PEEHGS!

photo by Paolo Mañalac

Peehgs. We knew each other because one introduced the other to the rest. It's amazing, really, because each one has a different bond with the other. We have these "small alliances" that overlaps another therefore creating a really interactive society. Differences you say? Yeah, we do -- but we set those aside. We have a sky load of things in common to talk about compared to a truckload of differences to fight over. We usually hang out on weekends - at the mall (where we walk around 'till we're hungry) at a cafe (where we chat and laugh about anything and stay 'tll it closes even if only one person ordered a tall drink! LOL!), the movie theatre (where we all sit in one row), in a club (where we dance and sing our hearts out), and at our favorite restaurants (where we pick on each other's plates to see how each dish tastes like and do little criticisms on it).

Peehgs are not all about fun though. Peehgs also know what hard work is. When we're not with each other's company, we work and study. Peehgs have lawyers, business men and women, writers, bloggers, call center agents, photographers, models (weh! ahahaha!), home-based jobs, med, nursing PT, law and Biology students. More importantly, Peehgs are heroes too. Peehgs are on a fight against rural illiteracy through iLearners Inc. - an organization of yuppies who reach out to schools in mountain barangays to share and give kids a brighter future.

Peehgs. I'm not counting the days, weeks or years we've known each other, but I'm hoping to know more about each other in the days, weeks and years to come. To me, you are presents that I just love to open again and again and still be excited and surprised about it. Thank you for being such great friends. ♥

A Cab Passenger's Letter

Dear cab drivers,

First of all, this is not to insult you or make you look bad. This is just an expression of how fed up I am with how I am treated everytime I ride a cab. Secondly, this is not all bad. I've had my fair share of really kind drivers but most of you guys treat me like "pffft! stupid passenger." We can all reflect on this. So please listen and read carefully.

I just got out of a cab in a foul mood this morning. It was raining hard from where I was from and the best way to get home dry was to ride a cab. With the flag down rate increased, my friends and I thought that it was better to just ride one cab and get off where our stop was - my friends' stops were along the way, anyway. Everything was cool until we dropped two of my friends in BTC. After the short but very hard rain, the water was a rushing river on the street and one of my friends needed to be get off where, of course, there wasn't any water. Mr. 0550 let out a modulated "tsk" when he stopped the first time. When my friend asked if he could stop somewhere with less flowing water. Mr. 0550 gave out a second "tsk!" I mean, come on, man! And so as gay as I was with my other passenger friend, we said, "Na.ukosh na! Tua rah." and with a light sarcasm added, "Salamat Nong," for dropping my friend off.

I expected A.S Fortuna Street to be flooded in the low areas. When I saw the first pool at Rolling Hills, I asked the driver, "Kaya ra nimo dinhi manong?" Mr. 0550 gave a disgruntled murmur. This might sound defensive but I asked very politely if he could cross the flooded street so we can go the other way. So on we went until after we crossed two flooded areas on the same street. My friend, Venus and I were talking until we reached the foot of the old bridge. I started to wonder why he was speeding up straight when he was supposed to turn right. By the way, once we got in the cab, I told him where we were going. Going back to to the crossing, I told him, "Liko ta, Manong." I was under the impression that he was already steaming because it took him time to signal to the right and turn the steering wheel. He then let out his third "TSK!" and scratched his baldness again. This time, I was really taken aback by his behavior. I was less than 2 minutes away from my house and didn't want to stay in the cab any longer. I couldn't afford to hear a louder "tsk!" from him so I got off the cab in my fabulous heels with my friend. After Mr. 0550 made a u-turn back to the city, he looked back at us as if he were saying, "stupid bitches." I gave out a stupefied ugh then walked half a kilometer to my house.

Fisrt question: Why would Mr. 0550 act like that? He should've anticipated some of those things to happen.

Second question: Did i do anything wrong?

Third question: Was Mr. 0550 irritated because there were four of us passengers and his taxi meter's flag down rate was still at Php30? lol!

I am addressing this to all cab drivers because what I experienced should not happen to others. I perfectly understand that you also want a hassle-free passenger and a smooth sailing drive to our destination so you should also learn how to give good customer service. Don't think that I don't respect you. In fact, cab drivers are in my bucket list of most respected jobs and people. I understand that you also want to earn. Well, I also want to save money. You call on me to ride in your cab, I get in, you drive me to where I'm going, I pay you, get off then you leave. I appreciate other drivers though who greet me a good day or say thank you after I pay the fare; or those who lower the volume on the radio when I'm on a call or those who do small talk but I don't expect all of you to do that. I respect you so you also need to respect me. Besides the increase in the taxi fare, this kind of situation adds to one of the reasons why I feel hesitant to ride a cab.

Therefore, I show you my CAB RIDE WISH LIST:

1. a greeting

2. a thank you

3. the exact change

4. speed of not less that 40kph but not more than 70kph;

5. if you don't know the way, ask me politely

6. if you need to stop for gas, ask me politely

7. if you don't want me to drop friends off, tell me and don't make friggin' tantrums

8. you are free to listen to whatever radio station you like as long as it's not too loud

9. you may NOT cross a solid line (there's no need to hurry unless there's an emergency - which means I'm late)

10. you shall follow ALL traffic signs

Thank you.

Scarpa noki!!!

After a long day of dealing with customers' complicated issues together with accents that I almost couldn't comprehend, my teammates and I usually go somewhere to eat. This is not only to ease the pain in our bellies but also to DE-STRESS. Lol! Work can be a lot of pressure, you know especially when you're new. The good thing about it is, we've got IMMUNITY, baby! But as much as possible I try to do the right thing right the first time. Going back, eating out with the team is much joy especially when we make fun of what happened in the office and la-dee-daa... I can't say more... ehehehe! You know how it is... We usually eat out at the end of the week or sometimes every other day but we may do it everyday. Too much? Ahahaha! This is why the call center industry and I are in a love-hate relationship. I love it 'coz it pays for all the "heavenly" stuff I eat but hate it 'coz it's making me faaaaaaaat! My professional world is bloody complicated!

Here's one of the food stops we've been to: VIBE's Gourmet is located behind Cebu Doctor's Hospital - if you go a little further it's just across the parking area.

This place was recommended by my ever wonderful "brad," Liv. Saintz and I had Herbs and Spicy Chicken at Php85 (chicken and rice). Oliver ordered the regular porkchop meal(medium sized porkchop and rice) at the same price. I'm a big fan of chicken recipes but this one didn't impress me. The chicken was alittle overcooked and I think it burned the herbs. I couldn't smell the herbs from it as well but it tasted like it was marinated in it. It was a wee bit spicy for me but to people who love spicy food, the chicken may not have been spicy at all.

VIBE's Gourmet's meals range from Php40-Php85; sandwiches at Php27-Php45; shakes at Php45 and other beverages' price range from Php12-Php55(from a 8oz to a 1.5L bottle of soda). We ate there at around 2am and it was still open. They close at 6am then open again by 11 in the morning.

Smile and Shoot - Cebu Bloggers' Sinulog 2011 Photo Booth

Make your 1Sinulog 2011 a lot more fun and memorable with a cool photo from The Bloggers’ Sinulog Photo Booth.

Alongside other Sinulog activities on Sunday, January 16, 2011, the Cebu Bloggers Society, Inc., in cooperation with Oh! Bern Internet Cafe & Snack Bar and 123SMAYL Photo Booth, puts upSmile and Shoot – The Bloggers’ Sinulog Photo Booth. The photo booth will be operating from 8am to 6pm on Sunday and is located at the frontage of Oh! Bern Internet Cafe & Snack Bar along Osmeña Boulevard, across the CAP Building and beside Da Vinci’s Pizza.

With a price of ONLY PhP80.00, you can get the following at this photo booth:

• photo shoot with a very cool Sinulog background
• printouts (hard copies) of the pictures

Soft copies will be available for FREE at the CBSi’s Facebook Page.

With this activity, we aim to capture the timeless smiles of those who celebrate the Sinulog festival. We hope to see you there with your friends and families!