It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

From where I'm standing right now, I could see the cars plying along Elliptical Road, Quezon City.  And I'm no longer surprised to find out that, for a few minutes, they were not moving at all. Right now, they have been moving at a baby snail's pace. ;)

And my officemates, who went downstairs, informed me that they just saw several people were already hiking. Probably they were stranded?

Indeed, christmas is in the air! :)

OMG! I'm in!

I just found out that my application to attend the #Blogapalooza 2015 has been approved! I could not contain my happiness at this moment as I thought it was too late for me to be in as I applied just this afternoon (Saturday) and well, the event is hours away from now!

After sending my application, I was checking on the blogapalooza website almost every hour in the midst of working on my office report. You could just imagine the agony I went through while waiting!  My worry then was that, although they announced that October 24, 2015 was the last day of accepting applications, they might just decide to disapprove mine for reasons such as, the number of attendees they have already is enough, etc..  I'm so lucky!

This will be my second time to attend the said event. The first was in 2013 and it was held in SM Aura then. This time it will be in One Esplanade, which, fortunately is just about 10 minutes away from where I live.

Mesmerizing is what I describe my experience was when I attended the event for the first time. They say #Blogapalooza2015 is bigger and better. I am certain of that knowing that it has been two years since that impressive event.

I guess I really have to prepare for my great expectations later. First thing would have to be getting a good night's sleep.

Zzzz!  Sleep tight! :)

My Love for Travelling.. and the blunders of it..

Somewhere in Switzerland..

So much to do right now.. Sad to say, I'm in no mood.. :(

I need to unleash something within me that I've been pondering on since this morning.  That is, my mind is now nagged with the thought of my love for travel.. and well, the spontaneity and adventures that comes with it.  Even just quick hopping from one place to another, just enjoying the view, the sceneries, and the serenity, I would be happy and be contented with that.  Even if I'm alone..

Avenue of the Stars, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Yes, travelling alone is better than being with someone whom you do not share passion for mobility with while expecting and accepting that bloopers might be bumped somewhere along the road.  Things might not turn out the way we expected it to be but it should not have hindered us from savoring every moment of the journey, no matter how perfectly imperfect it may be..

Notre Dame Cathedral, Saigon, Vietnam

That's why I just love to travel alone.  If anything goes wrong, I have no one to blame but myself.  And because I so love myself, I don't physically and mentally torture myself, make a big deal out of petty issues concerning it, waste time fussing about it, and eventually ruin everything just because I made a mistake.  Instead, I just laugh it off and continue making sweet memories out of it.

Piazza San Marco, Venice, Italy

Just sayin'.. :(

P.S.  To set things straight, the person I was with during my trips abroad, such as that in the photographs above, is a great travel buddy.  I am looking forward to our next travel together sometime soon! ;)

I Kept the Change - My First GrabTaxi Experience

No, it's not a typographical error.  It is indeed I, not the driver, who kept the change.  But before you let your creative mind do its job, let me explain first.  You see, I had been longing to go to Noel Bazaar located at the World Trade Center, which is just a few kilometers away from where I live.  I already knew that today is the last day of the event and if I miss this chance, I will have to wait for another year.  Hence, I googled and checked its FB page, and voila!  This ad caught my attention:

Photo Credit

I have never used the GrabTaxi before although I had the app downloaded to my phone about a year ago when I joined the 2013 Blogapalooza last year.  So, as a first time user, I dialed their customer service contact no. at 845-0943 and inquired on how to avail of the promo.  I was instructed that, upon arrival at the venue, the driver should drop me off in front of the GrabTaxi booth.  Accordingly, the GrabTaxi in-charge will be the one who will facilitate with the payment and I could just walk away without paying anything since my estimated taxi fare would be less than the P100 refund.

Hence, when we arrived, we immediately looked for the booth, which were nowhere to be found.  We were already about 15 meters passed the entrance door when we chanced upon the security guard who told us that the booth is, unfortunately, inside the building.  I had no choice but to walk back to the entrance door while the poor driver was being hushed to park at the far end of the area.  When I approached the booth, the in-charge then requested me to show her the online booking.  I was a bit impatient at first as I was concerned of the running taxi meter but I immediately relaxed when I realized that my taxi fare is just a few pesos more than half of the P100 refund.  To my surprise, the in-charge handed me the P100 bill without even asking how much my taxi fare was!  I was so happy that I did not bother "dancing" my way back to the taxi for another 15 meters, gave the driver the exact amount of fare PLUS a tip, and of course, I kept my change. :)

What more, I got a free GrabTaxi t-shirt for downloading the app:

front print

And did I not mention that I availed of the free entrance to the Bazaar because of GrabTaxi?

And as if that was not enough, I was not charged of the P70 booking fee.  I was just instructed to type the word, "hohoho" in the promo code space of the app and got a confirmation of the zero booking fee.

back print

Also, true to the front text print of the Grab Taxi t-shirt, I should say that the taxi was fast enough that it was already parked beside the gate when I hurriedly went out of the building.  I was wrong when I thought that getting a taxi through a taxi app would take much time, which was the reason why I was not able to avail of GrabTaxi last year.

I missed that chanced.  Nonetheless, I am just one happy GrabTaxi rider, for now.

My View of The Legal Wife

Photo Credit

As if anybody cares! ;)

Seriously speaking, I just can't help but speak my mind while watching the 2nd to the last episode of "The Legal Wife" and.. consolidating an audit report. :(

I watched the much-talked-about tv series during its first few episodes but I stopped when Adrian was about to betray his wife.  Don't ask me why. ;)

I only resumed subscribing the show after learning that Monica had already discovered the affair and they were in the process of sorting things out.  But I stopped watching again when the querida was found out to be pregnant.  Unlike Nicole, the mistress I know back then is a married woman and decided to betray again her husband (who, by the way, is from PAF) by having her unborn child bear his surname.  What a pitiful sight..

If I were Monica, I would accept Adrian once again.  That is what an ending should turn out to be.  Ideally, happy..  But sadly, happy endings usually happen only in the movies and in tv series.  In real life, it is not that as easy as it seems to be.  As Kris Aquino pointed out, sometimes you just have to let go and sweep it away rather than pick up the broken pieces lest you get hurt in the process (especially when it keeps on breaking).

Moreover, saving the marriage for the sake of the child, according to Diane Paez, is a recipe for disaster.  I couldn't agree more.  I myself witnessed how a friend had been suffering from her philandering husband just to keep their marriage intact as she was so concerned of their children.

Trust, once broken, can never be the same again.. unless, a miracle intervenes.  By then, perhaps, a brand new life begins..

The Power of Now..

printscreen source: Ms. Reyes' Instagram post

I know this is not the right time for me to update this blog.  Albeit the exit conference had just been concluded, humongous tasks are yet to be done, e.g., finish the annual audit report and organize working papers (agencies of both my regular and special assignments), among others.

It is just that, I could not resist featuring immediately in my blog of what I have been pondering on since I read it from the post of Christine Reyes in her Instagram account just yesterday.  What I was referring about was what I think to be an excerpt of The Power of Now book, quoted below:

"So many of us have acquired and taught of the notion that happiness is a destination that we must work and pay with our bodies hours of work to live and acquire unnecessary material desires that we must work hard for the future with our reward always just around the corner or just up the next step.  Everything was for tomorrow but never came.  Then we realize we never really lived at all.  We are all trained to be racing all the time.  Everything was for the future.  Why wait?  When we can be truly be at peace right now?  Why wait to be forgiven?  When we can forgive now?  Why wait then to be happy?  To be with each other?  And to be alive?  Right now is the best time to love, to forgive, to be with loved ones. To be alive.  Nobody in human history has ever in a death bed and requested to see their diplomas, cars, money or accomplishments one last time!  We always ask to see people for our last request.  Embrace.. Kiss them now.  Your true power is NOW."

Agree? ;)

My Samsung Galaxy Note 3!

Oopps! I did it again..

It's been almost three months had passed and I still could not believe that I, again, allowed myself to indulge in what I call as, "a taste of a lavish lifestyle".  And every time I take a look at my credit card bill, my heart still palpitates.. :(

Well, I just consoled my frugal me that I guess I deserve a treat once in a while.  And the best of it all is that I do not have any regrets with my decision.  In fact, I am enjoying my new phone! ;)

The sad part, however, was, I was not able to avail of the promo for the discounted S View Flip Cover.  Samsung's store outlet in SM Megamall did not have any stocks when I purchased my phone then.  I finally bought my S View Flip Cover at SM North just last month, only after I squeezed myself through Christmas traffic in going to SM MOA and found out that they were out of stocks. :(

But that's okay.  I just wish I had more extra time to explore my Samsung Galaxy Note 3..