Sad, sad day. When I tried to turn on our house laptop this morning it would not start. It kept rebooting to this blue error screen which said there was something wrong with the registry and then it kept on rebooting and rebooting...

   Hubby and I decided we had no choice but to use the Recovery CDs, at the expense of deleting every single thing the hard drive contained. We succeeded, the laptop runs perfectly again, but at the expense of the loss of ALL the files, including our images from out trip to Singapore (as well as some other picture collections). *sob* All we have left are the video DVDs Discovery Channel graciously sent us, and the lower res version of the pics here in my multiply albums.

   For someone whose life is so computer-dependent this is truly a HUGE loss. ;_;  

   WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!

   Today is Valentine's Day, and also the birthday of my dear sister. Heheh. Happy birthday sis!

   Anyways I hate Valentine's Day. Traffic is bad, restaurants have set menus with sky high prices, and flowers... ugh. I hate flowers. In fact if I could've ditched the bouquet at own my wedding I would have done so.

   I have a date with our TV later, can't miss Amazing Race Asia 2's finale! At least this particular Valentine's Day will be an exciting one, I hope Marc and Rovilson win. 

   This was actually the topic of conversation during one of our son's Kenshin's classmates' birthday parties. Funny, I found myself seated in a round table full of GCHS alumni from different batches -- I myself am from batch 1991. I was very surprised to find that majority of the parents of the kids in Ken's class are from GCHS. I've attended enough kiddie parties and sat with enough parents to come to this conclusion... (to those who are not familiar, GCHS is Grace Christian High School).

   Personally, I don't want to enroll my kids at GCHS because that school is a frickin' concentration camp. We couldn't have parties, proms, and balls because these things supposedly promote boy-girl relationships. We never had a good extracurricular activity roster -- other schools have dance troupes, drama clubs, sports clinics, etc. We had nothing. Listening to rock and pop music is also discouraged because they are "the work of the devil". I felt that this prohibitive environment impeded the development of our social skills, such that most of us would be content to remain anonymous wallflowers when we could have been so much more.

   In high school, I remember being in school from 7:15am to 5:30pm. It's totally ridiculous. Only when I had children did I find out no other school had such an extended schedule. The bad part is, despite that torturous schedule, GCHS doesn't really do well in college entrance exams. I still remember going to the guidance office to find out if I passed the Ateneo de Manila University entrance exam and being told that yes I did, and that only 40+ to 50 of us passed (and most of them were from the honor section)... and we had like 400 people in our batch. You'd think that with such a stringent class schedule that GCHS would be really good at academics...

   Before enrolling our kids, we checked out different Chinese schools. We saw with our own eyes how left behind GCHS was in terms of facilities. It was similar to how we had left it and so many years had passed. 

  Of course, this is just one GCHS alumni's opinion...

   I am however, thankful for the friends I made in that school. I met and came to know a lot of good people with whom I am still friends with nearly two decades later.

   Yesterday evening, DepEd / news stations announced that elementary classes were suspended due to typhoon signal no. 1 over Metro Manila. Later that same night, the gradeschool suspension was retracted and it was announced that only preschool classes are suspended. In the late night news, they advised people to keep tuned at 4:30am for the final decision regarding class suspension.

   I woke up at 5am and turned on the TV and radio. They announced once again that only preschool classes are suspended. So our son who's in grade 1 went off to school, but we didn't wake our daughter up anymore since she's in preschool. Some time before 7am, DepEd announces that the typhoon has weakened and there will be classes in ALL levels.

   What the hell is up with DepEd? It would have been all good had they not bothered to make any announcement at all. Never in all my years have I witnessed such a blatant display of INEPTNESS and INDECISIVENESS from this organization. Sure they've made some bad calls in the past like not suspending school when it was obviously flooding everywhere or suspending school on a sunny day, but to announce and retract several times in a span of 12 hours is just plain SHITTY.

   Theoretically, gift certificates are good. You get to pick whatever you want from the establishment -- be it food, items, or service. That's the best scenario. The downside is, some establishments don't seem very receptive or accomodating to GC users.

   Sometime last year, my sister-in-law won a GC for an aromatherapy massage at Urban Spa in a raffle. When the time came for her to use it, she said the people there seemed a tad disdainful that she was using a GC and obviously did not give the best service during her session. Whenever the masseuse sensed that she had dozed off, she would stop the massage -- only to resume when my sister-in-law would open her eyes and look to see what was happening. She said she would never go back to Urban Spa again.

   I too was a recipient of a spa GC last May. This time, it's Nurture Spa in Tagaytay. The GC was for a body massage, dead salt sea scrub, foot spa, and gourmet lunch for two people. When I called Nurture Spa to reserve, they informed me that I can't use the GC during public holidays, and they would have to confirm if I could use it on a weekend. WTF? What is up with that? Holidays and weekends are like the time to go to the spa. I work from Monday to Saturday, my only breaks being Sundays and holidays and I can't use the GC during those times?

   Someone I know received a GC for a photo session at The Picture Company. As soon as the receptionist saw she was using GCs, the receptionist hurriedly ushered the family in the studio, asked them to pose, shot a family pic and then told them the session was finished. She said they did not bother to spend time composing the shots or using any of their many props, and she got the impression that the staff wanted to get rid of them as soon as possible. 

   The fact is someone paid or exchanged something in return for those GCs. It's not a free service. These people shouldn't be holding up their noses at people in possession of those GCs, nor should they be giving the users a hard time redeeming it. It's not their fault. Whether they received it as a gift, won it as a prize, or got it in a promo doesn't matter -- someone somewhere paid or exchanged something in return for their GCs so at the very least these establishments should honor their end of the bargain.

   Fortunately, restaurants and department stores usually don't have this problem.

 

   Today, April 26, 2007, is the day I finally face one of my life's greatest fears: a US visa interview. As I've mentioned in my previous post, I had a very traumatic first interview when I was 10 years old thanks to my dad -- but wait, that's not all! A few months after our first rejection we tried again, and we got this really scary consul who resembled Chuck Norris who shouted "Baloney!" to what my dad told him. Instantly my sister and I were denied again.

   Last night I could not sleep. I kept watching TV till my eyes closed, only to be awake again some time later. I got up at 5:30am and double-checked all our documents again.

   Anyhow we were scheduled for an 8:30am interview. I told my hubby we had to be there by 7am and yes we got there by that time, but he said we had to have breakfast first so we got to the queue at about 7:40am. I couldn't eat because I was a nervous wreck. After endless queuing at different windows, we got to the interview area by 10:45am. 

   We were instructed to proceed to the consul behind window 6, where a woman was being interviewed. I tried to get a glimpse of the consul and I had a good feeling as soon as I saw his face. He looked like a reasonable man, and I could see him observing us (hubby, myself, and two kids) while talking to the applicant.

   Moments later it was our turn. The first question he asked was what we did for a living. I told him we distribute a Japanese brand of cement. Then he asked why Japanese? Is it better? I answered the Japanese cement we carry is pure as compared to the locally available brands which are loaded with additives and extenders. Hence we market it as a premium brand. He works on his PC and asks another question: Do you distribute concrete or cement? I reply cement. Then he asks specifically what kind of cement? I answer portland type 1. He seems satisfied and I mention that I actually used to be a green card holder and that I surrendered it back in 2003 because I decided to settle down in the Philippines. He asked for the surrender paper and my hubby's passport. Then he asked how old our kids were (deja vu!!!). Of course I answered correctly and the consul smiled and handed me three yellow slips. He told me to pay at the Delbros counter for our passport delivery and that we're good to go. He even told us to enjoy our trip! All of this took place in about 5 minutes. I had a whole plastic envelope of supporting documents but was not required to show any.

   At this point I don't know how long the validity of the visa he gave us is, I guess I'll find out next week when our passports are delivered.

   I think I'm cured of Visaphobia for good.

   

   I still remember the first time my sister and I applied for a US visa. I was 10 years old, she was 7. 

   It was 1985 then and getting a visa was supposed to be a cinch. More people were being issued visas rather than denied. The consul asked my dad the simplest of questions, stuff a normal dad would know. Alas, our dad was anything but normal...

   Consul: "How old is she?" (pointing to my sister)
   Dad: "Uh... 6... uh... 7... no, 8!"
   Consul: "What grade is she in?" (I can't remember if he was referring to me or my sis)
   Dad: "Uh... grade 2... no, grade 3... uh... 4?"

   I remember that interview as if it happened yesterday. The consul was a very nice man. He asked only about the most basic things. Our dad botched it up in the worst possible way, and I can still hear the consul say "Are these really your daughters?" -- not that I blame him. Had I been in his place I would have denied us too after that brilliant display by our dad.

   Yes, I have Visaphobia. Nevermind that I've been to the US as a resident numerous times and that I surrendered my green card back in 2003, or that I've been issued a Japanese visa twice in the last two years. I think I'll never totally be cured of it.

     

 

  

I pay US$10 to use the online visapoint system to get our US visa interview schedule. Surprise, after they take my money (and confirm doing so via email), their crap site goes down. It's "temporarily unavailable". Oh the facilities to take your money work perfectly all the while. I've been trying for the last three hours and they are still down.

No customer service, nothing. If this fails, consider the US$10 a donation to Uncle Sam. As if their US$100 per person application fee isn't high enough.

 

   Saturdays are sick. Well, for the second half of the day anyhow.

   Every Saturday I work on the weekly payroll for our delivery drivers and helpers. I finish up before lunch, and it's pretty much one big crashing borefest until 5pm, when our office and my dad-in-law's store closes. God I can't even begin to describe how dead it is here 12 noon onwards. No phone calls, no orders, nothing... nada... zip. Had it not been for the internet I would have gone insane a long time ago. 

   Why stay here? You may wonder. Well majorly it's because I have to be here "just in case". Just in case somebody orders, or whatever. See that's how Chinese businesses operate, we're always around "just in case", nevermind if it's as dead as the Chinese Cemetery on Christmas Eve. It's a vicious cycle, in the construction supply field we're all here on Saturdays "just in case". Besides that, I'll get flak from my father-in-law if I abandon my post.

   So now it's another sicko Saturday. I'm currently listening to the radio online (again, thank goodness for broadband!!!) in the hopes of catching some sort of radio contest and maybe win something while another afternoon wilts away.

   Maybe I'll redecorate my blog while I'm at it.

   People who are in control of their weekends are the lucky ones.