Funny thing about Facebook, you realize that you really can’t remember everyone you meet in your life. I keep on seeing familiar names and familiar faces and sometimes I cannot match them. It’s particularly embarrassing when somebody sends you a message talking about stuff that you’re supposed to know but then you realize it has left you. Time passing, what can I say. I used to feel so guilty, but thinking about it too much would just give me reason to make use of the best wrinkle cream. So I’m giving myself a pass. But I need to remember better, too.

Is the customer really always right?

I was buying something I really have an immediate need for at a 7-11 store. I handed the cashier a 1,000Php bill but she doesn’t have change. She looked at me and said, “Sorry Ma’am.” I looked back at her, possibly with a very annoyed look on my face because she seemed to backtrack a bit. I looked again at my purse and searched my entire bag for small bills until I was able to gather just enough to buy my item. The cashier apologized again, which left me wondering if I have a right to be annoyed. They don’t have change, so they can’t be of service? That seemed lazy to me.

If I say click here to learn more, would you readily click it? Because I got my thing but somehow I felt a bit bullied by the experience.

I’ve been following Paolo Coelho on Twitter; one time, he tweeted this quote from one of his most famous books, The Alchemist:

When you want something, the whole Universe conspires to help you realize your desire.

It got me thinking, it can’t be true, can it? What if people want the same thing? Who will get it? Will it be a fair win just in case? I’m sure that’s not really how the writer sees it; that there’s some truth behind those words that can only be understood by those whose hearts are open, but I can only think of a particular, albeit funny,  situation wherein I got the exact opposite. Let’s just say that there is this something that I really wanted to have; so I prayed for the heavens to give me a sign that it’s indeed for me, and me alone. A few days after, it was gone. Poof! Just like that. But I am a believer in destiny and all that crap, so after a few years I asked for it again. A couple of days after, I got the news that it’s gone out of my reach, the very same day that I prayed out loud for it.  I wish I can give you the sordid details because this is quite funny, but the shame is very much on my part so just take my word that that quote? Not for me. But who knows, maybe I’ll try out that theory again someday;  retest the waters, and hope that they used water softeners this time  for my sake.

I need to change this blog’s name. Lately, I’ve been minding my other blog better and it came to a point when their respective titles no longer apply. Ahh, po-tay-to po-tah-to. Just like copper kitchen sinks and tiled sinks are all just sinks.

Anyway, I’m hoping to start the first working day of the year right. Cliche, true, but that’s my goal. Here’s to a more inspired, more productive but more play-and-giggle year ahead, for all of us! Cheers.

One thing about me, I get a fearless streak sometimes when it comes to troubleshooting things I really, truly, honestly do not understand. I’m talking computer stuff here, just to be specific. Once, I volunteered to install a friend’s new DVD burner. Because her computer does not have the same configuration as mine (one that I’ve already tinkered with so many times), I accidentally attached the wrong wires that when I was testing my handiwork, I almost got a heart attack when I saw smoke coming out of the device as soon as I turned on the power. Well, I guess I didn’t learn from that. I did learn to be more careful and more logical, but I still experiment on things at least as long as I own them. Makes me think of needing to find student loans just so I’d have a real, well-founded knowledge about this stuff. But I suppose that would take away the thrill. It would be like doing work, then. There’s a beauty in trial and error, see. You just have to set limits so you won’t reach the point of being destructive.

For many of us who have been caught up with day-today living, pursuing higher education, or even college education for others,  gets to the bottom of the priority list. What, with the state of the economy and the very limited time, it’s not that easy to plan on going back to school, even if it is an honest-to-goodness noble pursuit. Good thing, there are now several online universities where one can enroll and pursue studies at his own time and pace, and at the comfort of his own home. The tricky part, however, is to look for an accredited online university that not only offers reasonable fees but also ensures quality education. That’s where providers such as the Western Governors University comes in. They have excellent online degree programs thatyou can choose from. What’s more, it’s a nonprofit university, that’s why their tuition fees are low. Sounds like something anybody who’s hoping to continue studying should look into.

Kumareng Grace had a successful contest in her blog and I didn’t get to join. But because it was about favorite places and dream destinations, I put some thoughts about mine.

Because it’s a dream, I’d write down my loftiest ones.  Like London and New York – I’d watch musicals at the West End and Broadway and then watch Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.  Then there’s Paris for the city and Roland Garros. I’m skipping Melbourne, as far as watching live Grand Slam tennis goes.  And then I saw those huge, and very heavy, wedding magazines at home my sister has been collecting with suggestions for wedding invitations; browsing through them, I’m adding  Spain to my list. There was a feature on Santiago de Compostela and Seoul, South Korea. Closer to home, I’d like to see the beaches of Thailand. Much closer, I wish I can finally make that trip to Coron, Palawan, next year!

Sometimes you take a ride on a public utility vehicle and you’ll get to overhear a few funny conversations from your co-passengers. I was on my way to work a couple of days ago when this couple beside me got into a heated argument that became cringe-worthy PDAs after a few exchanges. What happened was the jeepney came into a halt due to traffic, a group of teenagers in flashy clothing passed by, and the boyfriend couldn’t stop himself from making a remark. His statement actually sounded neutral to my ears but the jealous girlfriend didn’t think so – he simply said that those girls were too young to be parading on skimpy clothes and it that it could get them into trouble. The girlfriend then went into a full tirade about her love’s wandering eyes and his admiring other girls. The boyfriend tried to explain, and after a some cooing and hand touching, the girl was appeased and happy again. They probably didn’t see me rolling my eyes at them, or they are too preoccupied to care.

First, not that I don’t like it – because I really enjoy looking at stuff for sale, especially those items that I can’t afford (like modern furniture maybe) – but even after all these years, I still find it odd to find a bazaar in the middle of our office grounds. I mean, I’m sure other workplaces have those once in a while; it’s a specific bewilderment on my part. Maybe it’s because I don’t really go to shopping places a whole lot. Again, I’m not complaining. Truth be told, I dig the food stalls and I collect flyers from the tech stores.

P.S. I did get a flyer with furniture items.

You think people are consulting Google only for things as trivial as diet pill reviews? I’m not sure if it was from the latest episode of Grey’s Anatomy or House (or maybe it was from something I was reading) where it was stated that people are actually a lot more informed these days when it comes to their medical conditions. They consult doctors now armed with a few researched facts about their symptoms and/or possible ailments. Must be annoying, to say the least, for the medical professionals sometimes, though I believe that it does more good than harm. Well, at least as long as the patient is well informed and the doctor is actually an expert that the patient can place his full trust to the latter in the end.