It's Inevitable

The other day, my sister told me that the younger brother of an old friend passed away. He was in a car accident. We don't know the details, but once again, the shortness of life struck me. Death is inevitable. I don't remember him much, and what I remember is a young boy who entertained us when we were vacationing in their house up in the mountains. I can't help but feel sad, and hope that they get through it; hope that they will be able to find justice and resolve the case. I am not sure, but I think we have similar professionals like Tacoma car accident lawyers who specialize in these things. I hope they find one who will not charge too much.

Another death comes to mind. She was a young girl named Tara, who got shot on the eve of her birthday. She survived, was in a coma for the longest time. I didn't know her personally but we did attend a benefit concert for her months ago.

These things make me think. I am so worried about so many things - important things in my mind. Sometimes, though, I wonder just how important they are in light of the bigger picture?

Shaky Monday

Monday has never been my favorite day of the week, and today is no different.... I may be just paranoid but I received news that may be the harbinger of worse things for me, financially. I just really hope that I will be able to maintain my sources of income, otherwise, I will be in dire straits.

I wish we had some sort of insurance for instances like these. After all, we have all sorts of insurance policies - health insurance, life insurance,motorhome insurance, etc. Why not "lack of income" insurance? Wishful thinking on my part?

Saturday With Sam

Hannah brought Sam over for a visit today and we had a blast. I was actually supposed to wake up early and go grocery shopping before they arrived (pantry's almost empty and the only thing in the fridge is water and some potatoes). I didn't get any sleep, though (a whole different story!), so I didn't get up till they arrived...

Anyway, we spent most of the afternoon hanging out at the condo, watching Charmed, playing, and swimming. Sam didn't really stay in the pool for long as it was cold, but he did have a lot of fun.

And since we had no food in the house, we went out for dinner. Jerry and I have been craving for Mexican food so we decided to go to Agave. We ate there about a year ago but we couldn't remember anything about it. After the meal, we realized why we didn't go back...the food was not bad, but it was way too pricey for the quality and quantity. Sam still ate tons, though. I didn't really, and I am glad. Maybe the weight loss pills are really working? ;)

We then walked around Eastwood, and I had the time of my life watching Sam's eyes go round in wonder. He loved the guy in stilts and the mimes.

He also enjoyed the "dancing" fountains at the new mall.

Now off for a bit of sleep to recharge for tomorrow...

SIMS 3 and the iPhone

A friend recently downloaded Sims 3 to his iPhone, and it is making me want this toy again. The Sims and I have a long history. I played the first version of this game way back when I was in school and was I addicted! I even got several PS2 versions but I never really got over the PC version.

Now there's Sims 3 and by all accounts, it is the best installment of the franchise. I know I cannot afford to get the iPhone any time soon but I can get the PC game. My problem is that I don't think our desktop can handle it. I know for sure that my netbook can't!

Is it true that you need a processor speed of at least 2 GHz? My desktop's only 1.6GHz and has only 1G of computer memory. I can get more memory but I don't think I can do much about the processor, unless I get a new PC.

Does anyone here play Sims 3? Will my desktop work?

Bye-bye Stress

Stress is part of everyone's life, isn't it? I have always believed that I can deal with any kind of stress, any amount of stress. I think I still do, but I also know that too much of it for too long is a surefire way of going insane. Either that or getting physically sick too often. I think that I am headed in that direction. Thank goodness I am not the type to worry about wrinkles and that kind of stuff (otherwise, I would have spent a fortune on eye wrinkle cream by now). Still, I don't think that waking up everyday feeling sick to my stomach, having a migraine, and being generally lethargic or full of rage (sometimes both - how that is possible, I do not know) is something that I can deal with for long.

So, I have decided to say bye-bye to stress. How? Let's just say that I am taking the first steps towards change. Nothing is written in stone yet. I do not know what will happen in the next month or two, but I am sure that something will happen.

I feel different, somehow free, even if I still have to face the same things today (and tomorrow and the next day). I guess knowing that I am actually doing something and not merely waiting, hoping that something will happen, has done wonders.

For those of you who pray, pray for me, please. :D

Murphy's Law Again?

It seems that the middle of the year is never a good time for me. I'm sitting here at home willing myself to feel better. It's one of the worst days to miss work. I have meetings and trainings scheduled. Our deadliest deadline is up next week. Additional tasks have been added to our list.

And my body is just not cooperating. For the past two weeks, I have been nauseous and have been feeling like crap. I had to stop taking one of those pills (that's supposed to make me better). Sunday, I felt the beginnings of UTI, which I thought I had dealt with with a gallon of distilled water. But no, despite the antibiotics the doc gave me last night, I am still so not up to par. What's going to happen next? With the way things are going, I won't be surprised if I get something serious like mesothelioma (Nooooo...).

Maybe this is one of those signs that Vicki was talking about last week?

Uncertainties

My friend Nikki had this on her Facebook status yesterday: "I just realized that I am a creature of habit."

That made me think...aren't we all? While some of us may yearn for adventure more than others, there is still a part of us that banks on the fact that there are things that we can count on, no matter what.

I know that when I wake up in the morning, I will have my cup of coffee. I know for a fact that when I get to work, I will have good friends surrounding me. I know that no matter what, my family will be there for me.

Then again, things happen without any warning. There are days when it seems that the floor just falls out from under me. During these times, I feel so uncertain about tomorrow. These times make me scramble to get a firm hold on my life, just to make sure that I won't be staring down the edge of a cliff. These are the times when I find myself looking at options like life insurance quotes and other potential income sources.

I am not much of a planner. I may not be that organized. But I do realize that there is room for these things in my life. Now more than ever.

Football and Tong Yang Saturday

I should have posted this way earlier but I got caught up in other stuff. Anyhow, we had a great time on June 27 when we went to UP to watch Jerry's (first official) football game at the Sunken Garden. Silas had so much fun that he suddenly wanted to become a football player. Can't see much of the players as we were quite far.

With Coach Jehl

Goofing around after the gameSilas trying to tackle mom

After the game, we decided to go to Tong Yang for eat all you can shabu-shabu and grill. You really should try it - 500++ including drinks. It is so worth it!

Yeah, we are in heaven!

Next game is on Saturday. Maybe I'll get better pics this time around.

Plans Plans Plans

We've been planning to go jogging in UP for a couple of weeks now. I guess seeing the guys play football has made us girls want to work on being fit again. It's just hard to find the time (for me, at least). That's why I am also looking at alternatives wherein I can just stay at home and get some exercise. We have a gym on the ground floor but can you believe I am too lazy to even go there. I found this program called Kettlebell, and it looks promising. I am also thinking about the Wii Fit (although I don't know if it really works). Any other ideas?

MSI Wind U100 Screen Problem

My MSI Wind U100 (otherwise known as Koryu) is my lifeline. When I got her almost a year ago (a week short of a year, to be exact), I was beside myself with excitement. Since then, she has never really given me problems. That is, until last month.

I am pretty sure that I posted something about Koryu's screen going gaga on me. Jerry immediately brought her to the MSI service center in Cubao and they sent her back 4 days later. The weird thing was that the technician said that NOTHING was wrong with her. They didn't see this:
Or this:

Or even this:

I was perplexed because I KNOW I saw this:
and this:

I couldn't use Koryu!!! But when I got her back, there was no problem so I contented myself with using her again.

Then it happened again. The very same thing, in fact. Those pictures above were actually taken the second time it happened. I decided to take pictures just in case the technicians don't see anything again.

True enough, when Jerry got to the service center, Koryu was working just fine. Good thing I took those pictures! So Jerry showed the camera to them and they said okay, we'll check her again, replace the LCD panel, and pick her up on Saturday.

So there I was early this morning, dreading the day for several reasons.

One, I hate going out.

Two, I don't even know where I was going! Jerry has been there twice but he couldn't go with me because of football practice.

Three, my tummy has been acting up because of one of those pills I am taking.

Four, what if they couldn't fix Koryu?

I had no choice, though. So off I went to Cubao to pick my baby up. Everything went perfectly! I found the place with no problems at all (I followed Jerry's directions to a T), was told that they replaced the LCD panel AND the motherboard, tested her, and went home.

Now my baby's pretty much like brand new. I can see the difference in the screen very clearly.

Anyhow, my main reason for writing this post is to figure out what happened to my Wind. I have been searching the Net for people with similar problems but I haven't found any info. The girl at the service center just told me it was the board and LCD, but wouldn't expound. So has anyone had this kind of problem? Any info will satisfy my curiousity.

As for those who need to get in touch with the MSI Service Center here in Manila, they are located at

11 8th Avenue Cubao, Quezon City

You can call them at 421-3795 or 721-1981.

eBay Hiatus

Last month, I found myself looking at eBay a LOT. I ended up buying stuff that I didn't really need, so this month, I am on a self-imposed eBay hiatus. I don't know how long it will last as I find myself just wanting to look. Worse, I discovered another auction site, free online auctions. I know the Internet is a great thing - I can't imagine being without it; BUT does it have to be so tempting???

I never thought I would be into shopping. I have always abhorred this past time. Online shopping is something else though...help!