Working my *** off

Attending a press conference while editing and writing. Photo by CallMeCreation.com

I was working my ass off last week until late last night. Would you believe that I still edited a story at 11 pm while I was having a Zoom drinking session (e-numan) with friends? That’s how insane last week was.

I just wanted to curl up in bed today but I had to go to my hometown to fetch one of my girls as she got homesick. She says she misses me and the cats. Her sister stayed since she wanted to be with her grandma and cousins. And she wanted to ride the bike. Until MECQ (a.k.a. more lax lockdown) is still being implemented, we can’t ride our bikes here for leisure. UP is still closed to outsiders (i.e. joggers, bikers, etc). So my other daughter is better off staying with her grandma so she can somehow ride her bike near our house.

Tomorrow is my second vaccine dose. I read on my newsfeeds that some people’s reactions after the second shot are worse than when they had their first. Most of them complained of terrible non-stop headaches and body pain. Gee, I wonder how sick will I be tomorrow evening until Monday.

Meanwhile, ABS-CBN burned Duterte with this quote:

For context:

The end… New beginning

Globe still hasn’t gotten back to me. I already asked the bots to cancel my subscription. After several tries, their FM messenger bot told me:

For permanent disconnection, request should be coming from the account holder or authorized representative only. Also, if the account is still within the lock up period, there will be a pre-termination fee Php4,500.00 plus amount equivalent to two (2) months of your monthly subscription.

They give me crappy service ans I would still have to pay PHP 9,500 to end my relationship with them. 🤬

I know I’m past my lock-in period of 24 months since I’ve been here in this apartment for almost 3 yrs already. I’m still having this terminated. But no customer service rep is contacting me. My bill is still running 🤦🏻‍♀️

So yesterday, Converge finally arrived within 24 hrs of my application.

Photo by CallMeCreation.com

The installation is pretty smooth and I got my verrrry fast internet within the day.

I have no more excuse. My video calls and video streaming would be seamless. I can also stream HD videos from my side as well but I don’t have a 4k video camera so it doesn’t matter.

Meanwhile, I downgraded my Smart Postpaid plan after my lock-in period lapsed. I was entitled to have a new phone if I renewed my contract but I opted out since I don’t like my phone to be locked only to Smart because I use my Starhub SIM when I travel abroad. So I only got the SIM-only plan for 10 GB a month that can be rolled over. I never ran out of data for the month since I have internet at home so my data is rolled over and I get a total of 20GB a month. I saved PHP 500. Plus I get a free Netflix mobile subscription for the duration of my 2-yr contract with them. Haha! So now I have my own Netflix account that I don’t have to share with my girls.

Yep, I finally had the courage to watch Netflix again. And this time it’s The Way of the Househusband. 😂 It’s shallow, it’s comedy but I enjoy it.

I’m laughing again.

They have names and faces

Today I lost another colleague to suspected Covid. It was too late when he got to the hospital. Those who are dying because of this disease are in my Facebook network. The dead now have names and faces, they’re no longer just numbers. Death has come closer to home. I have memories of them and with them.

The colleague from my old TV network is still in the hospital but thankfully he and his wife are not intubated. But their problem is the skyrocketing hospital bill.

My newsfeeds have become an online obituary of sorts. I’m tired of saying condolence. And I continue to have this fear that the people I love the most would contract this disease.

Reset

I got news that ex-colleague, JG, from my former TV network has turned for the worse and is now confined in one of the hospitals here in Metro Manila.

Another colleague of mine, T, and I were exchanging news about our ex-colleague-now-covid-patient. I told her that I may be able to donate to his fundraising only when my salary comes in because my extra money for charity was spent for milk for the orphanage in Manila that is under lockdown due to a high number of COVID-19 cases. Then T said, it’s kinda sad that it has already come down to this, that we just have to rely on one another because we can’t get help from the government. I told her that this pandemic has taught us privileged people that we are the safe harbor for those who are drowning and lost at sea.

“This pandemic has caused so much disruption,” she lamented.

“Yes but I think of this as a sort of reset for everyone. So that we, the privileged people, would finally realize what we are here for,” I told her.

“And this pandemic has taken almost everything from me. All I got are my kids. And that is enough,” I added.

This pandemic also shown us what are the most important things in life? I was taught that it’s my children and myself. It taught me to love these three people more.

Today, in a series of screencaps

Let’s start by saying, yes, we still don’t have Internet and Globe doesn’t have any plans of fixing it.

After inundating their Facebook bot with my complaints several times a day.

So of course, there’s no phone call or whatever feedback after four hours. I’m not actress Liza Soberano, who would just complain about her Internet connection on Twitter, the telcos would come to the rescue within the day.

Yesterday the Secretary of Foreign Affairs tweeted a series of profanity-laden outbursts vs China. Which is highly suspect because this is the same guy who let Filipino fishers drown when they were sabotaged by Chinese intruders in our own seas, saying stupid things to appease the Chinese overlords. Thank God for the Vietnamese fishermen who rescued the Pinoy fishermen.

This really goes to show there is an orchestrated scripted anti-China rhetoric to appease the military that is ready to stage a coup d’etat against Duterte. I want Duterte out but I don’t want us to be the next Myanmar.

Wheeeee! Photo by CallMeCreation.com

I decided to ride the bike tomorrow and skip it today since my brain was already fried by 5 pm. So to help me sleep well tonight, I took out one bottle of vodka for a nightcap. But here I am still alive and blogging.

And yes, alcohol ban is lifted in my city. Hurrah!

Haunted

UP Naming Mahal, pamantasang hirang. Photo by CallMeCreation.com

Hello Darkness, my old friend

I’ve come to talk with you again

Because a vision softly creeping

Left its seeds while I was sleeping

And the vision that was planted in my brain still remains

Within the sound of silence

Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel

Had a very bad night last night and I don’t want to be alone with my thoughts again so I rode my bike at 7 pm to catch some breeze.

Photo by CallMeCreation.com

I cycled around a bit but that didn’t give me enough cardio exercise so I locked my bike at the guard station and walked around and round University Avenue. And looked at the stars while I listened to music saved on my phone. I wondered about the night sky and how nice it would be to view it by the beach where there would be less light pollution. The northeast monsoon (amihan) is perfect season for diving. I shook my head to rid me of those thoughts.

Nice walk, almost no people. Photo by CallMeCreation.com

I needed to exhaust myself so I won’t spend the rest of the night thinking. I need to do this tomorrow, and the next day, amd the next…

As my colleague and friend told me, live for yourself and your children.

“Hindi man lang siya naghabol,” sabi nya.

Ano pa bang sampal ng realidad ang kelangan ko para matapos na to?