Future-proofing against Windows 11

Posted on July 26, 2021 by admin

Ooh yeah so I needed to upgrade some hardware to be able to cope with Windows 11, which would f*ck me up when I shift to it. Because company IT may ask us to do it sooner or later since support for Win 10 will end 4 years from now. And our entire system is unfriendly to non-Microsoft users. Integration with my Android phone is pretty bad, but it’s worse with Mac OS and iPhone. Linux? Don’t get me started.

I opened up the Acer gaming laptop I hijacked from J and cleaned its guts. Look at that exhaust fan. Ugh. I used a thin but stiff paintbrush to clean it and all the vents. I used my vacuum cleaner (good thing I bought a rechargeable one and ditched my old clunky one) to clean the rest of my laptop-turned-desktop’s innards.

Then I checked the RAM slot if I can still add. It currently has 8GB, which is decent for Windows 10.

I still can, so I ordered another 8GB DDR3, 1600 Mhz SODIMM RAM stick fron Lazada and I think by next week I can already plug it in that second slot.

The laptop runs on Core i5 5th gen (we’re already on the 11th gen; my new laptop is 10th gen) but I think it will still be all right. When Microsoft says min specs should be 4GB, that means you have to have 8GB of RAM for your computer to be serviceable, 16GB for it to be comfortable. I remember they said minimum for Windows 8.1 was 2GB and my hybrid tablet only had that and was running on Intel Atom. It was killing me. I had to run Outlook on it and MS Teams and it was freezing. All. The. Time. I only bought that thing as a backup to my Asus when I worked in Japan for two weeks in 2017. Which was wise of me because my Asus became temperamental during the most critical time.

Anyway, I spent majority of my Sunday (yesterday) poking into laptops. I just installed a fresh copy of Ubuntu in another laptop that my househelp uses for her online school.

Then the rest of yesterday was spent on revenge shopping. So don’t ask me how I ended up buying a new area rug and new pillows. 🤦🏻‍♀️ I only intended to buy a gas regulator for my LPG tank.

*At least now the bigger rug will not roll and unroll and get displaced all the time because the wheels would no longer catch the edge of the rug*. *Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

Speaking of which, I thought it was my regulator that’s problematic. It turns out it’s my stove! It’s a Rinnai stove, by that Japanese MNC whose gas stoves are so ubiquitous in Japan. But then that stove suffered so much abuse that it’s about time that I retire it.

I am now eyeing this model that is common in Japanese kitchens, the one with an oven to cook fish and a grill on top.

I no longer have to grill skewered meat outside. Or yakitori. Or dried squid. But then no one is eating dried squid here anymore… So dried fish is it then; I could shred and make an olive oil-based pasta dish.

Habit

Posted on July 18, 2021 by admin

*Well, I was able to lie on my back on one of the benches before the guards came to shoo us away. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

Something is really wrong with my sleeping pattern. So on weekdays it’s rare that I get to sleep before 12 am. But during the weekend my body compensates by making me sleep almost the entire day for two days. I wasn’t able to do anything. Sleep deficit really sabotages my plans for the weekend.

I really must instill good sleeping habits for myself or else I will crash. The problem is my mind is very active at night; it simply refuses to lie low.

Anyway, because I promised my girls we will be biking today, I pulled my butt out of my bed despite the protests staged by every cell of my body. We went out at 4:20 pm… Which was still hot.

*I finally was able to convince Twin A to bike with us. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

*It’s just us. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

*We later proceeded to Enriquez vegetable shop. Those in my bags are veggies and fruits good for 3-4 days. After which I need to shop again. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

And as I promised Twin I, we would be grilling steak tonight. To celebrate what? I don’t know. Our family. The three of us and the cats. I just regret that I cannot provide them with a good male role model whom they can look up to.

*I used the Korean portable stove because it was very late and we’re starving. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

*Well, not bad. There’s less smokiness though, compared to using charcoal.* *Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

I was forced to use the portable stove because we got home at past 6:30 pm and I no longer had the strength to start a fire and grill using charcoal. It turned out fine but the smokiness is less as expected but this is much faster.

I think I will add this to my Lazada cart by next week or so. I almost ruined the burner of the current one I’m using. Good thing after cleaning and much cajoling on my part, the Korean burner finally worked. But I won’t tempt fate again so I’ll use a proper gas-fired griller. I can also bring this when we go camping.

Another week. Another battle ahead.

Because Saturdays

Posted on July 10, 2021 by admin

*Soybean paste soup with rehydrated kelp, soft tofu, enoki mushrooms. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

We didn’t go out today because I tried fixing and cleaning my six-year-old LG refrigerator. And it took all my energy and it knocked me out by 2:30 pm. It was leaking again so I guess one of the drain tubes got clogged again, same as last year. I tried contacting the repairman but he never responded. So I took matters into my own hands and tried to do what that guy told me to do when this happens again.

As of this hour it hasn’t leaked yet so yey for that. If my fix didn’t address the issue in the coming days, then I guess I have to make that trip to Anson’s in Cash and Carry Makati and buy that Hitachi fridge. If not the Panasonic one.

I need a bigger freezer since we make fridge cakes and ice cream at home.

I read in an FB group about money saving hacks that you can go to Anson’s in Cash and Carry to haggle the sticker price if you pay cash and if you ask nicely ( for a manager’s discount). I know enterprises need to push out inventory as fast as they could and if inventory doesn’t move in xx days/months, they’re losing money. The brands I’m going for are not as popular as Condura/Samsung/LG so I can try my luck. If I can bring it down by PHP 5,000 then I’m good.

Meanwhile, I also need to visit a paint center and check if I can match the color of my closets, which is close to between light blue and Tiffany Blue. Because cats. I patched the scratches with filler but that means I need to cover the wood-colored filler with paint. If I can’t match it, then I would have to sand everything, put a primer, and paint it with teal or light blue.

I’m keeping myself busy so I don’t live inside my head. It’s the most dangerous thing for me these days. If a raw nerve gets plucked, just like last week, it results into basura days.

The IATF has now allowed children above 5 years old to go outdoors but not in malls, restaurants, or any enclosed space. Which is the right thing to do because Indonesia is suffering the consequences of their lax rules.

We still can’t go back to Anilao because the danger of Taal Volcano spewing ash all over the province is high and it could happen any time. We’re waiting for the big one again, just like in January last year. Resorts in Anilao and elsewhere in Batangas had shut down. Right now we’re in Alert No. 3, some communities have already been evacuated.

I’m racking my brain with things that we can do so we don’t go stir crazy and the kids won’t be glued to their computers all the time. Camping is a bit iffy these days given the monsoon rains.

Because my girls asked for it

Posted on May 30, 2021 by admin

*Breakfast bento. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

My girl, I, asked for bento for breakfast because she missed my cooking. While she enjoyed staying with grandma, she asked to go home a week earlier than expected because she missed me, the cats, and my cooking. So of course I obliged.

My girls are also bored out of their skulls so one of the casualties of their boredom is their hair. They cut their hair by themselves! Of course the results were horrible. So I brought them to the salon rectify their attempt at creativity this evening.

We shopped for fruits and veggies after and then proceeded to a Korean mart because I wanted to replenish my side dishes and some mixes like curry and furikake.

I was too lazy to cook so just made yakisoba with pickled seaweed and spicy fish cake and some fern salad for dinner. One of my daughters liked the fern salad with my home-made dressing, which is almost similar to a vinaigrette.

I wanted to order Korean fried chicken because I was craving for something with a hint of spice but my housemates were not into it today. Maybe I’ll make kimchi stew tomorrow. I need to finish off some kimchi in the fridge and some tofu.

When I find the time, I will try some of Imamu’s recipes. I enjoy watching her YouTube channel that gives me new menu ideas.

Home-made ice cream

Posted on May 27, 2021 by admin

Because, why not?

After watching a Youtube tutorial on how to make ice cream just using a hand mixer, my girls and I decided we should go for it. Today.

First, place a mixing bowl inside a bigger basin with a lot of ice. To make the ice last, dump a lot of sea salt in it.

Ingredients are pretty basic: All purpose cream, condensed milk, and vanilla extract.

You need to incorporate air, lots of it, by whisking the cream and adding other ingredients slowly. You whisk the cream until it peaks.

Add crushed Oreos if you so desire. Or melted Hershey chocolate bar.

When done, pack it in a reusable ice cream tub that you have saved to contain other food stuff (because you’re Asian, you hate waste, so you reuse stuff).

Freeze for 12-24 hours. Best if you hold off and eat it after 24 hours. I need to keep my girls from haunting the freezer.

Finding peace

Posted on April 25, 2021 by admin

Sunday brunch: Leftover oyakudon, sauteed mungbeans (that are almost sprouts), fried glass noodles wrapped in seaweed, English breakfast sausage (for the girls), tamagoyaki, rice, ginger ale, camomile tea, and oranges. Photo by CallMeCreation.com

It’s hard to find inner peace when there are so many stimuli to spark anger. Then this weekend (I hate weekends!) all of a sudden I got hit by nostalgia and began missing him. I thought I’m done with this–I was wrong. I told my friend that I’ve sunk again. I tried doing everything in my power to forget, so my friend said is I should do the opposite: I should confront this head-on one night and be done with it instead of running away, trying to cover grief by busyness. “I really wish you peace,” they said.

I’m at the stage in my life where I no longer want fancy titles and management positions. What I want right now until the day I expire is inner peace. What is success? I was already an editor of a newspaper before the age of 30. I thought I would be climbing up the corporate ladder, if not the media ladder, and become middle manager before I hit 40 (which happened). I had thought of earning a CFA badge and move on to finance after earning my master’s degree. But all that changed after having my girls. Having them pulled me back to what is essential in life.

To live simply so my income would be enough for our needs and a bit of luxury like travel. Saving enough so that I will be able to retire comfortably and not worry too much about tomorrow. Investing enough so I can send my girls to college. To dive more, to go on more roadtrips (just like I used to do before when I was younger) either on four wheels or two wheels. To hike again (which I used to do a lot and I even documented one of my hiking/camping trips for a newspaper I used to write for in college) like what I did when I was single, happy, and free.

I don’t think I’m meant to have a partner. I am too independent and very opinionated for anybody’s taste. I shouldn’t make myself small for someone who refuses to grow up and I’m fed up being like that for almost 18 years with the girls’ dad. And I shouldn’t mourn somebody who despises me, which J does; I have to constantly remind myself of that. Have some self-respect, some dignity. I deserve better.

*Illustration by* @*Avogado6 on Twitter.*

So these two women are teaching me how to achieve inner peace, little by little, by living slow. I will soon find my own place in this world.

Stories from the sidelines

A journalist has a life other than news

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