MERALCO's crazy power surge

While checking out my twitter, one of whom I follow posted a link to Chuvaness' blog. The post is about her MERALCO bill last March that went unbelievably high, doubled her Feb's bill. PHP 41,902.95 beat that!!!! What makes me even wonder is the rapid increase in KWH rate from PHP 5.02 in March 2009 to PHP 6.67 in March 2010. That's a whooping 32.8% increase! OH. MY. GOD. PHILIPPINES.
I didn't know electricity in this country is quite a luxury. Why is it so expensive? PHP 6.67 rate per KWH is quite big. An average household normally consumes 1000, multiply that by 6.67 gives you PHP 6,670 excluding charges and other add-ons that believe me, is as high as Mount Everest itself. That's big money already. And that's if you exert an effort to minimize monthly power consumption by taking measures such as unplugging unused appliance, switching off lights when not used, using power saving bulbs, flatscreen monitor instead of CRT (yeah it helps), electric fan instead of aircon, defrost fridge at night, using gas stoves, clothes hand washed and hung to dry and so on and so forth...
I don't live in Manila that's why I'm not aware of this whole MERALCO crazy power rate. Back home, in Mindanao, my mother would go nuts when our electric bill looms around PHP 1000.00 and that didn't even come close to Chuvaness' amazing 41K bill! I'm not sure how much we pay for every KWH consumption, surely it's not PHP 6.67 though. I don't go into details and our electric bill hasn't gone insane as far as I could remember.
However, it doesn't mean I'm not livid with this kind of oppression. This is clearly another "electrifying" cruelty among our people by the tyrant, almighty government. A lot of people think MERALCO (Manila Electric Company) is solely owned by the Lopez Family, but check this out : The government actually holds the biggest share, 24%, and holds three (3) of the eleven (11) board seats. And they did this to us? What happened to "government is for the people, by the people and of the people"? Damn this administration! Damn you Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo!
Now I understand why many investors fled out of the country. Why we don't go forward, why we are poor, why we are always behind. Our nation is corrupt. Our government officials don't feel any sort of sympathy to the people. I hope someone out there will make a stand to stop this deliberate oppression and abuse of power. I hope whoever will be the next president will remain truthful to his word in advocating interest and welfare of the Filipino people.

My quest to an effective weight and fat loss (And I mean R-E-S-U-L-T-S!!!)

I'm not dreaming.
I'm wide awake.
I'm not making things up.
I'm not insane.
I've got the results and its waaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!

Okay.

Flashback...

Last month I blogged about going to the gym and enrolling myself in aerobics class (see Something to look FORWARD) and promised to share whatever result will come out of it. Before I sweat out my butt on those grueling bench press and before I found myself catching for breath after an exhausting cardio session, I took time to jot down my weight and body measurement. Anxious to know had my body responded to the program which I painstakingly followed for a month (3-5 sessions per week), I collected the courage to grab the tape measure and see for myself!

And now for the results..... Drum roll please.....

As of March 2010 :
shoulder - 35.5 in.
back - 32 in.
hips - 34 in.
waist - 31.5 in. (really???!!!)
thigh - 20.5 in.
arm - 10.5 in.

As of April 2010 :
shoulder - 34.5 in. (-1 in.)
back - 31 in. (-1 in.)
hips - 32.5 in. (-1.5 in)
waist - 29.5 in.  (-2 in.)
thigh - 20 in. (-0.5 in.)
arm - 10.5 in. (right! it's not a typo error)

My weight dropped to almost 4lbs from 120.2lbs to 116.8lbs

Isn't that great news? I know, I know the differences are not quite huge and significant. Take note I've been working out for a month yet. Experts at the gym say it usually takes 2-3 months before results are noticed. Yay!!!! At least I have some ground to hold on to and I'm glad the excruciating sit-up and leg raise did pay off hahahaha!!!

Though I would like to give the gym thing more credit for, it is of no doubt that my calorie intake and food choice also did the trick.

Here are some eating tips I incorporated during my month long weight loss saga. And I don't intend to sound like a slimming guru here, aryt?

1. Calories count, so count the calories. I'm saying, be mindful of what you eat. You won't believe me but I tell you what : I once kept a calorie list for a week. I write down everything I eat, as in everything that goes through my mouth that requires swallowing, from candies to beverages (except water, my gosh it's zero calorie!), from breakfast to dinner, from morning to afternoon snacks. You might have pondered what a challenging, mind-cracking activity I've gotten myself into, don't you? But wait  until I tell you the real challenge : I will also write down the equivalent calorie for each entry I made. This is when the information super highway (internet) becomes indispensable. From there, I can compute my average daily calorie intake. And since I am nosey, I found a site where you can inquire about your Basal Metabolic Rate. So simple! Just enter your height, age, and weight info then you're on your way to finding out why the last diet attempt didn't work out for you. By the way, BMR is the number of calories you'd burn even if you stay all day, everyday in bed!

So now I have an idea what is my ideal calorie intake per day and how much of the extra I need to burn.

2. Don't skip meals. If you're a believer of this nonsense then stop it now. You're just hurting yourself and ruining your health. Skipping meal will only prompt hunger and the next thing you know, you're devouring all the food at the table on your next meal. What did I say about excessive calorie intake by the way?
I read this somewhere and I think it makes sense. Our body seems to have it's own mind. If you eat too little and exercise too much, chances are, your body will go into starvation mode and hoard fats instead of burning it. Just so you know, fats are essential to our survival and so our body thinks it is wiser to keep them if we're starving ourselves.

3. Eat 5-6 small meals. Are you kidding me??! I'm going on weight loss yet you're telling me to eat more than 3 meals a day? That's exactly my initial reaction. But when I read back, I noticed the word "small", which means you will divide your daily caloric requirement into 5 or 6 times. Accordingly, this will aid to increasing your BMR.

There you go.... I hope next month I'm going to discover another significant result in my quest to regain the figure I used to have.

I'm such a cry baby

The last time I cried over a heart-warming novel was when I read Dear John by Nicholas Sparks. Two weeks later, I read another best-selling book by him, The Last Song, and you guessed it right - I cried, nonstop.

A lot of you might think I'm OA (overacting), exaggerated, silly, or perhaps stupid. I'm just a cry baby. And I realize that just lately.

When  I read, I don't simply read the lines. I put myself into the main character's role making myself engrossed and engulfed in his/her fictional world. I feel happy when he/she is happy. I get mad when he/she is betrayed. I'm hurt when he/she is hurting. It seems like an invisible, thin cord connects my consciousness to the role which in turn control my reflexes and emotion. Even if I could relate to the character's loss and/or triumph, that doesn't make me cry easily. Like I've said, making me cry is like making a stone to bleed. That masquerade, however, is subjugated whenever the subject at hand talks about dogs and fathers.

I always have soft spot for dogs. But this novel isn't about dogs. There wasn't even a single mention of man's bestfriend on it.

The Last Song talks about first love, summer love. Talks about life, the choices you make and how these choices affect relationships. It's about second chances, forgiveness and how to make it up to someone you've caused hurt.

No, these are not the factors that made me cry. It was when Ronnie learned to forgive his father, they we're making up for their lost time together, then she found out her father had barely a year to live. Her father died.

I lost my father when I was 13 years old. He died of a heart attack. It was his first heart attack and little did we know it was going to be fatal. We didn't sense he was having a frail heart condition at that time. I never remembered him sick, went to the doctor, having chest pains, breathing problems or even complained he felt anything weird in his body. Everything about him was normal. Healthy. Until one fateful night, past midnight when my mother woke up to the sound of his persistent, breath-catching cough. He was having a hard time breathing.

My mother brought him to the hospital. I don't know if he was still conscious or not when they reached there. The last thing my mother remembered, they were ushered to the emergency room, nurses putting in tubes for the oxygen tank, and then, came the dreaded news. My father didn't last an hour in that emergency room. He left us.

I still remember well, how the sad news came to me.

I thought I was dreaming.

I heard someone crying.

I thought it was my mother's.

Sure enough I opened my eyes, got on my feet and went straight to the kitchen. I saw my mother, crying. Hysterical.

For a second there I couldn't move. I wasn't quite sure if it was reality or nightmare.

When the bad news dawned on me I still couldn't believe it. It was like a practical joke that didn't seem funny. I'm not sure if I was in denial then. I just couldn't process the fact or the thought that last night I was still talking to my father, having dinner, discussing plans - and suddenly he is gone. Forever.

Being the eldest and only daughter, I'm very close to  my father. A daddy's girl - as my mother would point out. He was my teacher when having a hard time solving math problems. He would obligingly do my art project because I'm too clumsy to even draw a straight line. He's always been proud of me and he's the kind of father any daughter could ask for.

That was 15 long years ago yet the pain still throbs whenever I think of him or whenever I stumble upon a similar situation that would clearly remind me of the loss. I would cry, unable to hold up, sustain and will my emotion. There was no getting over with the feeling from his demise. It remained fresh and unsullied.

How I wished my father was there when I graduted from high school, when I received my scholarship in college, when I became a Dean's Lister, when I finally got my diploma, when I turned eighteen, when I fell in love, when I had my first boyfriend and first broken heart. I wished he was there when I set out for work, when I got a call to my first job, when I had my first salary. All the important, memorable moments of my life I wished with a fervent heart that he was there.

What aches me even more is the fact he won't be walking with me to the altar when I get married. That he won't be able to hold, see and play with his grandchildren. (that remains to be seen as getting married and have children is far from the list right now.)

I missed him. I wish I had the chance to tell him how much I love him, how much he means to me. I hope I was able to make him feel I'm proud to be his daughter, that I will never trade him for any man in this world. He will forever remain in our hearts and he will always be the man whom I truly love.

Obsession

Obsession comes in different forms and varieties. I don't mean to sound overboard coz I'm definitely not talking about the other despicable side of obsession which is the compulsive disorder. But wait, obsession is indeed compulsive. Isn't your mind go screaming when you want something badly? Isn't that you can't sleep at night coz your thoughts are on the latest gadget you saw on iStore? You can't shake off that feeling of wanting, needing, longing for that stuff that's been hunting you, screaming "Get me! Get me!". We'll that's I'm exactly feeling right now.

I'm obsessed with techie stuff. The apple of my eye right now is apple's iPod touch. Okay, okay, I get it. I'm a bit late in professing my desire to own an iPod touch since it's been in the market long ago (like long time ago, iPad is on its way, idiot!) and I'm pretty sure most people are enjoying it right now. I've heard about it. Seen it at iStore last year. But I didn't dig into it's ability and functionality like I always do when there's a new kid in town! Not until my boss brought his daughter's iPod at the office and I was like "Ok, let me check this out." From the very moment I held it and scrutinized all its application and functions, I knew I'm in big trouble. I knew myself well. When it comes to gadgets and techie stuff - I'm a sucker! And I can hear that little evil voice inside my head screaming "I want that iPod!!!"

It's expensive. The fact that I don't make enough salary to splurge on everything I want at any given time is frustrating, add that to the fact I'm saving up for a trip on June. Haayyyy... Why doesn't money grow on trees? I would have planted a forest.

Another entry on my to-buy list : x-mini.

If you're fond of music including those amazing, portable gadgets that goes along with it, then you probably know what I'm talking about.

Big things truly come in small packages. That holds true for the x-mini. It's a small, portable, capsule speaker with a superb, crisp audio quality. You won't believe your ears when you hear the sound, it's like coming off from an altec lansing complete with bass and woofer.

But before that I was actually thinking of buying a new phone and a laptop. But way to go... My travel syndrome is kicking in as much as i want to buy all Tweety bird collectibles. You won't believe me but I find tweety adorable and I "wav" (tweety's way of saying love) her. And oh I want an e-book as well. I'm a huge reader and it's going to be perfect. I can buy all Nicholas Sparks, James Patterson books I've been eyeing at my favorite bookstore.

Hair is my problem

There's no point denying that every single day I get pissed off with my hair. It's dry. Unmanageable. Tangles in all direction. The mortifying split ends. And verbally suggests a comb should come handy and ready at all times. We all know for a fact that for us, girls, our hair is a crowning glory. Isn't those shampoo commercial implies a sunny disposition when you have a smooth, shiny, lusciously black long hair?I guess that's the reason why saloons are there in the first place - to cater to your hair needs and magically turn it just like the way you've seen it on TV.

Hair treatment and all sorts of make-over have seriously put a dent on every woman's financial earning. I've learned long ago that most women are obsessed with their hair as much as they are with their bodies. We can't hide it, beautiful hair equally gives you a stunning impression and an envy of the less fortunate females who constantly suffer on bad hair day moments.

Last year, I started contemplating on having my hair curled. I have this unexplainable delight with curls that everytime I see celebrities donning curly hair on TV, I can't help but admit they look sexy and sohisticated on that. Well, who doesn't want to look gorgeous? The scientist in me decided to buy a curling iron, experimented with it and see what will I look like in curls. And... drum rolls please.... tada!!!! Thank God I don't look bad. Most of my friends even complimented it suits me and I look more feminine.  And when I asked my best friends if I should consider a career in the curly-hair department - they all said yes. They've always been very supportive of me even at my most idiosyncratic behavior. Even if I go bald Britney Spears style they would still be as encouraging as ever. Yes, they are my friends.

Now the irony is I've tried to keep my hair straight for years. I would undergo a hair straightening session once a year just to achieve that ideal, model-look kind of hair. So I'm confused. Should I go curl? Or keep it straight? Ugghhh.. Why are girls born fickle-minded? It would have made decision-making way lot easier. It would be easier to choose curl from straight. And I would no longer be blogging about it. And I would have gone straight to the saloon and tell the stylist what exactly I want. And now I'm out of my mind hahaha!

Another Vampire craze

Vampire.
Werewolves.
Witches.
Supernatural powers.

I don’t know why most people are so into it. 

When 2008 saw the coming of the most popular and irresistible vampire of all time, Edward Cullen, I found those tales of creatures with fang and blood-shot eyes enchanting. Just so you know, I got so hooked with the Twilight saga that I watched it more than once and read the entire four books (Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn) with so much passion. But to tell you frankly, if it weren’t for Edward Cullen’s character, I’m sure as hell that I won’t be spell bounded by the book’s charm. Why? Coz Twilight is just another high-school romance novel except that the male protagonist is a vampire who falls in love with a clumsy, accident-prone human girl. But damn, Stephanie Mayer is one hell of an author who knows what lines to say, when to say it and somehow I find myself wishing I was the lucky Bella Swan. I can’t help but fall in love with Edward.

Not long ago, I read somewhere about ‘The Vampire Diaries’ gaining positive feedback from viewers. It’s a weekly series in some cable channel which I didn’t pay much attention to, until I went home for a holiday and heard my friend talking about it. The next thing I knew I was watching it on DVD compilation. The first episode didn’t seem compelling (as always) but as the story progressed, I wandered through the mysterious, baffling fold of events and I’m hooked.

The story revolves around Elena, the subject of the vampire brothers’ affection. Stefan is a 145-year old, good vampire who feeds on animal blood (just like Edward) while his older brother, Damon , who is, obviously the opposite of good, feeds on human blood. Their rivalry sprang from the year 1864 when they both fell in love to Katherine, who was a dead ringer for Elena. Needless to say, Elena and Stefan fell in love leaving Damon the history-repeats-itself kind of feeling. Later in the series I found out that Katherine was a vampire and the one who turned Stefan and Damon. The story has lots of complex characters and settles on the history of Mystic Falls (the name of their town), which literally had a bunch of mystifying facts and events looming around. There was also an unlikely participation of witches, and my hunch silently whisper there’ll be werewolves too since I learned from Twilight and any other blood-sucker movies that werewolves and vampires are a package deal. Well, that remains to be seen. I’m still halfway through the first season and I’m bugging my friend to lend me her copy coz mine’s not complete. See how desperate I can get.

One thing I like about Vampire Diaries is it keeps you edgy on your seat. Surprises you with new revelations and new characters that add  more mystery  and bemusement to the supposed simple plot of the story. And I love Elena's character. She is rational, pleasant, responsible and sensible young lady. Though she loved Stefan, she never let her feelings went pass through her when she found out the scary truth about Stefan, which is very much the opposite of Bella Swan - rebellious, judgmental, unreasonable and selfish. But hey, love conquers all. No matter how she try to drive Stefan away, she's falling harder for him.

So what’s with vampires that make us fascinated by their legend? Are they for reel or real? Could they be out there hiding for hundred years? Is there such thing as immortality? Could someone be invincible and fast as a speeding bullet? These questions often pose speculation on my part each and every time I’m immersed into the world of vampirism. For one, I want to be an immortal. I want to be in this world forever. I want to stop aging and overrule human frailty and vulnerability. I want to be faster than the fastest racing car (it could save me a lot of time and money haha!). I want to be indesctructible. I want to use that mind-compelling spell to anyone I want to charm. And above all, I wonder what human blood taste like. Yuck!!!

That's what I get for going gaga over these vampire tales.

Get a life! You, Adam Corolla!!

I heard another controversy during the primetime news last night. A radio host apparently threw off some degrading racial slur to the entire Filipino nation. Here's what he said :

***Quote :

" An Italian-American radio host is in trouble for lashing out at the entire Filipino nation including Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao, calling him illiterate and for implying that the Philippines is a nation of whores 
Adam Corolla, an Italian-American comedian who made a name as radio host in his own shows known as 'The Adam Corolla Podcast' , 'Loveline' and 'The Adam Corolla Show', is in big trouble for verbally attacking Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao in his program. 
(See the above video to hear Carolla's remarks) 
Not contented with his racial assault on the Filipino boxing icon by calling him "a f****ing idiot" and illiterate, Corolla continued his tirade on the entire Filipino nation by implying that the Philippines is a nation of whores. 
Examiner.com reports: 
Adam Carolla starts off his vulgar tirade by bashing Manny for not giving blood before a fight. He then proceeds to say that Manny is off “praying to chicken bones” and that you don’t have to respect him because he’s a “fu**ing idiot”. “Someone has to tell him that it doesn’t make a difference.”[/i]“Here’s how you know when your country doesn’t have a lot going for it: When everything is about Manny Pacquiao...Get a fu**in life as a country” 
He goes on to say, “All you fu**in got is just an illiterate guy who happens to smash other guys in the head better than other people. Really, you want some guy with brain damage running your country? Why don’t you get your sh*t together?” 
He added: “All they have over there is Manny Pacquiao and sex stores. Get your shit together, Philippines!...What happens when Floyd Mayweather beats him? Then what? Does the whole country go into depression?” 
It is quite clear from the statement made by Corolla that he was attacking Pacquiao and the entire Filipino nation. 
Whatever his motivation in uttering these racist and degrading statements, he did not share them with the public. 
In the meantime, damage has been done not only in the person of Manny Pacquiao but to the entire Filipino nation. 
A timely apology could prevent the Filipino people particularly the millions of Pacquiao fans from taking radical actions that will prevent this comedian from repeating the same irresponsible action. "

Unquote ***

Who the hell are you ADAM COROLLA?????

This wasn't the first time I heard someone humiliated the Philippines and the Filipinos in general. Normally, my reaction would be : "uh yeah?" But this time I couldn't help but feel sick to my stomach. This man's really gotten to my nerves.

First off, I don't know who you are Mr. Adam Corolla. I don't know what you're trying to pull off. And I don't care if you're famous, respectable in your field or some big-shot radio host. All I know is you are PATHETIC. Read that? P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C! And you are a sore LOSER! Coz if you're not, then you should not be dragging Manny Pacquiao's name and our country's reputation into your shameless kind-of-circus radio program. And for what? For a few minutes of fame? To draw more listeners? To create some hype and you, of course, is the center of attention. Shame on you!

Yes, Philippines is not a great nation. Yes, we have the most corrupt governance (if there's going to be a ranking of the most corrupt government in the universe, I'm pretty sure we're on top!) Yes, we are poor. Yes, there's a lot  going on in our country - but that's the least of your concern.

I'll tell you what :  Just because Manny Pacquiao is not fluent and articulate in speaking English doesn't mean he's illiterate. Just because he wants to run for public office instead of focusing on his match with  Mayweather doesn't mean he's a "fucking idiot".  And oh, this whole Mayweather fight is not the be-all and end-all of our existence. We have so many problems going on and we've gone through many calamities and disasters unimaginable. So if ever he losses over Mayweather, that will not make us succumb to depression. Coz you know why? We're one STRONG nation and we are far BETTER than you are.

But this sex stores really bothers me. Forgive my ignorance but I didn't know there are lots of sex stores here in the Philippines. You gotta be kidding me. Really! Educate me please... Can you tell me where these are? Coz if you happen to know these sex stores, it means that you've gone to them, which makes you even worse than all Filipina whores combined!

I feel lucky and happy that I don't share the same blood and race as you are. It sucks being you! And if one day I'll die and live again, I'd still want to be a Filipino. No amount of humiliation, disgrace, insult and racism can put us down. And for the record, we do not step on somebody else's toe just to get a good mileage of our show.