I beat the oil price increase

Tired of traffic, I left home at 5:00 am this morning.  Yesterday, it took me almost three hours to get to my office, which is just 30 kilometers away. I left after 6:00 am.

If I leave at 5:00 am, my travel time is less than an hour; 5:30 am 1 and a half hour; 6:00 pm 2 hours or more.

On my way, I switched radio station from DZRJ-FM to DZRH-AM to listen to the news about the typhoon. Then, it was announced that Shell has increased its gasoline prices effective last midnight. Petron would increase its prices effective 6:00 am today.  I looked at my watch - it’s 5:20 am.  So, at the next Petron station, I refilled. I usually use Petron diesel for my Kia Carens. The price of diesel increased by P2.00. And, I saved about P70.00.

BadminTom

I’m playing badminton again.

By the way, the title of this post isn’t misspelled nor there’s typographical error.  BadminTom is my username or handle in the badminton fora where I signed up.

When I was still active in badminton more than two years ago, I signed up with BadmintonCentral.com -  an international forum.  Just today, I learned about the local badminton forum, the PinoyBadminton.com.ph, and immediately signed up

I hope I could learn a lot about badminton from these fora.

Bon voyage

We’re supposed to be in Balanga City today for the farewell party of wifey’s nephew and his family. They’ll be migrating to the US of A.

As I was about to leave the office last night, however, some problems cropped up.  This necessitated me to work overtime and report for work today for a meeting and report preparation.

Hence, I wasn’t able to go attend the party.  Wifey decided not to go too.

Bon voyage Noel, Iya, Jia, and Lianne! And, good luck!

I play badminton again!

Badminton has been one of my favorite sports as it gives me a lot of sweat.  However, I totally stopped playing badminton for some reasons for almost two years.

Last Monday, I tried playing again. It’s not a formal and serious game. I just conditioned my mind and body into it. When I started to perspire, I felt good. Whoa! I really missed playing this game.

And, I’ve scheduled my badminton day every Monday.  Wanna play with or against me?

Typhoon "Ondoy" foils our trip

It’s Mamang’s despedida party; and, we’re celebrating it in a beach resort in Bagac, Bataan.  She’s going back home to Sydney, Australia on October 1.

Everybody’s prepared and set to go. But, the rain had been falling cats and dogs. Mamang hesitated to go because of the worsening weather condition.

After consultations with Ryan and Pie, we decided to proceed even if Mamang wouldn’t go.  The weather in Pampanga and Bataan, as reported, weren’t as worse.

We tried our luck and left home.  Not even a kilometer away, we already traversed two flooded areas. Upon seeing the heavy traffic ahead, I decided to go back home.  A wise decision indeed.  I monitored the weather condition and widespread flooding had been occurring in almost all parts of the metropolis and even on the roads going to our destination.

Had we proceeded, I didn’t know what would happen to us.  We might be stranded somewhere else or, worse, already swimming and trying to save our lives.

Singing along

Traffic is getting worse. Normally, from home to work and vice versa, my travel time is about an hour only. Because of the traffic, the travel time protracts to an hour and a half to two hours. Sometimes, if you get unlucky because of an accident or whatnot, it would take two and a half to three hours.

To avoid getting irritated and while away the time during traffic, I thought of singing along with instead of just listening to the music. So, I downloaded my favorite songs and uploaded them to my Nokia E90 mobile phone. And, when I get bored driving, I turned on my mobile phone’s music player and sing along. Never mind If I’m singing out of tune. Nobody is listening anyway. He he he . . .

While singing along, I tried to memorize them. And, to do so effectively, I need to play one song at a time repeatedly. I started with “Nothing Can Stop Us” by Rick Price. To confirm if i heard the lyrics right, I downloaded it too. And, after several tries, I have already memorized it.

Here is the lyrics should you wish to put it in your head too:

NOTHING CAN STOP US NOW (RICK PRICE)

Soft as a rainbow
Like stardust and moonglow
I see the love in your eyes
Like autumn leaves falling
And the first call of morning
It came to my surprise
True love calls just once in a lifetime
Why should we wait
When now is the right time?

Nothing can stop this love we’re making
Nothing can stand in our way
Nothing can block this road we’ve taken
Nothing can stop us now

The joy of surrender
So strong yet so tender
I give my heart to you
You know you can trust me
And that’s how it must be
No matter what we do
Faithful friends and lovers forever
Right to the end we’ll always be together

Nothing can stop this love we’re making
Nothing can stand in our way
Nothing can block this road we’ve taken
Nothing can stop us now

When love comes sweetly to your door
Embrace completely
What your soul is longing for

Nothing can stop this love we’re making
Nothing can stand in our way
Nothing can block this road we’ve taken
Nothing can stop us now
Nothing can stop us now

My next project is Billy Joel’s “Just The Way You Are”.

It’s my niece birthday

Today is the anniversary of 9/11 and the birthday of my niece, Michelle. And, she’s now a full grown lady at 21 years old. The last time I saw her in person was seven years ago, when we visited them in Sydney! She was still a baby then at 14 years old.

I order Lengua with Champignon Sauce

I had a bowling last night; but, I wasn’t able to play because of a protracted meeting at the office. The meeting was supposed to end by 5:00 PM but was dragged until 7:00 PM. Our bowling rolled off at 7:00 PM. “I could still catch the 2nd game”, I thought.

Wifey’s in Makati area as she had a lunch EB with her blogging friend, Mira, at Recipes Greenbelt 3. After her EB, she stayed and waited for me. She’s coming with me to the bowling. I fetched her first and proceeded to the bowling venue. It was still raining and the traffic was terrible. I doubted I could be at the venue in time for the 2nd game. Thus, I decided not to bowl anymore. From EDSA, I changed my course towards C5 Road.

At around 8:15 PM, we’re still on the road (along C5). Wifey complained she’s already hungry; and, we stopped over at House of Minis Restaurant to dine. She ordered Porter House Steak and I my favorite Lengua with Champignon Sauce. Whenever we eat here, I don’t order any steak but Lengua as it tasted much better than steak according to my palate. He he he . . .

After dinner at around 9:00 PM, we headed home and arrived an hour later.

Traffic again!

It’s Tuesday and the first working day of the week. Yesterday, a Monday, was declared a non-working holiday due to the interment of Bro. Erano (Ka Erdie) Manalo - the Executive Minister of the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC). It’s a good thing it was declared a non-working holiday. Otherwise, I could have just filed a vacation leave to avoid the expected traffic.

On the day (last Tuesday) the death of Ka Erdie was announced, INC members from Metro Manila and nearby provinces flocked to their Central Church. This created a monstrous traffic along Commonwealth Avenue, where the church is located. The motorists plying this route and traffic authorities were caught flatfooted. And again, this vividly reminded me of the sufferings I encountered 15 years ago, when the 75th anniversary of INC was celebrated.

This morning, I left home at 5:45 AM; and, it’s still raining. It’s been raining for the past few days due to storms. I took the shorter route, Quirino - Mindanao - EDSA - on my way to my office in Makati City. The distance is about 27 kilometers only. And, because of the ubiquitous traffic, I arrived at the office 2 hours and 30 minutes later. I already expected the traffic and braced for it. I brought lots of patience. I didn’t deviate my way anymore but just stick to the course. I just do some exercises or sing along with the music. Whew! I almost had a hoarse voice.

At the middle of the traffic, I felt the urge to pee. Fortunately, I was able to control it. As soon as I parked my car in the basement parking, I immediately ran to the comfort room and peed. I was just glad, I arrived - at last.

I terminate my Shell-Citibank Visa

I had no intention of getting another credit card as I own 2 cards already. However, I was enticed to get a Citibank-Shell Visa last year as it offered 5% rebates on Shell fuel purchases and free annual membership fee for the first year. I asked for another concession from the agent that he granted - a gold card.

As of the last statement, I’ve earned a total rebate of more than P4,000 for one year. But, since it’s already my first year anniversary, I’m now being charged for annual membership fee of P3,000 and P1,500 each for my 3 extension cards. And, these fees are offsetting my savings.

I called up the call center and requested for the waiver of the annual membership fees. The agent explained to me that the principal’s annual membership fee could be waived; provided, I enroll a utility bill for its auto debit scheme. However, the extensions’ fees can’t be waived. Thus, I requested for the termination of the credit cards. The agent tried to persuade me to keep the cards or at least the principal card; but, I didn’t budge. I just told her that I would only maintain my cards if all the fees were waived. She didn’t budge too. So, goodbye my gold Citibank-Shell Visa card.

Why would I pay for annual fees when I have two other cards with waivable annual fees? And, if these two other cards would no longer waive the fees, I’d likewise terminate them.