Peace be with you

Taken in Davao City last year. Chubby-wan was insistent to have the snake all over her. I didn't have the guts. I just made my usual "peace" sign on top of the snake's head.

First Beach-capade

Destination: Talipanan, Puerto Galera. No planning. No room reservation. No baon. No money. And we had fun!


Highlights of our trip:
Luca's - the only authentic Italian resto in Talipanan! Owned by an Italian and a Filipina. It has another branch in Sabang. Superbly delicious pasta and pizza! Big serving! Don't go there if you are super hungry and you want your food to be served fast. Give them a serving time of an hour after you order.


We made a couple of dog friends (Dogster, ika nga!) - a boxer in Talipanan and a Boston terrier in White Beach.



We stayed at Bamboo House Resort. Going rates were P800/night for a non-aircon, P1,500/night for an aircon room. It was a cool weather so we opted for the non-aircon. But, I haggled for P700/night muna. Binigay naman.


This was our second time to go to Talipanan. The first time was in 2004. We love this part of Puerto Galera because it's peaceful, less congested, pwede mag two-piece bathing suit kahit nahihiya kami, and most especially... may Luca's. Mahalaga ang masarap na kainan sa isang isla, you know.

Twelb Part Deux

As usual, I ride a tricycle to reach home. I sat down in the passenger seat.

Trykedriver: Saan po?
Me: Manong, sa San Juan. Dose.
Trykedriver: Ma'm, twelb?

Twelb

I know I have a hearing problem and am often teased about it by friends. And there are lots of tales about it as well! Hahaha! Pero, this time around, ako ang may upper-hand. HA!

Most of the time, I hitch with Reeyah on her way home to Boni Ave. I force her to pass by Kapitolyo first (such a true friend, that Reeyah girl). Anyways, she drops me off in the corner of Andok's in Kapitolyo. From there, I get a tryke to take me home. As I enter the tryke and sits comfortably, I have this exchange with the trykedriver:

Trykedriver: Ma'm, saan po kayo?
Me: San Juan po.
Trykedriver: Saan po?
Me: (in a louder voice) San Juan.
Trykedriver: Ahhhh.... anong number po?
Me: 12 (and I pronounce that as "twelb")
Trykedriver: Ahhhh..... sa 20 po ba?
Me: (talking to myself) Iho, medyo ang layo ata ng tunog ng twenty sa twelb?!! The!
Me: Ehem.... twelb nga. Dose.
Trykedriver: Ahhhh..... Dose.

Mind you, it happened not just once. I think about three times already and all instances, ibat't ibang driver! Ikaw, anong dinig mo kapag sabihin ko ang "twelb"?

Boss Tales #5

Boss returns from a business trip in Tokyo.
Boss: Here you go.... (as he handed me a neatly wrapped rectangular thin box)
Me: What's this? What's this?
Boss: It's food. Something edible.
Me: But what is it?
Boss: I don't know. Open it.
When I opened the box...
Me: What is this?!!
Boss: It's some kind of a pastry. One is green tea, one is peanut.
Me: How does it taste?
Boss: I don't know. That's why I asked you to open it. So that I can get to taste it, too!
Ayus. Yung pasalubong niya eh kakainin din pala niya.

Short-changing

Consumers hardly notice this but ako, hindi ko ito pinapalampas. I'm not a stingy person but what I'm fighting for is the principle of your money's worth. Yesterday, I bought meals at Mexicali. The cashier short-changed me 69 centavos. I called her attention. She re-counted the bills and coins she gave me - wondering what the hell I was talking about. Finally, it dawned upon her that I was waiting for the 69 centavos. She gave me 50 centavos. I insisted that it's still short. And she handed over another 25 centavos. Then, my Gabriela in me took over. I told her that she shouldn't short-change the customers and she doesn't need to be told to provide exact or above the amount. She is short-changing deliberately which pissed me off. Why am I pissed off? Last week, I was in Mexicali for meals. My total bill had a butal of 35 centavos. I gave the cashier an exact amount minus the 35 centavos. She told me, if I had 50 centavos (which made me wonder, bakit 50 centavos ang hinihingi?). So, I gave her 25 centavos. Sabi niya, "Ma'm kulang pa ito." Fine, I handed over 10 centavos. End of transaction.

My point is this - some establishments deliberately short-change the customers BUT customers have no right to do that. Customers must provide exact or a little above the amount. Pero, wala naman silang panukli. You might think that it's only a few centavos. Pabayaan ko na lang. No. At the end of the day, just think of the number of people they have short-changed - it amounts to thousands of pesos. Multiply it by 30 days, then 12 months. Voila! Additional income for them. In accounting terms, miscellaneous income ata yun. Pambili rin yun ng inventory, di ba? At the customer's expense! So, who's the winner here?

This is my personal advocate. I encountered the same with SM grocery stores, Wendy's, and other establishments who do not round off their retail prices to multiples of 25 centavos. That's why I carry a lot of 5 and 10 centavo coins. Nakakapagod din pagsabihan sila e. Kaya, ako na lang ang gumawa ng paraan.

Boss Tales #4

Exchange of text messages with Boss:
Boss: Becky, is my 9am meeting tomorrow or on the 25th?
Me: Is this a trick question???
Boss: No it isn't!!
Me: Relax! It's next week. Jeepers!
Boss: Aye ok :)
Me: :P high blood!