natalie imbruglia's in her torn mtv. what do u think?
by h2Omelon GurL @ 8:05 PM with 0 comments
u have to tell me
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
world cup ads are nothing but great not to mention universal. you just have to love them. everyone, from adidas to nike to gatorade, even each country produce their own masterpiece. i have previously posted the adidas draft pick of a boy named jose. not bad eh? i didn't like the nike ads with cantona and ronaldinho. i know cantona is from manchester united but i always think of him as a show-off. so is ronaldinho... but i love that guy, who wouldn't?then i came across pepsi's world cup commercial. my emotions got all mixed up. it should be funny but if i'll hang on it much longer, i'm pretty sure i'll find football a turn-off. look at their faces... ronaldinho and beckham are trying to keep themselves from laughing. they are look so... forgive me for using the word... adorable. hahaha!
see the ad for yourself, while i go after that fatty girl who took my beckham jersey.... THAT'S MINE!!!!!
by h2Omelon GurL @ 8:49 PM with 0 comments
welcome 2006 world cup
Monday, June 12, 2006
oh well, nba fever is over. yeah, at least for me it is. i don't care much about the last two teams out there but i know this much. since mavs won their 2nd game, they're going to get the ring. that why it's all done for me. dirk will be mvp-ed too. that's too bad for shaq, we all know how bad shaq wants a ring. maybe next year... my team will get into the finals. hahaha. they really need a real center, and not to mention good bench players. how many times did i said that to lawrence. lets see what will happen next.but for now its all about... world cup. i'm not rooting on any team as of the moment. i'm a beckham fan, yes... shoot me. i dont care. still, my eyes are on england this year. why? because my boss told me to look for rooney. coming from an english man, i wonder if its was biased opinion. we'll see. they're off with a good start, though... beating paraguay. not bad, eh? though they played way too hard on the first half and were almost crawling on the second half. i thought they're going to lose it but didn't. yey!
look at this video... noticed anything?
no one was drafted from greece. hmmm, i wonder why. spanish/portuguese speaking boys plus no german players. take a hint. hahaha. rivals till the end.
by h2Omelon GurL @ 5:27 PM with 2 comments
the power of words
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
my trip to the doctor was sooner than i expected. today i noticed disturbing symptoms that i decided that delaying my check-up is just a step away from becoming a sado-masochist. i knew that i have high tolerance with regards to pain (blood not included, as long as there's no blood i can take it), so i only visit doctors in extreme circumstances. guess that's not such a sharp attitude, because when i can't bare the pain anymore, i usually find myself in an emergency room with people sticking needles (or something) on me, and i'm too weak to argue.so there! i visited our family doctor, actually, the son of our family doctor. i think he's just a few years older. he had a band group before, i knew that because when i was young, i hear them practicing while i had my checkup with their dad. and they joined a contest before... i used to like their group, though i can't seem to remember what type of music they were into. now he's the new family doctor.
anyway, he said not to worry... its normal to experience frequent bowels since im taking ferrous sulfate. plus the fact that i have to take 2 tablets everyday since my hemo count dropped. but as a precaution he asked me to have a stool and cbc tests, to make sure that it's really nothing serious. he gave me antibiotics for 5 days. also, he lowered my iron supplement dose to just 1 tablet a day since i looked better (i mean didn't looked as pale as i was last time i had my checkup). and... i have to refrain from eating fatty, oily, fibrous, spicy foods. and i have increase my h2o intake.
now here's the good news:
HEAR YE! HEAR YE!!!!
I CAN EAT SWEETS!!!!
I CAN EAT CAKES!!!!!
no mik though, no yougarts. not that i care much about dairy. important thing is, I can eat desserts!!!
i feel a lot better hearing my doctor's diagnosis. yes, i still have to take those tests, but i'm more comfortable taking them. i have to sleep early today... doctor says no stress and lots of rest.
p.s. i tried eating apples everday... didn't work. i still have to see my doc. wonder where they got "an apple a day, keeps the doctor away"... maybe its just an ad for washington apples or somethin. sooo not true!!!!
by h2Omelon GurL @ 9:20 PM with 1 comments
somthin wrong... im scared
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
recently i have noticed my bathroom trips are becoming more frequent. the urgency to go now happens more than five times every dang day that it's becoming more of a bother than a concern. it annoys me even more is the fact that i feel just a tinge of relief after each session, and the knowledge that i still need to go back... again in a few minutes or so! imagine, like its asking me to spend the whole day in the bathroom. i hate it.i know i oughta see a doc, but i haven't gotten past the trauma i had last month. no! i won't go back there, at least not this early. so i decided googling for my diagnosis instead. out of the results displayed, i have cut the list down to two... (colon cancer is out!) ... they are ulcerative colitis and IBS. i probably think its IBS.
here's the symptoms of ibs:
[x] chronic and frequent diarrhea, usually accompanied by pain
[x] chronic and frequent constipation, usually accompanied by pain
[x] abdominal pain or tenderness following meals relieved by bowel movement, intermittent
[x] abdominal fullness, gas, bloating
[x] abdominal distention
[x] nausea and vomiting
[x] loss of appetite
[this im not sure] emotional distress
[am i depressed? dunno] depression
says it not serious both bothersome(tell me about it!). says i just have to eat healthy, fibrous food and lotsa h2O, less stress, lotsa rest/sleep.
i hear you... i know i should see my doctor. maybe i would if this gets worse... OR!!!
maybe should see our clinic doctor instead to ensure no more of this:
arghhh! i still gets the shivers!
by h2Omelon GurL @ 7:39 PM with 0 comments
indulgence
Monday, June 05, 2006
this weekend has been a gastronimical experience for me. each night, starting last friday 'til today, i found in different dining places and words are not enough to define how i felt after each meal.friday night, my friend erik sent me a message if i wanted to eat kabab. i just had my dinner (i can't remember where and what i ate, but im pretty sure i ate somethin), but the offer mad my tummy grumble. although a private transport made me say yes, the fact that we are to get it from Mister Kabab was the real deal. the place is at delta, across pizza hut (the first time i told my bro about the best kababs, he thought i was talking about cahoots pub&disco haus... hahahaha. i couldn't imagine he and his girlfriend went there thinking it was persian resto!) anyway, erik and i decided not to eat at the place cuz it was late... ok 9pm wasn't really that late but i was in rags and flip-flops. instead of my usual chelo kabab, i asked for keema and 2pcs pita bread... and my fav watermelon shake. i'm really hooked on Mister Kabab's menu eversince college days. i wouldn't trade it to Ziggurat where abi and i went. the meat there is more tender but ... i dunno, i'd still pick Mister Kabab.
on a saturday night, my boyfriend and i went to greenbelt deciding it was time to try bubba gump. funny thing is, instead of asking for their usual shrimp dishes, we ended up with their dixie baby back ribs and calamari. it was too late to realize our mistake, and we were literally drolling over our table-neighbors as they nibble on their shrimps. though our order wasn't that bad, actually the ribs was more or less like that of tony romas' and the calamari was sumptous "without the cabbage", we promised we'd go back again and remind ourselves that we MUST order SHRIMPS. TONY ROMAS=RIBS. BUBBA GUMP=SHRIMPS,SHRIMPS,SHRIMPS.
yesterday, i went to the nearest kfc store and claimed the 15-pc kfc bucket meal voucher that came with my credit card. i brought the meal home and shared it with my family, it was a pig out! what's so special about that? they say that the best things in life are free. they're right! hahahaha.
and now, i spent my dinner with my friend abi at the seafood club at greenbelt. we have had talks about having dinner buffet there as we both love crabs. i'm pretty sure my boyfriend would understand... right hun? so we went there right after work and devour (with no exagerration) all the crabs that our eyes laid upon. sad part is, there were a lot of people that night that i ended up eating just 5 crabs. a pity really because they couldn't offer us more. i guess one should go there at an earlier time to ensure 100% crab buffet satisfaction.
so what's next? errr, i'm not sure. i think i've pretty much spent all my money eating... which is actually good. i have have to make sure that i don't forget my veggies and fruits. maybe i should stack up with watermelons cuz bananas are killing me. i should definitely give that up. i'm pretty sure i can find substitute for bananas. any suggestions?
by h2Omelon GurL @ 11:21 PM with 0 comments
gently please
Friday, June 02, 2006
when i said kill me, i don't actually mean it literally. and even if i did, i would want my death to be as painless as it can possibly be.NOT LIKE THIS!!!
i woke up this morning with fear... my stomach is hurting. the last time i felt this feeling, i won a 3D+2N vacation package at the surgery ward (dining included if one can call IV = eating). my gawd, i wouldn't want to see that place again nor those tax-evading-whitey-dressed people who call themselves professionals. word of advice: if your job is to sticks needles and drain someone else's blood, please... please... please... don't ask if THAT hurts. you might find the needle sticking on your skin instead.
what did i do to deserve this fate? maybe cuz i skipped dinner. (i'm blaming mike on this one cuz he refused to eat along with me. carry it on your conscience, YOOUU!!!!) or maybe the stress i had at past midnight when someone did something that caused the server to go wacko and then sent an email asking me what happened! argghhhhh!
back to reality for now. no softdrinks (not guilty)... no milk (still not guilty)...no more late nights (last night was the last one)... and no more sweets.... errr, make than less sweets like once every other day.
i really have to take care of myself. my boyfriend loves me so much that it pains me to see him worry about my health. i'm serious here. from now on, i'm going to eat and live healthy.
by h2Omelon GurL @ 12:03 PM with 0 comments
am i really that tanga?
Thursday, June 01, 2006
grabeh. yesterday i restarted our office server and got the suprise of a lifetime... got this:Kernel panic: non syncing
and the stupid OS refused to boot up. i haven't encountered this problem since... hell, i can vaguely remember... back when i was setting up ltsp on my very furst company. so i re-booted the server again, as if hoping that this is just a bad dream... and prayed that the machine would do what its supposed to do. still, i still got the same kernel panic error.
what did i do then? i blindly followed the message on the screen. i panicked!
after hours of nail-biting googling... in dire of finding out why on earth this happened to me when i was just configuring tomcat, i gave up and decided to reinstall the server. after less than an hour or so, the last CD was popped out the CD drive and the machine restarted.
i read the the message on screen of the "newly installed" os and i knew i was in the verge of losing my sanity when i read the message on screen. it say's:
Kernel panic: not syncing Oops!
YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME! (you got me, ashton!!! i'm gonna kill you! ~~dream on~~) like the machine is taking revenge on being left working all day and all night (including weekends) without restart. i wanted to shout out: "that's what you're supposed to do so don't you 'panic' or im going to throw you out the 37th floor. let's see who's the last one to say 'Oops' when THAT happens!"
ok fine. maybe i'm really overdoing things here. so i thought i'll give 'it' a break and grab something to eat. then i remember.... grub.conf. so i tried to open the file and the right there i read the definition of my stupidity. it was trying to load the wrong kernel version. half a day gone cuz of that! if that machine could only file a complaint, i'll find myself on a verbal abuse case or worst. frustrated murder!
to add, i wrongly sent 'init 1' on the live mail server when i meant to send 'init q'. i'm filing a complaint against the designers of all laptop keyboards. 'Q' should not be placed anywhere near '1'!!!
oh my stoopidity, kill me please!
by h2Omelon GurL @ 7:22 PM with 0 comments
