Dieting Starts Today

Let's welcome 2009 by checking our weights and waist lines. Enough of the I'll-start-reducing-my-food-intake-after-the-holidays excuse.

The time is now. I declare that dieting starts today!

And these are my personal dieting rules:

1. Stop eating!
Come on, erase "eating" in your list of hobbies. Just so you know, it is not a good past time.

2. When eating, eat less.
Eat less of everything. Dont cheat, learn to control.

3. When hungry, drink water.
Sometimes hunger may be mistaken for your thirst. Then again, drink only water. No soda , choco drinks, coffee, and juice!

4. When still hungry, PRAY!
Just pray to survive.

For best results: magpaDEXTROSE ka nalang! >> Enrico

What are your diet tips? Share naman jan! >(^o^)<

When You Say Nothing At All

If these really are JUST words then why does

...a simple thank you can make you feel lighter after doing a task?

...a good morning greeting will really make you smile?

...a word of appreciation makes you feel you have done something important?

...a sincere sorry will erase the pain easily?

...a promise somehow makes you feel assured?

...the 1-4-3 word seals the deal?

Isn't it that the best way to communicate is thru words?
Actions really speak louder, but tell me now that these WORDS are not powerful at all?

Ok fine! >(^o^)<

words put appreciation in the action and actions put meaning to words

Half-Hearted

This is an emo post.

Last Sunday, we joined a gift-giving activity. First time ko. There were lots of kids na nag-aanticipate sa loob ng venue. At madame pa sa labas na di na nakapagpalista prior to the event. Super daming kids!

walang kids shortage sa Pinas kaya easy lang sa paggawa, ok?

At nagkaroon ng mini-program para masaya

may premyo ang batang bibo

distribution of gifts (bags contain coloring books, goodies, etc.)

happy kids after receiving the gifts

After here, we transferred to Missionaries of Charities- Home of Joy of Sick Children. Across the street lang naman. Another party was being held, pero smaller group of kids. At special guest si Jollibee! Bawal picturan ang kids, kasi nga they are special. But Im sure all of them had a good time.

automatic joy si jollibee sa kids

and Santa gave away candies

volunteer women for the sick abandoned kids

the complete cast

presenting ang mga promotor, kame kasi sabit lang

The nuns invited us to go inside. Nashocked ako. Andameng maysakit na bata. At first nagshake ako so di ako makalakad towards the aisle.

Nakakadurog pala ng puso yung makakita ng ganun in real life. They seem so helpless. Honestly sinipon ako ng two minutes dahil pinigilan kong di maluha. Nakakahiya naman kasing makita nila ako na naaawa sa kalagayan nila.

When finally Im oK na, lumakad na din ako. There are two kids na nakakuha agad ng attention ko. Una yung nahihirapan huminga, at nakatirik yung mata niya. Ramdam kong sa paghinga palang may dinaramdam siya. I held her hand para malaman niyang someone is around. And I whispered a prayer for her. The second ay yung batang nagchi-chill. Yung legs at arms niya ay nanginginig. Ayun pala bukod sa sakit niya, nilalagnat pa siya. I also touched the kid while saying a prayer.

Heartbreaking talaga. I told you this is an emo post.

Nagpatuloy ang gift giving, this time ang stuff toys sa mga batang "partially" sick. I mean yung mga kaya pang tumayo at kahit pano masigla naman. May mga jolly kids dito, gustong gusto makipaglaro samen. Iba din sila makayakap, parang ayaw na bumitaw. Siguro alam nilang aalis din naman ang mga bisita pagkadalaw sa kanila. Sadness!

Nakakalungkot talaga yung kalagayan ng mga bata na yun. Sila na nga ang may sakit at nangangailangan ng mag-aalaga, sila pa yung inabandona ng pamilya. Pero on the brighter side, im overwhelmed to know na madameng tao ang handang maglaan ng oras para sa mga batang to, pati na sa mga taong secretly nagfi-finance sa ganitong charity homes. Pinagpray ko din sila.

Lipat na kame ng destinasyon. Kids here have families pero di sila kaya alagaan so nandito sila. Mejo mas masaya ang batch ng kids dito. Hobby siguro nila magdaldalan araw-araw, dahil crib-mates sila! Walang choice. Do they really have to stay in the cribs whole day, except for eating and ligo time? Look!

crib-mates

This has been an unforgettable Christmas experience, and kinda different date on our 1/2 anniversary ! >(^o^)<

PAL's EconoLight Fares

Due to my frustrations of not going to a place somewhere North, plus the fact that I missed availing Cebu Pacific's 500-All-In promo, I used my Multiply account to look for some cheap tour packages. Yes, my Multiply account's contacts are mostly for business purposes. Anyway, there's this blog from a travel and tour agency that promotes Zest Air 499-All-In Promo. Zest is the new name of Asian Spirit- the airline known for plane crash. But still I got excited of course. I send the agency a personal message right away.

I made a deal with my boyfriend that if we could avail that 499-All-In, we may cancel our out of town trip which is supposedly this weekend.

Too bad, it seems the blog entry was just a teaser. There are really no promos, worse, there was no sure available flights! Oh well, maybe because it is under a new management and they still have to make new arrangements.

next time make sure first before you announce

Desperately I tried looking for some available seats at Cebupacificair.com. Yes, they still have some, but the time was like 2pm or 4pm. Not good. The return to Manila flights has no more promo fares. Lugi na.

Plus I don't want to make pila again sa Cebu Pacific office for 2 to 3 hours because our promo flight has been cancelled for no reason, and there's NO HUMAN to answer in their Customer Rep Hotline!

Cebu Pacific's promo page

Not so lucky day. But I really want to book a flight. Now na!

I opened philippineairlines.com and checked their fares. Of course pricey than ever. Ooppssie wait, aside from Economy Fiesta Fares, there's the new addition, the EconoLight Fare. I checked it, well a bit cheap. 50% cheaper than the next class which is the Fiesta Fare. Available for Domestic and International flights.

I compared the prices to the other airlines, so far the cheapest for those dates, so GOLA na!

click the drop down box and select EconoLight fares

Jeric told me that I should experience booking, so I did. Anyway, he got me an extension of his credit card early this year. Fine, it's my turn after he has arranged everything when we went out of the country last September.

After having lunch last Sunday, 30-Nov, I started booking na. After 3 hours and 6 unsuccessful attempts, I decided to call PAL's customer service hotline. Patience is a virtue, but at least some human entertained my call after like uhm 10-15 minutes on hold.

I said there must have been some problem on their booking system because everytime I'm nearing the completion, the window of IE will close. The CSR said that their system was really congested, two weeks na pala ganito. Oh OK, so I asked if she can help me in anyway. She explained that EconoLight can only be availed if you booked online, by yourself. Not thru phone, not in PAL's ticketing office, and neither thru a travel agent. Seriously?! This EconoLight is catchy! How can you book if their system isn't working properly?!

After that, the CSR checked the entries that I made. I was shocked because all have been created, and she cannot guarantee which of them will be approved or not. F*ck, I was worried! Econolight Promo tickets are non-refundable, and non-rebookable pa naman! Pano na kung ma-double charge?! The CSR couldnt offer any help. That's the policy daw. I just prayed na sana only 1 or none was successful at all.

Great news, there was none. Nakahinga ako ng maluwag. Scared for the double or triple charge. As I was talking to Andy, the 2nd CSR, she offered me "Since you have 6 entries and none are completed, do you want me to finish the application for you?" I asked, will I still avail the Econolight fare? (because if not, Fiesta Fare will be charged, and that's expensive na so wag nalang). But Andy said yes, I can avail it. Finally, a great deal.

So here are some tips:

Check the fares and flights you desire. Make sure there are at least three options in case 1 of them became unavailable. Then book online. Surely it won't be completed. So call the hotline, 855-8888. Upon waiting for some human to answer you, check your mails, read blogs, etc. When a CSR finally answered, make some drama that you failed to complete the booking online for EconoLight, and kindly ask if she can complete the booking for you! I assure you, it will work! You can book in no time, still avail the EconoLight fare w/out being double charged for the non-rebookable, non-refundable promo!

For more questions, limang piso isang tanong... >(^o^)<