This is not a scam: Read to the end and win up to P100,000 in two easy steps!

 Scams are everywhere. We see posted text exchanges between a scammer and a victim shared in social media which is often funny when the 'victim' outsmarts the scammer. We've read about the application available in Google Play that doesn't really amazingly and impossibly turn your phone cameras into X-ray, and you've probably seen a 'LOSE 50 lbs in a day! Try these super easy two steps to a flat belly!' advertisement on a website.

 Now, now... we've heard enough scams on bigger scale (Napoles, congressmen, and senators, I'm looking at you) but this does not discuss that. I just want to tell you about the little scams I've heard of and have been experienced by people I know even though you've probably heard them too... because I can and have the time.

TEXT SCAMS. Some people have been fooled by this and they've lost significant amount of money. Scammers pretend as OFWs abroad while some would claim as a family member who's been into an accident, he's in the hospital, please send money and load by the thousands immediately even though he won't tell exactly where he is.

I haven't received any of those kind except for the usual 'YOU WON A P100,000 CLAIM YOUR PRICE AT THIS HOTEL IN CEBU.' Quite shockingly, my godmother who never joined any raffle promos actually believed this crook and gave out P20,00 expecting a return of P100,000. Go figure.

One seen solution to stop this text scams altogether is to have registered sim cards. That way, text messages can be traced. However, we are yet to see results as the TELCOM companies argue that it would be too much burden on their side. We are well behind the technology and security that first world countries enjoy. Registered sims will be beneficial in the long term, but then again, we need to look at the people who are in power and how they conduct their transactions.

RECRUITING AGENCY SCAMS. You know how the system goes--you pay them and they help process your papers to companies they are connected with abroad. You need to give them money of course, and they don't come cheap. Scam agencies will suddenly disappear without a trace together with your hard-earned money and your dream as a hard-earning-worker-abroad.

My friend's father wanted a stable job abroad and joined a recruiting agency. The whole family thought it was their way out of poverty, only to realize that the agency was a scam even though they've done a Google search on them. It would be wise to check which agencies the Department of Foreign Affairs lists as legit. Besides, anybody can put up a website that looks credible.

LOAN SCAMS. The scammer employee asks an accomplice to open an account. The employee then tweaks his account information and digitally enters an amount in tens of thousands. The next day, the accomplice will withdraw the amount and walks away with a hundred thousand pesos. Meanwhile, the employee lives luxuriously out of the institution's money.

I can't disclose important information as it may negatively affect a certain corporation's name. The flaw here is the security of the digital exchanges, as it gives power to those who input such information. It shouldn't be the case. It is better to pay off IT and computer engineer experts than to lose money by millions because the system is heavily unsecured.


It's sad that these scams exist. Can't everybody just work hard and receive as is due? These scammers are intelligent in such a way that they manipulate people's feelings, blindside, and vulnerability, but they are also pathetic.

Poverty is a burden almost all the countries have to live with (behold, the beloved United States has its share of homeless, too) and in third world countries it's a vicious cycle we have to endure. It's sad how this state has turned us into arschlocher as the Germans would put it. Yes, I read The Book Thief.

Wayback Wednesday

I never liked (pre-social media meaning) Throwback Thursday or Flashback Friday photos so much but when I accidentally came across our old pictures... screw it, I thought, I'm participating.

The past is something we carry into our present and future and photos are good way of preserving moments in our lives. The following pictures weren't scanned but photographed again. So meta.

Taken seven years ago with le baby brother.

Taken when I was three years old. This was my Ninang's wedding.

Jayson when he was around two years old

I capture moments but not that much because the megapixels of my phone camera are limiting. My mother's new phone, however...

I hope I could get more of these. My mother was very pretty when she was young and I'd love to show off but most of our albums are hidden away in a faraway province.

Feb Fair 2014

 My Feb Fair 2013 was fun but this year... this year tops all the other fair I'd ever been to.

 First, I got to see Up Dharma Down (UDD) live last February 12. We heard that they were to perform at 11 pm so Ash and I took a nap, drank our Swiss Miss (my other true love) and coffee to keep us warm and then marched off to the Fair Grounds at Freedom Park.

We jived with the other amateur bands and Mude until I felt my bladder getting heavier and heavier. Damn them coffee and Swiss Miss. We searched for restrooms, begged the guard from Women's Dorm, and walked miles to no avail until we heard the jocks introduced UDD. I mean, we were tired and heavy-bladder-burdened, but hey, UDD was so awesome!


 On Feb 13, we went to the grounds earlier at 8:30, this time with Cham. It was important we came across every booth because it was our last Fair together. (It also was important we cleared out our bladders before leaving, too). We were impressed by the fire-throwing acts and the extremely pogi kuya among them.

The only closest to decent shot I could ever get of the extremely pogi fire-throwing kuya. I'm so sorry my phone camera was low res.

We went to a photo booth. If you look closely, you'll see Cham and Ash talking at the wrong instances.

 We then enjoyed the ever fast Ferris wheel. It was still fast and all, but my experience the second time around didn't match my excitement about it. We rode the ironically very funny Horror Train. Oh boy, my stomach hurt a lot from laughing from that one.

We were sad about waiting in line for the Ferris wheel.

The Ferris wheel where all the screaming noises come from.

We were so tired after three hours of standing, waiting in line, and eating isaw but it was worth it. I don't have a bunch of close friends, just this two, and I'm so glad to have spent my two Fairs with them.

The both of them are gorgeous.

Ash and I feeling the grass beneath.

Cham and I spreading our skirts like they were dresses.

I feel both happy and sad about this. Happy, because Ash will be graduating soon and sad, because we won't be seeing each other in a few months.

Batangas is love

My family together with my grandma and two cousins from my mother side decided to have a vacation at Batangas where my other relatives are. My kins from my father side live there and we make it a must to visit them annually, at least. My other cousin (Rona) and godfather from Taguig went there too so we had a little family reunion.

On the first day, December 30, we went to the lake where we got to swim away the worries. They tried to teach me to swim with my head up from the water. For an asthmatic, it's really troublesome when you can't stay swimming for a long time (except when floating of course).

From the left: Mae, Grandma, Harry, Mama, J, Me, Ninong Nanding, and Papa.

We had a pictorial on the way home after the swim. From the bottom: Harry, Mae, Rona, Me, and J.

The rest of the day, I took a long sleep and woke up only to eat and sing on the karaoke. They had a nice sound system, as in they had huge speakers that stood higher that a toddler. I enjoyed calling the rain but it didn't really hear me.

My aunts served us good food, which I chose not to eat much of because my cousin Rona has lost a lot of weight and now I'm bigger than her, and that's depressing.

On the second day, we went earlier to swim so that our skin won't burn too much. I didn't want to go after an hour or so because I was practicing but the oldies were itching to go home, so us kids (ehem) didn't have much choice.

Notice that we changed clothes. From the left: Me, Mae, and Rona.

Later, Harry--the little kid that we bullied way too much--broke down and cried when my godfather took a shot of him taking a bath naked. He cried like a spoiled brat. I mocked him which made him madder and then he threw stuff away. I love and hate that kid at the same time. He's such a pain in the arse sometimes.

By the afternoon, Rona, J, and I went with our cousins (Kuya Jun and Kuya Danny who was a tricycle driver) to Tanuan which was a thirty-minute ride away from our location. I wish I could post here photos of the nice scenes my eyes feasted on. That night we had a good night of karaoke (yet again!) and a bunch of our relatives finally arrived.

On the third day, the first of the Gregorian Calendar year 2014, we had to say goodbye. We took the chance to take more photos instead before leaving.

Shot was taken on the third day morning, an hour before we said our goodbyes. That's me with Rona. She's lost a LOT of weight from dieting. Mom says it's because she's got discipline which I lack.

That's me standing in the middle of Papa and J.

Those days were well spent with good food and kind people. How I wish every day of my life could be a replica of those moments.

Stop breathing, it's annoying!

        It's annoying, really, to have the obligation to be annoyed at everything on a monthly basis and then feel bad about it afterwards. Every month, hormones in the feminine head decide to mess everything up--from logic, to anger, happiness, and uncontrollable misplaced laughs.

You made her mad! Taken from www.chizofrenic.com.

     I noticed it when I was in high school, when a friend asked, 'It's your red day isn't it?' that I was among the unlucky majority that lose their heads when bleeding underneath. In college, I realized that it either happens a week before or during the period--you know--the instance of hating the Earth and its injustice and the cashier who was taking her time to make you wait.

And that someone is the people you live with. From www.deliberateblog.com

My roommates fear my red days because I get mad easily and then suddenly stops talking to them. My family, well, they've learned to live with me. When I do tantrums, my Mom just shuts her mouth, my brother becomes more understanding, and my Dad becomes more concerned ('Why do you want it? Ask your brother and hurry up!'  instead of the usual, 'It's a waste of money!').

Because denial. From www.weknowmemes.com

It isn't just the people around us that suffer though. We suffer, too, from guilt after realizing we'd done wrong. I suffer from making people feel bad about themselves, I make them feel as if everything's their fault.

It's annoying to have to be annoyed. Gaaaah!

Almost accidents

I have this expression when (almost) accidents happen--when I trip over, almost got hit by a car, or skip a step. It was Muntikan na 'kong/tayong/silang mamatay! and then it morphed into I almost died/I could've died!

Obviously, it's a form of exaggeration. Cham would say it for me when I forget. But I never got to fully appreciate what it meant until two near-death experiences.

First was when I was walking along Grove, the street right in front of our university gate, at around 2 pm. It was the field trip season so numerous schools visited our campus. (In high school, we unbelievably had our trip to the Museum of Natural History. Seriously, the Botanical Garden was so close then.)

And so there I was, walking dreamily when this imported huge Korean bus went straight through an electric wire and cut it in half. I saw it break before my eyes and I heard it crackle. A few seconds later and there was the wire, fiery and sparkly in front of me. It stopped sparkling in a few.

If I had walked three more steps, I could've been hit by the wire and ended up electrocuted. I'm not sure if I could've died--if the amount of electricity generated then was enough to stop my heart--but the mere sound of electrocuted chilled my bones. A few seconds were all it takes.

The bus stopped and then went on as if nothing happened. What a prick and lucky driver.

The second instance happened yesterday. Now, I know how to cross roads: I just so often forget to look right or left and end up almost always hit by cars, trucks, buses, whatever. But yesterday,  yesterday was different.

I went out of the house feeling frustrated because Mom kept telling me not to buy an umbrella (my brother had mine) because it would be expensive, blah. I had not a second of sleep, it was seven in the morning, and my head was practically floating, my mind still bent on frustration and hormonal madness, and my eyebrows met. I knew it because this time I felt my eyebrows meet. (Ash said she'd know if something was bothering me because of my eyebrows. I wasn't aware I was making The Face).

To the right I saw a woman hold a baby, what a cute baby, and then I crossed the road. For my last step I felt a gust of wind pass by my right leg. A jeep suddenly appeared beside me and there were passengers obnoxiously looking at me. My brain registered what just happened a little too late. I almost got hit, sugar honey iced tea!

The jeep remained unmoving as if the driver wanted to scold me. Thank God our driver seat are on the left side. I didn't even see his face but his passenger said, 'Miss, muntikan ka na!' and I acted as if they weren't there, as if I was still lost in thought as I was a few seconds ago when I crossed a one-way road haphazardly.

 I fudging felt it. If I were a step behind I would've ended up lying down on the ground, blood and all. The jeep was fast, I felt by the wind, by the effort of the driver to stop five seconds than usual if he just ignored it. We both must've felt it. And I did see myself on the ground if I had been a step behind. That was not my ideal death. My ideal death would be a gunshot through my brain.

 On the way to school, I realized we all could've been dead one way or another. We could've been on the airplane that crashed, the building that was bombed, or the locked house flooded to the roof. Every second of our lives we could've died.

I've nothing left to say than to thank God for His countless chances and saving grace.

Hey society, I have something to say!

The face.

That’s my face when my Mom answered ‘I don’t know’ to Ninang's question ‘Does she have a boyfriend?’ Mom knows pretty well that I’m a single lady (so put your hands up!) so why would she say that?

Let’s count the reasons why.

(1)  The double standard that high school teenagers must not have a boyfriend YET, but in college they SHOULD have one.

(2)  A daughter without a boyfriend is not pretty. 

(3)  A good person would have someone to love her. You don’t have a lover? You must be a psychopath or something. Either that or you're ugly and fat. (I have to say, I scored high here.)

The amazing thing is, ladies are also pressured to have husbands before they turn 30. Beyond that and you have a slim chance of ever finding the love of your life. So my question is: why? Why is society so eager to pair up so-called soulmates to the point that some people settle?

Let’s count the reasons why.

(1)  Love is magical, when you find that someone you realize how incomplete you were from the beginning even when you’re pretty sure you were born with perfect limbs.

(2)  It’s scary to live alone from here on out.

(3)  You live as the loser who still resides with his/her parents and a dozen of cats without a hubby/wifey (Is that a thing? The wifey? I got red lines there).

(4)  According to romantic comedies and misinterpreted fairy tales, happily-ever-afters consist of kisses and weddings.

(5)  Kids are cute.

(6)  Species survival.

The last two I believe are the most logical reasons. The list is not exhaustive: go blame my grey matter and the fact that I experience society second-hand most of the time.

I just hate it. Even my father, after realizing that I can’t fry aubergine (Let me play pretend. Stop judging.) without running away from fright had this to say: I pity your husband. That’s also what he says whenever I can’t breathe without making whistling noises and inhaling in a pathetic manner: I pity the man who’s going to take care of you for the rest of your life.

Seriously, it’s like we signed a contract with inexistent (whoops) cupid or something. As a communication student, may we please use the Critical Theory? Why is this thinking dominant over living alone that the single ones have to suffer the same mockery from relatives, friends, and even teachers over and over and over? Here's what I have to tell you society: stop telling me what to do! Gah!