BIR after Efren Penaflorida

We were in a cab earlier this evening when I heard the news that the Bureau of Internal Revenue is thinking of taxing CNN Hero of 2009 Efren Penaflorida for the prize money he got. That is totally absurd!

CNN Hero 2009

These BIR people are just downright lazy. Instead of going after tax evaders, I’m sure there’s a lot of them- big and influential people at that; instead of vigilantly enforcing the tax laws on these people, they’d rather go after an honest man, whose prize money is something he wanted to use for the sole purpose of improving his company which aims to provide quality education to street children; aside from donating 10% to charity. But our sorry government wont have none of that. I just hope there’d be a lot of people to contest this move and knock some sense into these BIR officials who thought of doing something as heartless as this.

Tags: efren penaflorida and bir, tax on prize of cnn hero 2009

Resuming my no rice diet

I know it’s going to be tough to resume my No Rice Diet plan, but I seriously have to go on a diet since there’s 2 wedding events coming up that I need to attend. I certainly don’t want to look fat and old in the pictures, besides Nathan is going to turn 3 in a matter of months and I so don’t have any excuse why I’m still fat.

It was back in 2003 when I first tried the No Rice Diet. I read about it in the local paper, in the lifestyle section of Philippine Star. Pardon me for not being able to remember the author, that would be entirely impossible given that it’s been 7 years. The only thing I remember about the article is that the author mentioned the Happy Cow theory (let’s talk about that in a different post), and that her doctor recommended she try this diet plan. She was told not to eat rice for two weeks. On top of that great ordeal, she was also told not to eat any sweets. Oh yeah that’s why the word diet’s first three letters spells d-i-e! Well, going back to the story, the author then decided to purchase sugar substitute and have her cook bake her goodies using sugar substitute instead. After 2 weeks the author lost 10 lbs. Read more…

Tags: 98 lbs goal, getting back in shape, health and fitness goals, no rice diet, no sweets diet

May Bukas Pa Ending

One of ABS-CBN’s prime time TV series May Bukas Pa is said to be ending today. The said show received several awards for providing inspiration and promoting good values. The show was beefed up with guest appearances of local showbiz’s big stars. The show is about a little boy who gets to talk to Jesus and refers to Him as Bro. The child was able to heal sick people and perform other miracles, most of which were taken from the Bible.

I am not really into watching local TV series, I feel that they are too predictable and at times totally far fetched. I only get to watch this one because our new helper is a big fan. The show is said to be ending today. Apparently, rumors have it that the little boy is going to die in the end the series. As of the episode yesterday, the child is in the hospital due to an accident and is 50-50. If its true that they will have the child die as the ending episode, I say that the writers really did not do their job well in terms of research. If the child dies, then that goes against exactly what the Bible says about why God died for us. According to John 10:10 The thief’s purpose is to kill, steal and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life (New Living Translation). So if the ending of the story will be the death of the main character, then that is certainly not inspirational! Seriously, how then does it become Biblical and inspirational?

I am seriously appalled when people say that a person died because God decided to already take him/her away because he/she is a good person. Absolutely absurd! There are so many passages in the Bible that says a righteous person will live at a ripe old age, that they will live to enjoy their grand children (Job 21:8, Psalm 128:6, Job 5:26). People like to say that all the time just to comfort themselves. But if a person truly has a genuine and fruitful relationship with God, then that person will not die at an early age and will not die a tragic death. I’m talking about our time now since we are living in the time of grace, the people who died tragic deaths in the Bible lived in a time of martyrdom. But at this time no one who has a truly fruitful relationship with the Lord will not die that kind of death. Tribulation and martyrdom is not yet at hand. So if the writers of the show decided to kill the lead character in the final episode, then they are sending a totally alarming message.

Tags: local tv series, may bukas pa tv series

Dreaming of a new car

After the typhoon Ondoy (typhoon Ketsana), our car had to go through major  repair and renovation because it was under water for 2 days. It was 2 weeks after that fateful incident when we finally found someone to fix our poor car. Auto repair shops were packed and have jobs on queue for up to three months. So we were ecstatic to find a well recommended mechanic and painter. It is already a sweet deal- repair and repaint for less than fifty grand, well of course, we had to shoulder the other costs when it comes to replacing some spare parts.

Now that we have the car back, we were told that there are some things that still needs to be replaced and checked. Oh well, these things are entirely inevitable with old cars I suppose. That’s why I’m thinking of adding  new car in my set of faith goals.This time around I’m thinking of praying for my own car. A new car has so many other features and add-ons that is unknown to our 14 year old car. One great feature of newer car models is the check engine light feature. I’ve been reading about cars since I’m planning to finally start learning how to drive and when I read about that feature and asked hubby if our car has that, I was disappointed to hear that our car doesn’t have it.

Aside from the nuisances in the repairs and changes in spare parts when it comes to maintaining an old car, a good reason to buy a new car is to help the environment. New cars manufactured nowadays are more earth friendly, so that’s one more reason for me to pray for a new car. On the top of my list of choices is the Toyota Camry! Yeah I know that this model is currently being recalled in the US but local units are not affected so that’s great news. And yeah, I haven’t started praying for it anyway, so I guess I ought to start. hehe

Tags: Faith Goals, toyota camry, wish list

Missing Starbucks coffee

The day is about to end in less than an hour and here I am craving for a Starbucks Java chip frap with blended whipped cream. Yes that’s my signature Starbucks drink. For a hot coffee fix, my favorite is a venti cup of Hot White Mocha, quite a sugar rush compared to a macchiato or cappuccino but I won’t have it any other way.

It’s been almost 2 months now since I left the call center industry and of course along with that parting, I likewise have to say goodbye to my coffee fix, not only is it exorbitant now considering our current income capacity, but I wont have a need for it since I can now afford the luxury of sleeping like a regular person. Goodbye to graveyard shift!  But here I am, missing my caffeine fix. Or is it really the coffee that I’m missing? It certainly is not the work, believe me I am so not meant for the call center industry. Perhaps more than that highly fattening, expensive frappuccino, I miss the people I used to work with. I miss the laugh trips and the bashing sessions, yeah I probably miss those people who became my friends.

I miss all of them and though I may not see them all the time (perhaps some I would never see again), I’m grateful for the times I’ve shared with them and the friendship we’ve built (no matter how fleeting), over a cup of coffee.

Tags: friendship, starbucks coffee, work

Pixprofit – fun way to improve your typing skills

Pixprofit is something that I discovered through a friend I met in my last place of employment, who also happens to be the blogger behind Workingpinoys. Although I have yet to receive a payout from the site, I know that it is legit simply because my friend has already received payment from them. You can check her site for proofs of payment from this site.

Since most companies, specially call centers, require applicants to go through a typing test as part of the selection process, it will be good to spend some time to practice and improve your typing skills. Even if you do not work for a call center, having a fairly good typing skills will greatly help you with your admin tasks. Aside from free online typing tests that you can use to practice, there’s Typing Maniac in Facebook, which you can use to measure up your skills to that of your friends who are also using the said application or you can use Pixprofit. The site requires that you type the capcha codes correctly. You will be paid $1.00 for every 1000 words. Yeah, I know that’s not a lot but hey, at least you get paid just to type capcha codes. The minimum payout is $3.00 and it gets credited right away to your Paypal account as soon as you reach the said amount.

Read more…

Tags: capcha code typing, improve typing skills, online income

Craving for Tikoy

So craving for Tikoy! Just when I resumed my no rice and no sweets diet, this darn craving for tikoy kicked in. Oh well, I’ll probably buy a small box just so I won’t feel too deprived. After all, they said that you have to eat small portions and give into your cravings once in a while lest you over indulge the next time you decide to give yourself a break.

Tags: Chinese new year delicacies, chinese tikoy, food cravings, sweet tooth

HIV Cases Soar on Call Center Employees

Last week, for several days, local TV news had several reports on the “alarming” rate of HIV cases among call center employees. Although the news mentioned “young urban professionals”, the news states that it is more specific to call center employees. The news likewise mentioned that casual sex is prevalent among call center employees.

A lot of people have already reacted to the said news. People whose loved ones became very concerned upon hearing the news. Some have already communicated their sentiments to the TV network who aired the news. Read more…

Tags: call center news, HIV in call center employees

Trip Or Treats is giving away Red Velvet Cupcake Mix!

Yey another blog contest to join, I joined the first one some time last week, and here I am joining another one. Well, I don’t have anything to lose, do I? Well with this contest and the prize at stake, if I win, I’d definitely gain a few pounds I suppose. But well, that’s fine, nothing more exciting than winning something and having new blogger friends.

If you are interested in joining check out the mechanics here.

Red Velvet Sprinkles cupcake mix up for grabs

What are you waiting for? Today is the last day, make sure you join this contest! I just did

Tags: blog contests, blogging, online contests

PAWS needs Volunteers!

PAWS, short for Philippine Animal Welfare Society is in need of volunteers. There’s so much you can do for the animals. A little time will go a long way in helping those poor animals. Here’s actually some of the things you can do:

1. Office Assistant – The task is pretty simple and mostly is about paper works like processing adoption applications. Other functions would be to receive guests and tell them about the different programs offered by the organization, of course answering phone queries is also another task.
2. Admitting – You will be involved in rescue operations and will be instrumental in completing the operation by processing admitting papers, taking pictures and uploading details in the animal database. Read more…

Tags: paws volunteer work, volunteer works