Friday, December 19

Is having a Postpaid plan the way to live these days?

This entry is like a continuation of what I have written in my blog post, I think a month ago (read it here ).

Another issue we have now is if one of us should maintain a postpaid service to be in contact most of the time. What we have been doing for the past few months is to re-charge our SIM with credits from the sari-sari store or buy a re-charge card for us to use... for half of the month.

photo grabbed from www.globe.com.ph


To be honest, since I am at home most of the time, I do not need the charge unless of course I had to go out or I need to call someone who is not on Viber, Whatsapp or Facebook. Highly unlikely but that happens most especially when family members (like my mom) who frequents malls and is not home most of the time. Her not being home means she does not have wifi access around hence the need to call her from time to time.
I use this app a lot to communicate with my mom and relatives abroad 

Another thing is when you need to call landline numbers and I always end up going to the reliable sari-sari store to ring someone who doesn't have a mobile phone or does not allow us to contact someone directly (like going through a customer hotline).

A note I had for myself when I had to call a service hotline

A friend suggested to get the lowest postpaid package possible but should also be beneficial to us. I have been thinking about it because as I have mentioned previously, landline numbers and/or postpaid accounts can get you a credit card.

Not that we need it or even want to but there are times when the only option to pay is via a Mastercard or Visa.

Also, when we were in Dubai, I had a postpaid line because of the data package it provides. However here in the Philippines, the data package is quite expensive (I do not want to talk about that issue right now because that deserves another blog post) so that was the reason I hesitated.

Now, I have re-think our position about that front and maybe it will benefit us.

Thursday, December 18

Twitter Lists

I have been a Twitter user for the longest time. I like the fact that I can express myself in 140 words but at the same time would rack my brains on how to 'really' express myself in 140 words?!

Over time, I have followed and unfollowed a lot of Twitter users because some end up ranting a lot that it's not healthy, others ended up being a tweeting advert of the products being promoted while some just do not tweet at all (I guess they got tired when the post button does not work if you go over 140).



I like Twitter because you get creative on how to say what you mean in that word count! To date, I think I am following about 200+ Twitter addicts and it is beginning to be difficult to keep track of the people you follow. Because aside from their usual tweet, you will also be getting the tweets they have retweeted and they have marked as a favorite.

That is a good thing too but at times, I feel that most of my timeline now is just about retweets, favorites and adverts :( No real person really tweeting about what they think or feel.

At times, I don't open my Twitter app anymore because no conversations are being made there anymore. While browsing through my page, I decided to explore the lists that I have made. Lo and Behold, I had a light bulb moment, I can use those to keep track of the things I want to read or know about. I decided to reinstate my "Twitter Lists" and updated the users on it too.

This got me excited that I have now found a new way to connect and re-connect! :)

You can see more of me at Twitter again! In case, you just want to chat or have a conversation, tweet me at @rach_alarcon.





Wednesday, December 10

Comfort and Style brought to you by Mandaue Foam

In order to get a good night sleep, you should be one with your mattress.

Our old mattress was a hand me down from my brother. Their family has been getting bigger and bigger every year and they needed to have a bed that can fit all of them should the kids decide they don't want to sleep in their own room.

I gladly accepted it because we were only vacationing once a year so I didn't think that we need to get a new mattress only for it to be covered with dust or household insects after a year. R and I were not that comfortable but it was better rather than not having a bed to sleep on. This was around two to three years ago.

Fast forward to October 2014, I noticed that I cannot sleep well at night. My back was always sweaty and R said he feels like he is about to fall from his side of the bed. We decided to do a bit of investigation to remedy the situation. We have turned our bed around and also checked why am I getting a sweaty back all the time.

It turns out the bed has a leather cover and on top of that a synthetic cover which is why it was hot when you lie on your back or side or front. I just shrugged my shoulders and say, okay maybe when the weather gets colder, it will get better.

It did not. I want a new mattress.

I have been eyeing the Mandaue Foam website when I was still in Dubai. I even followed them through Facebook and Instagram. Even before when they were not as famous as they are now, I do see quality pieces of furniture. I remember being told that their main selling point in their business is their mattresses and I kept that in mind till now.

So imagine my excitement and it really felt like God answered our prayers when they had a 20% discount sale for mattresses (Thanks to my mom). On the date that they started the sale, we trooped to Mandaue's newest showroom at Shaw Boulevard and checked their offers.

We went from one bed into another. Laid down side by side and moved around each bed they have to offer. We fell in love with this.
screenshot of the bed from Mandaue Foam's website

This is actually a late post because we have been enjoying this mattress for a month now. We made the right choice. When the mattress was delivered to us and we had it in our bed, I woke up at around 10 in the morning (in our old bed, it was usually 7:30 or sometimes 6am because my back was already sweaty since the aircon is on automatic switch off).

I love the comfort this mattress brings and their delivery service was also exceptional. They have been giving us updates about the delivery schedule. I know I might sound like a commercial to you but I do commend them for their service at the showroom up to the delivery.

Now you do not have to just take my word for it but you can also have the Mandaue experience as they are now having another sale!



It's not too late for more Christmas shopping for your home! :)

You can also visit the Mandaue Foam website (https://www.mandauefoam.ph). Please note that this is my personal post and is not an advert.  

Tuesday, December 2

Finding your Focus and Purpose

I now have a normal routine that I kind of want to break... yes, sadly I need to.

My morning starts with me saying a prayer to the Creator followed by browsing through Facebook and Instagram.
the two social media apps that make people around the world stay up... all the time!

If R does not give me "that" look, I can probably end up going through these two social sites for the rest of the morning.

After that (depends on my mood), I will again start bidding for projects online. Hoping to finally get some work that does not let me leave home.

So, whilst doing my routine, I chance upon a website that was shared by one of my Facebook friends, theprayingwoman.com

It drew me to read more about the devotional for today (imagine, I saw that post in the morning and up until tonight - time check 10:45pm, I still have the site open).

The title of the devotional is 'When God's Reasons Become Oh So Clear'. As I read through the devotional, I time travelled to when R and I were discussing about our "for good" plan. I have been putting it off for the longest time, almost 5 years to be honest.

click here to read the devotional

I keep giving R reasons as to why we can't go. It was because we were still paying off the house... then I said maybe we can wait for me to reach a certain tenure in the company... then I said we need to save up because we will need X amount of money in order for us to survive without employment and my list goes on and on.

Despite all those, we still went with our decision to go home and we did. I believe this chapter in our life involves God. When we were still in the Middle East, I keep praying and asking God if this is also what He wants us to do. Is this His plan for us, to go home?

In the devotional, one of the points mentioned was to keep our focus on God and not to lose faith on Him. I think as human beings, we always want to be able to have a fool-proof plan of our future. However, this is not the case with God. He wants us not to lose sight of Him and in turn, He will lead us to the place of our milk and honey, our paradise.

It was said that if you have a peace of mind on the plan that you have decided on, it means that it is also God's plan.

That is what I felt.

Right now, I am still trying to understand what is God now trying to tell us about the next step. What are we meant to do here in the Philippines.

I want Him to guide us on what and how we should lead our lives. I am seeking for wisdom and courage to understand and know what is in store for us. I also ask for patience because believe you me, it is hard to be idle when you know you want to do something!

images were grabbed from the following:- 
http://www.forbes.com/companies/facebook/
http://busyevent.com/unleashing-power-instagram-event/

screenshot was from:-
http://theprayingwoman.com






Raving for Rita's

I have been reading about Rita's and actually saw the sign being set up a few weeks back when we were in Greenhills. The place where the store is situated was not a fortunate spot for the previous store so I was actually thinking that Rita's might have the same fate.

I guess I was wrong.

I passed by the store again and there was a long queue of people wanting to try what they have to offer. I said to myself, it can just be a fad like some of the little shops that have sprouted before.

I was wrong again!

Reading from Spot.ph, the store was a hit in the United States. It started out as a small store which has expanded all throughout the country. The co-owner, Ted Castro says there is nothing like it in the country. Very true.

My sister, being a foodie herself (I think) asked my mom and I to try Rita's. To be honest, the stingy side of me was contemplating whether to give it a try or not. I was thinking if the PHP 130 was worth it for an ice cream custard?

Eventually, we reached our destination and good thing there were not a lot of people inside. There was a good flow of customers coming in and out of the store. It only has a few seating inside but they have extended their seating outside (behind the store, away from the car pollution - a plus point for me!).

I decided to stick to the basics and ordered a Gelati. I tried their mango ice with vanilla custard.


This was my order

The size was actually reasonable for its price. Obviously not reading so much of the write-up on the website (teehee), I thought that the base was all ice and the custard on top. I was surprised to see that the base was actually custard too! It was not that sweet for me, it was just right. However, if you think you need to watch your sugar level, they also offer sugar-free Italian ice (I might try that next time to try if it will sacrifice the taste of the whole ensemble). 

My sister had the Blendini. 


I wasn't sure what her set of order was because I only heard the bit about the chocnut or was it choc full of nuts but it sure did taste like chocnut to me! :) 

It was nice and very light (we had those before dinner, imagine!). 

When I reached home, I still want to have some more of Rita's! Now, I wonder how I can convince R to give it a try... (",)