Buyer's BEWARE!!! Things you don't take for granted

Last Sunday, October 23, 2005, I had a bad experience with Ace hardware in SM Megamall. I was buying a multi-socket extension cord that was priced at 529.75 pesos. Since I happen to have used my credit card, I then realized after getting my receipt and signing the credit receipt that the item was not priced as printed. It was 20 pesos more when it was read through the bar code.

Actually, I don't mind if it is 20 pesos more expensive (in this case), BUT I do mind that the price placed on the item was different from the one in their bar code system. Looking back on this, I then wanted to blog this to point out two things.

1. Never take for granted the items that you buy and the total amount you pay. There are really some instances that a store may bill you improperly (intentionally or not). It was always my habit to always compute what I buy, especially when I do grocery. This is to make sure that when I get the total, it is approximately what I computed and it is part of my mental exercise (to keep my mind sharp). Unfortunately in this instance, I took it for granted.

2. How shops respond to such problems and desire for continuous improvement. When I went to the supervisor to air my irritation, I was surprised to hear from them, that they will just cancel my purchase. What the hell was that? I don't want to cancel my purchase, I want to have them correct the price that they gave me. Now I wonder if those suppose to be supervisors did something already to correct my complaint or they just left it as it is. Which leads me to my second point, most if not all local companies don't have systems that try to see and analyze complaints and act on them. This then makes consumers fall to such bad service and PAY the PRICE literally and figuratively.

So for those of you who like to do a lot of shopping. Be AWARE and BEWARE of such things that you might take for granted.

Blog out.....

Kitaro's New Dish: Salmon Maki

Last week during the Friday traffic madness that went with the 3 day sale of Robinson Boni, Robinson Ortigas and SM Mega, my gf and I had our stop over in Robinson Boni. For dinner we. tried out Kitaro, one of the Japanese Restos there.

My mom who had eaten in this resto before recommended a tofu dish which we liked. However, the one that captivated us with this resto is their new dish, Salmon Maki.
The taste was superb!!!!. Whoever is the Chef in this franchise Japanese Resto has definitely garnered a two thumbs up from me and Ana. It can be ordered either in 95 pesos or 140 pesos depending upon the number of pieces you will get.

The sauce and salmon together with the cucumber and sesame seeds gave a very good combination of sweetness and flavor to the maki. Quite exquisite that you want to order for more. :)

If you happen to see this resto and check out the food, I will recommend it based on my experience with them. A relatively large serving for their orders together with good food and a reaonable price. Now that I am blogging this... I am now craving for their maki. :)
Blog out.....

My long nights has paid off in Ateneo MBAH

To continue my blog yesterday, I had my last official class in Ateneo MBAH today. (October 15, 2005) I was eagerly and anxiously waiting for my consultation with my professor. She of course discussed her overall comments for all the papers and gave more recommendations for the format.

After that it was consultation time. And I was surprised to get a 3.75 over 4 (highest) for my partial paper!!!! WoW!!!!! as in WoW!!!!! I was so happy, ecstatic, jumping for joy and smiling. My hard days and nights work with almost no sleep for 4 days gave its fruit. :)

Of course, I could not have done it without the cooperation of the people I continuously asked for records, assistance and all the ways how to get data. Without them and the support of the hospital administration, definitely I could have not done it.

Now, I still need to do the last part of the paper. The strategies and hopefully make revisions in my paper to make it better. :)
After that, it is time for the last act of my term. Oral Defense in December or January 2006.

After all the work and hardship... it is almost over. :)

I also would like to thank my beloved love, Ana, for her undying support even with my bad mood during the making of this paper. Thanks honey.
And definitely without the guidance and blessing from the Almighty (being spiritual now), I won't be able to make this one.

But come to think about it, the harder part will be doing this in actual life in my hospital.
But that is another story to tell....

Blog out!!!

Staying up all night: When it is a choice or don't have a choice?

My last term for my Business Management in Health class is almost through. We will be having our last meeting tomorrow and it will be the official last class with my colleagues in Ateneo. We have been together for the past 7 terms that is almost two years plus 1 term. I am happy that it will be over in terms of having Saturday classes and get somewhat a regular weekend.

Now why is my blog title staying up all night. Well.... since this is my Strategic Management course... I had to make my Medical Business report and by December the oral defense. Now, since I have to make the paper, I almost did not sleep for 4 straight days just to make a good paper. (I hope so[fingers crossed]) I never realized how hard it is already to keep awake and still make sure I am as alert and sharp when doing the paper.

My last time to do this kind of "no sleeping" stuff is way back in medical training. Wow!!! that was sometime ago (years) and I have to be candid to say, I don't have the same stamina before in keeping myself wide awake. In this respect, I did not have a choice.

This then made me wonder... If I am going to do this kind of "no sleep" thing to do the stuff that I will enjoy, say have a grand party then this won't be a problem. I just seem to realize how it is so hard to keep awake if you don't have a choice and be able not to sleep at all if you like not too.

Can anyone give a suggestion on how to like to do a report and not fall asleep?

I am open to suggestions and who knows the one who can suggest a terrific solution might get a noble price. :)
Blog out....

Myth Busters of Discovery Channel: Two Thumbs up!

Discovery Channel have produced a nice series that prove or disprove myths. This is known as the Myth Busters. Two geeks, Adam and Jamie are the hosts as well as the myth busters. I am very much amused as well as learn from this show.
One of the things they busted is the cellphone causing a spark or explosion in a gasoline station. Local newspapers and even email caused a lot of concern regarding news of exploding stations due to cellphone use. Well, after watching this series, it was just.... a myth.

Try to check it out and I assure you, you will be entertained on how they systematically make their experiments. It is definitely a laboratory experiment with entertainment value.

Mercedes Benz Mixed Tape selection: A Free set of MP3 songs

When I got my first iPod about a year and a half ago, I was thinking of how to fill up the 20 gig capacity with songs. I have converted all my CD selection and yet it only occupied 1/4 of the capacity. (I have a small collection) And then at about the same time, I stumbled upon the Mixed tape collection of Mercedes Benz (MB).

They give a set of 15 free MP3 music that you can download. A new set of MP3 collection is given by MB every 8 to 10 weeks. It is now on its 9th set. The download file ranges from 90 meg to 110 megs. Definitely something to look forward to get and add to my music collection.

Just make sure your pop-up blockers for your web browser is turned off in order to complete the download. Hope you enjoy the music. Happy listening. :)

$100 Laptop for Children, Can it be possible to get it for our Country?

Nicholas Negroponte Chairman and founder of MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) introduced the $100 dollar laptop. BBC news posted this news last September 29, 2005. This would be used for their project One Laptop for Child which will make children from developing countries have access to a computer.


The unique feature of this laptop is that it can be connected to an AC outlet or you can charge the battery by cranking up the handle of the laptop to charge it. It will run on Linux and is internet and network ready. I do hope that this laptop will create some interest to a local Filipino social entrepreneur or philantropist who will make it possible to reach the children in the provinces and remote areas.

A good example here are the children in Benguet wherein we gave some books and school supplies before for their use. They walk several kilometers everyday just to have class. There is only one teacher for all levels. Having this with them will greatly help in their education and hopefully make them have a better future.

My dream here is that a non-profit, non-stock group be able to get these laptops and have it distributed to these children in the remote provinces. Then have SMART,Globe, Sun cellular or PLDT give free access to make sure they have the capability to connect to the internet. If Mr. Negroponte has his dream, this is mine for our country.

The children are our future and making this dream to reality will definitely make the country's future more hopeful. If you have any ideas on how to make this dream for our country happen, please let me know.

Blog out.

State of Medical Learning

As I was making my patient rounds in the hospital, a medical intern was assisting me. Since I am fond of giving teaching rounds, I asked some questions to her in order to stimulate her medical analytical thinking. WOW!!!! I was instead surprised on how much these medical interns go to the hospital and know.... aahhhh... oohhhh... aahhhh.... Did that drive the point?

I would have been more understanding if this is her first month, but after rotating to the medical department wherein neurology is included, I was shocked that they are not even familiar with the reason behind the particular medicines that are given on such patients. I even asked her if she read and gone through the basic equipments in our rehabilitation department. After 1.5 weeks she was just able to check and read some. After that I stopped lecturing. I felt frustrated.

This is not the only case. I also had my faculty staff meeting in the PT College yesterday. The staff are so much disappointed with the 3rd year because they don't even read their books. They rely only on handouts or lecture notes given to them by the medical lecturer. They study by memorizing and not even knowing the rationale (which is important in medicine) of why it is the procedure or management to be done. What is more disturbing is that these students are even complaining that they are being pushed to read. Duh!!!!!!!

Is this the present state of the general population of students? Are they just content in doing trivial things and not taking seriously their would be profession. What is sad to see is that their parents are sweating blood and tears just to make them finish and they don't even try to make it a worthy effort in reciprocating.

What have we done to the new generation? Filipino young blood who don't give a (censored) on what they need to be responsible about.

Teaching them starts at home. I do hope we teach our own children the value of education and the value of having values.
So which one are you?

Blog out...

September Birthday Bash

As the month of September ends, I am quite surprised to see that those who are dear to me are all jam packed in one month to celebrate their birthday. And due to my so hectic schedule I even forgot to greet one. Gosh!!! I should be burned to the stake. Hahahaha!

But as a offering of peace, I am greeting her and the rest in my blog.
First and foremost. Ms. Merci Guilas A very dear friend of mine who I met when I joined my mountaineering group in 1998. She became my very close friend when I was in tough times. And this I owe her my friendship and my loyalty. She kept me sane in my insane state. :) And of all the persons that I missed to greet, it is her. Sorry Merci. But definitely, I will be there always for you. Happy Birthday.

Second. Two of my college classmates in UST PT. Dr. Maita Senadrin and Dr. Grace Ang-De Guzman. They are good classmates of mine. We are still in contact with each other even after college and medicine and residency. We refer patients to one another. Actually they refer more to me than me to them. :) But they are great friends who I treasure very much. Happy Birthday!

Third. Ms. Rheena Buenaventura who was my PT staff in the hospital before she went to the US. Someone who is "kachika" (easy to chat with). Owe her one since I was not able to meet with her when she went back here in Manila. Wow, I have a lot of things to settle with people. Hahaha!!!. Someone who is dear to me and I wish her the best. Happy Birthday!

Fourth and not the least. Ms. Gemma Javier is my internship coordinator in the PT school where I am the dean. A very dependable, reliable and close colleague and friend. She deserves the best and I hope in God's good time, she will find the right one for her. God Bless and Happy Birthday!!!

Blog out.....

CDR King is truly King!!

One of the best things that are found here in the Philippines are good and relatively cheap computer medium/data storage. One of the outlet stores that exemplify this is CDR King. They have a wide range of CD/DVD products but also have good and cheap mice, some inkjet refills, CD sleeves, etc.

They have many outlets in Manila as well as Cebu, Pampanga, Baguio, Bulacan and Davao. Why am I putting them on my blog? Definitely this is not a paid advertisement but simply to let you blog readers know where to find a good buy. The very item I am so happy about is their own Flash Drive.


I have been scouting for the past weeks for a good and affordable flash drive since I am planning to give that to my staff this coming Christmas. And I am surprised that they offer their 128 Meg thumb drives at only 680 pesos. If I get in volume, they can still give some discount.

One thing I am happy about with their product is the fact that even in their manual, it has detailed instructions and FAQ not only for the Windows OS but even for Macintosh OS. Wow! Glad to see a product that supports both since one usually sees items that are geared only for the Windows OS.

Bought one for my staff since she will be having her birthday this end of September. I do hope she will like it. It will be definitely be very useful for her faculty files.

Now, where are my old floppies? :)
Blog out......

3 Week Hiatus and Aissa's blog

As usual, the past 3 weeks was a very hectic schedule for me. Deadline for my final masters paper, deadline for my entrepreneur paper, deadline for my medical association projects makes my whole body move back and forth. I do not even know where to start and even end. Now this October, I will be having a lot of meetings again. I definitely need a good R&R after all this. I do hope I can still find the time to again update my blog.
--
Of a different topic. My co-PinoyMac member Aissa has a very nice blog. Do visit it at aissa.blogdrive.com

Till next time. Cheers!!!

This Week in Tech: One of my favorite podcasts

Podcasting have been growing in popularity particularly with the iTunes Music store supporting such endeavors. One of the tech podcasts that I find very entertaining is This Week In Tech. It usually runs around an hour of podcasting hosted by the well know tech guys such as
Leo Laporte,
Patrick Norton ,
John C. Dvorak to name a few.

The podcast usually discusses the weeks news but with each persons opinion. The thing that makes it enticing to listen to is the very entertaining way they discuss things. It is not so much heavy in terms on listening to how to's or step by step thing but more on the way technology is affecting us in real life.

The best thing is that they now go from using skype to communicate with each other from doing it on a live audience (Episode 21) in an Apple Store. After listening to it, I would say the show have made it good even though they don't have paid advertisements.
For the podcast and its concept. Two Thumbs up!!!

Movie Trailers: Shows to look forward to see

One of my past time is watching movies. Either at home watching a VCD/DVD movie or simply going out and watching it on the Big Screen. It is for me a form of relaxation. Since I have a very hectic schedule, I often not see the new coming movies in the newspaper or in TV.

So here comes one of internet's "Godsent" website. Apple Movie Trailers give an extensive lineup of upcoming movies as well as former movies. It gives me a sneek peak on the latest would be shows. Just like AeonFlux wherein Charlize Theron (one of my favorites) plays the role. This will be shown in December 2005.

Either in windows or mac format, you can view the trailers. All you need to do is have quiktime in you computer(Windows download or Mac download). You won't regret it, it is definitely a nice site to see potential movies to watch. So as we say in our own language, "Tara na, manood na tayo." Happy viewing!!!!

Leo Laporte: My Favorite Tech guy

I remember the days in TechTV when Leo Laporte and Patrick Norton would be doing their tech-geek stuff on a weekly basis. I love so much the show due to their very light yet full of content style of presentation. Unlike other shows who are so serious, these guys were excellent hosts and tech gurus.

But as for all shows, it was not meant to last. Gone are the days that I savor watching their show. Now after a few years, the iPod revolution came in and there also came the podcasting. I was so fortunate to know that Leo is back in KFI the tech guy. Now even though I don't see him in TV at least I have the chance to listen to him in his podcasts.

I find his website (click on the title) very informative and useful particularly to the Windows users in terms of security and to the Mac users who like to add more nice cool programs.

Thus I want to share to you this great tech guy in our time. It helped me a lot and I do hope it also helps you.
Happy Computing!!!!

Reminiscing my Mountaineering Days

When I finished my specialty training in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in 1997, I was so sick and tired of being confined in the hospital for the X number of years of training and duties. This lead me to seek the outside and go into more adventures. This lead me to go mountain hiking and joined a group Metropolitan Mountaineering Society.



My almost regular monthly adventures to different mountains and provinces in our country was one of the best years of my life. I enjoyed the company of my colleagues in mountaineering. I found one of my best loves (unfortunately it did not work out), and I found my passion to make sure that I live up to the challenge of scaling our mountains. From Mt. Pulag to Mt. Apo, Mt. Kanlaon to Mt. Banahaw, how I wish I can climb again.

After 2 years of hiatus due to my masters class, I am planning to relive my adventures once I have successfully accomplished my masters thesis.

If you plan to climb or just want to see the beauty of nature click on the links and then decide. As for me, once a mountaineer, always a mountaineer. And the links above are my favorites to relive my trekking days.

TipicPC a computer "Buy and Sell" in the Philippines

What a hectic week but as I promised I will be posting some of my favorite sites while surfing the net. Since I am a computer and gadget lover I have to recommend one that does an online "Buy and Sell" in the country. This is TipidPc.

I can't exactly remember how I found out about the site but it has been a great place for me to hunt down bargain prices for some computer equipments that I need both for my personal and office use. I have been able to even sell some of my stuff here.
The nice thing about the community/forum is that sellers and buyers have a profile and feedback section. The ones you have dealt with can give feedback on your credibility. This gives a first time buyer an assessment of the particular character of the seller/buyer.

Another great feature is the ability of the user to bookmark the items you are following. This minimizes searches for you especially if you are canvassing for an item who has many sellers.
One of my best finds here is the 2.5 firewire/usb enclosure that is not available locally. Another good buy is a fully working Epson dot matrix printer for only 1000 pesos. Of course one should have the determination and persistence to always check out new updates.

The site is a windows/pc dominant buy and sell site but you will be able to see also some Mac based equipments. Again just be diligent to browse around the sections.

So if you plan to canvass for some hard to find items or good bargain offers try it out. You just have to register in order to access their buy and sell community.
Happy hunting!!!

Date with my Mom

My Monday was a slow day. Since it is a holiday today, I was not pressured so much in my time sched on my clinics.
What was different today was that I got to get a chance to be with my mom.

You see it will be her birthday this Tuesday, Aug 30. It will be her 72nd birthday. Still very active and does not want to be told to not do anything. She prefers to always do something or work at home.She went back with me to Manila since I went home to Bulacan in the afternoon for my clinic. And in SM North we got to have dinner together.

I am so blessed to have a mom who at her age still is quite active. I just thought to myself that spending time with her is great. This was reinforced when I was informed that the mom of my classmate in Ateneo and even the mom of my prof was hospitalized. I am praying for their fast recovery. I also had a patient referred to me who was also confined due to a stroke.

This made me think that with such time given to me with my mom, it is best to cherish and appreciate the time spent with her.
I just don't want in the end that when she is not with us anymore, it is then the time that I will wish that I should have spent more with her.

How about you, have you spent your time with your love ones? Do it now or you might not get that chance anymore.

Weekend Recap

My weekend was jam packed. Saturday was a full day in school. I listened and took a video recording of our STRAMA (Strategic Management) class. Since the discussion was regarding our paper for the subject, I thought of taking a video of it and used it as a reference.

Actually, it was way of making use of my ibook and imovie connected to my

2.5 macally enclosure with my 60 gig HD via Firewire. My Sony HC40 videocamera is then connected to the macally to daisy chain the units.
I set iMovie to record the class directly to the enclosure.
By lunch time, I finalized the arrangement of the clips and converted it to QT movie for my classmates to take home too.
Then had another class in the afternoon.

But that is just the start.
By Sat evening, me and my girlfriend went to the PinoyMac 2nd anniversary at Pier One ortigas. The get together was great. Met some new and not so new members. Placed a face on their avatars. Luckily I won a GC worth 200 pesos for bombproof equipment. Thanks to Jay who is the owner of the shop. :)
Howevere, I did not like Pier One. Unfortunately since they offer wifi the party was there. But the food in my opinion sucks.... I wish they make the food better. And as for the service, I do hope they make it better too. The staff need a lot of training regarding how to handle themselves when there is a lot of people. (They don't like people- I think).

Then Sunday came and went to the Philmug Photo shoot meet. DJ hosted the meet and the ones who gave the talk on camera tips are great. However, when it was time to shoot in UP, me and my gf had to go ahead to do some shopping.

Now as the week comes in, this will be a MORE hectic one since I have to finish my paper deadline next saturday.
But as the week was ending, I have already thought of what my theme will be for this week. It will be my own personal favorites in the web.

So stay tuned.

Bogus cheap price for a laptop

My brother recently bought a HP NX6120 Notebook PC for his medical needs.

At a price of approximately 43,000 pesos (~770 dollars) that seems to be a good buy. But I then found out that the unit does not come with a Windows XP operating system. You have to buy that separately which is an additional 5000 pesos.
Personally, I really don't get the idea of why Philippine computer resellers here are selling such laptops without an operating system included. They want to show the price is low but without an OS.

Come on people. Who are the marketing people behind this? You want to give a false belief that it is cheap?
And the other wierd thing is, my brother had to download the HP drivers needed specifically for this unit. Wow and it should have been bundled at least.

I dont know who to blame here but come on laptop companies, what are you doing? By the way, HP is not the only one doing it. IBM also with their Thinkpad R50e.

In the end, the end user gets cheated away with this deal.

Topsy Turvy Life

It is so hard to work in a multi-tasking world. That is my world. As a physician I go to my clinics everyday. Not only that, I also handle a paramedical College that I attend to and manage at the least thrice a week. Aside from that, I go to my province (1hour from Manila) twice a week to see patients too.
Now I also need to be home before 9 PM daily since I also help manage my mom's store beside my residence. That leaves me a few hours to do..... ummmmm.... my gosh..... I cant do anything anymore....
Oh.... I did forget to mention that I also go to my masters course in Ateneo every Saturday the whole day..

Now when I reach my house... I cant call it my home since it seems it is my workplace too... I am just too paralyzed to do anything anymore. And the other bad thing is.... I cant get to sleep early since I have my sleep cycle all wacked.... That causes me to wake up late in the morning... Oh.... I cant wake up late... I still have to open the store too....


Wow, I am definitely not in the best of moods today. I guess I am nearing the stage of being burnt out.

Before when one of the nuns who handle the religious section in our school advocates silent retreats and when I also took the leadership class in Ateneo, I was introduced to the reflection in silence. I saw onetime that there is a retreat done in Ateneo that will go on a 30 no speaking/silent retreat.

Wish I could do that... I am not sure if I can finish it, but definitely I will be needing a lot of time for me to just be silent and hear silence for just even a short period of a few days.

I really need one badly....

end blog

Hello Blogging!

I never realized that Blogging needs discipline and commitment a lot.
You see this is not my first blog experience. I had one in another service but unfortunately I was not able to follow it up since April 2005. This was due to a lot of work in the hospital, school and my master studies in Ateneo.
Now when I went back. My blog site is Deactivated!!!!
So sad to realize that I have to visit it and log it every 30 days.
Learn from experience and go on.
Now that I found Blogger.com I have 2 wishes.
1. Hope I enjoy my experience with Blogger (I am sure about this. :) )
and
2. I take a few minutes at the least every week to update my blog.

The previous long blogs I did before took so much time that of course in the end I was not able to continue.
My present objective to make it consistent is have short and concise blogs

So wish me luck.

Cheers!!!!