Snapshots of my Life

In just a few months, it will be the start again of the annual performance appraisal of our company for all employees. The result of the appraisal will determine if employees will get a performance increase or not so it is really important for me to get a good ranking in my appraisal so I can have at least 5% increase in my salary. I have a lot of projects that I led for this appraisal period but I just realized now that I don’t have anything to add in my Learning Experience for this appraisal period.

Good thing it is still not too late and I can still get online degree programs in computer engineering so I have something new to add to my profile.

What is nice about Online Courses is that I don’t have to resign from work to finish my degree as I can study on my free time without the need to travel to a campus. This is actually the perfect setup for me as I can just study at home after my day job.

So now I am checking out http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ for Free Application For Federal Student Aid so I can try to apply for their assistance program and I can finally get an online degree in IT.

Yehey, I was finally able to book our tour at Statue of Liberty. My friend Glo advised me to book our tickets early as schedule easily run out. I was actually trying to book our tickets a few months back but I don’t know why for some reason, I can’t access the site from my laptop at home.


It was only last week when I was able to find the time to check on it again during my lunch break and I was surprised to find out that all morning schedule is already booked. The earliest time that I was able to get was 1 PM. It is actually not the time that we enter the statue but 1 PM is just our schedule for the security check before boarding the ferry so we probably won’t be arriving in Liberty Island before 2 PM.

I got tickets for the Pedestal and Museum but according to the agent that I spoke with, I might be discouraged to go inside as there is another second security check and I might find it inconvenient since I am traveling with my 5 year old daughter and 11 month old son. But my friend told us that we can divide the task so we will be faster like one will line up for the security check while one will go to the locker for our things to cut time.

I am hoping that we will be able to maximize our time there as I want my mom to have a picture at the grounds with the Statue of Liberty as the background and at the pedestal. But I am giddy with excitement anyways.

Open source software is one type of software where the source code is open for other users to study, change, improve and distribute.

So what are the advantages of Open Source Software?

1. Open Source Software are free. You don’t have to pay for anything if you want to use this software. If you need word processing, spreadsheet and presentation software, you can just use Open Office instead of buying licenses for software such as Microsoft Office, Corel Suite and the like.
2. Open Source Software are reliable. Since the source code is open for everybody to review and edit, fixes happen quickly as there are more users reviewing the software and fixing the bugs. Like the software, Miranda IM. It is an instant messaging system for Microsoft and Windows. It offers a lot of reliable plug-ins as there are a lot of users who makes constant updates to the software.
3. With Open Source, you don’t have to think of licensing issues. You can use notepad software like NotePad++ without the fear that you may loose access to this software if the license expires.
4. Open Source software won’t be obsolete as there will always be someone who will use this software, like Mplayer, and will continue to upgrade and fix bugs and issues.

These are just some of the advantages to users of Open Source software. So what are you waiting for? Start downloading Pidgin and other open source software to enjoy its many benefits now.

I was in tears after watching this video of Anika:


I don’t know Anika and her family but I feel for them as my daughter also had a congenital heart disease. We are just so lucky since my daughter’s condition is not as complicated as Anika that she does not need an operation. And we feel so blessed as the hole in my daughter’s heart closed when she turned 3 years old so she is totally healed.

Heart disease is a very complicated sickness. That is why I am so affected when I learned about the medicine called Crestor. What is ironic about this medicine is that it is use to cure high cholesterol to avoid heart diseases but it has been proven that this medicine can increase the risk of heart failures and heart attacks. But victims can file for a Crestor lawsuit if they feel that they have been a victim.

O’Hanlon, McCollom & Demerath are the experts when it comes to personal injuries. I am sure with their help, my friend can get the just settlement for the injury that she and her daughter has incurred.

Yahoo, our lunch and dinner is covered already for one day for our stay at Shangri-La this coming August.


We will be having a three-day vacation with my mommy friends and their family this coming August and we will be staying at Shangri-La Mactan in Cebu. And just the perfect timing since Shangri-La just had a promo last month and so I was able to avail of dining vouchers which we can use in any of their restaurants. I got two dining vouchers worth P3,000 for only P2,250 each.

The room accommodation was also on sale but too bad, I don’t have the budget that time to avail of their room accommodations promo.

But at least I don’t have to worry anymore for our food budget as almost half is covered already by the voucher that I availed.

Thanks to my online friend, Jody, for giving us a shootout about the promo.

I just received a bad news from my nanny today. She is pregnant. It is actually a good news and I am really happy for her but this means that she will have to leave us soon when her tummy is all big already and she can’t come back soon after she gives birth as she has to take care of her new born.

This means that it is time for nanny hunting again. I love my nanny so much as she is the one and only nanny that I got who really shows real love and concern for my kids. She treats my kids like they were her own so I am sure it will be very hard to replace her.

If only things will be easy when handling nannies. If only they work like charm like those mimio collaboration tools so there will be no misunderstanding and it will be easy for me to communicate with them and relay to them how I want the work to be done, then things would really be smooth.

But looking for a very good nanny is like looking for a needle and a haystack nowadays. I guess I can’t do anything but to pray and hope that God will give us another angel for our kids.

When I went out this morning, I saw my mom talking to a neighbor because our neighbor was consulting my mom regarding their problem with their daughter. Our neighbor just gave birth and they were really surprised when they found out that their kid has cleft lip. Their doctors confirmed that it is possibly due to the medicine that she took for her migraine while she was pregnant which unfortunately have a bad effect on her child.

Cases like this are very common as there are other medicines that have bad side effects too. One of this medicine is Actos which is use to treat diabetic patients. Studies have proven that patients have increased the risk of contracting bladder cancer after taking Actos.

Victims can always file for a lawsuit to make the manufacturers of these medicines pay for the injury that they have caused. They can consult and seek the help of lawyers, from Watts Guerra Craft LLP for example, who is a actos cancer law firm to get claims for the damages that they incur from taking the medicines.

Lawyers from this law firm have the knowledge and experience to win these types of cases and so it is important that victims seek their help to get justice.

This is one of my current show addictions right now:


I remember the last time I got hooked with American Idol was during the batch of Taylor Hicks and Elliot Yamin and that was several seasons ago. But the set of judges plus the very talented contestants for this season got me really interested again with American Idol that I was able to watch it since the episodes for the auditions until now that they are down to the Final 7.

I am rooting for Stefano (well I know he is really not that good compared to the other contestants but he is just so good looking. LOL), Lauren (who is just so good despite her very young age) and Casey (he looks kind of geeky but he is so good and multi talented that I find him so cute and very likeable).

Stefano has been consistently part of the Bottom 3 every week so I fear that he might be leaving the show next but I think Casey and Lauren has a chance to make it to the final 3.

But as the judges always say, it is too hard to tell as all of them are so good.

The Information Technology field has swept the business sector by storm. This is something that we should not be surprised about as Information Technology has brought businesses to new heights. If before selling products can only be done by setting up a brick and mortar store, now anybody can open up an online store which even has a broader market as anybody from anywhere in the world can be their customer.

That is why businesses are really looking into getting IT Consultancy service like the service being offered by PLANIT Technology Group to incorporate IT in their business so that they can give more efficient and effective service to their clients.

But let us face it, technology terms like:
Citrix Technology Partners
Washington DC Cloud Computing

are all too complicated terms for businesses to handle so they would rather leave it to the experts who can help them provide IT Consultancy service. And that is where PLANIT Technology Group will come into picture.

They can customize an IT system based on the company’s need whether it is a software or hardware requirement. They have a team of experts who knows the ins and outs of any IT infrastructure and they even partnered with the biggest in the IT field like Juniper Networks Technology Partners to deliver nothing but the best IT service to all their clients.

Hubby bought a small fish pond last year so that his father has something to keep himself busy with. It has been the dream of my father-in-law to finally have his own fish pond and so when hubby found out that their neighbor is selling their fish pond in the province, he did not think twice and he bought the fish pond.

My father-in-law is the one managing the fish pond and he will go to their home town one to two times per month to check on it.

Last week, my father-in-law checked on the fish pond and he was just so excited as he was able to get their first catch of crab and shrimp. He did not sell them and he brought his first catch home to Manila for all of us to share.

So last Friday, we had a very sumptuous meal as we shared buttered crab and shrimp courtesy of the first catch from hubby’s fish pond.

For any legal case, an accurate documentation and transcripts of testimonies and proceedings is very important as this will be a part of a legal document which can be use to win a case. Government, unions and businesses also make use of court reporting services to keep an accurate record of meetings and proceedings.

That is why, these industries have to see to it that they have the best court reporting services like the services being offered by Cook and Wiley, a Richmond Court Reporters.

Cook & Wiley is composed of a team of experienced and professional employees that can provide nothing but the best, most accurate and highly dependable court reporting services. They even make use of technologies like Richmond Video Conferencing which makes interviews and meetings possible without the need for travel.

So if ever you will need a highly dependable court reporting service, check out Cook and Wiley now.

Last Sunday, we were on our way out Bonifacio Global City going to Ayala, when we heard and felt a loud bang at the rear of our car. It was a red light so all cars were not moving so we were confused what happened. Then we saw the black car moving to our right and we thought that he will ran after hitting us.

I don’t know if it is because of the traffic enforcer that went to the scene right away that made him stop or maybe he moved his car to see if we are all okay. After the driver went out of his car, he was really apologetic and he said that it was really his fault. He was looking at the restaurants at the side of the street and instead of hitting the break, he hit the gas thus hitting our car hard.

Hubby did not choose to go to the Traffic Bureau’s office as he knows that it can be a big hassle and it might take hours before they can finish the traffic report and we don’t want to wait that long as we were with our kids. Hubby just took the driver’s license of the one who hit our car and they agreed to meet the next day after hubby has the estimate for the cost from Toyota.

I was really shaking after we got hit as I was worried for the safety of my kids. My daughter kept on saying ”Awie, awie” because her head bumped in to yaya’s face after we got hit. But I am thankful that she did not get any bruises and contusion.

I am just thankful that the Big Man up there protected my family again. We are all safe and I don’t care if our car has a big damage. I am just glad that nothing really bad happened to my family.

Before going to bed last night, hubby and I were playing with Jacobo. Jacobo has been doing a lot of crazy antics that hubby and I won’t stop laughing.

It really put a smile on my face upon hearing hubby laugh like crazy. It has been a while since I saw hubby that way. His mom passed away less than a year ago. A few days after his mom was put to rest, hubby is always quiet. He will just stay in our computer room the whole day pretending that he is watching a movie, or is busy fixing and checking the office supply, or is busy reviewing for an exam. He is not really his usual self. I even asked myself if he will ever go back to his old self again.

But I am glad that he started to laugh and smile again. I know as the days go by, the pain will still not go away. Maybe, it will hurt lesser now but I know it will always be there. But I am glad that we are here for hubby to help him recover and find happiness again.