Earthquake Hits New Zealand

The city of Christchurch - the second largest city in New Zealand - was hit by a strong earthquake early today, 4 Sept. 2010. The earthquake registered at 7.0 magnitude. The effect caused power cuts and raptured roads and damages to buildings. So far, no casualty has been reported.

New Zealand is located along the Pacific Ring of Fire where active volcanoes and earthquakes occur. New Zealand also had a strong shake felt last year in the South Island's Fiordland.

Arrears on Mortgages

I had my fair share of mortgage problems many, many years ago. It all happened when my husband moved here in Dubai to look for a job. I was temporarily left in the Philippines with my baby daughter, two nannies and a mortgaged townhouse.

I was not earning very well but had good perks in the bank where I previously worked. I had our townhouse under mortgage with my employer - the bank. Unfortunately, my husband took long to land a very stable job in Dubai that we fell in debt and had lapses in our mortgage payments.

I was lucky enough to find a job when I came to Dubai very quickly. By then, the interests were all piling and we had to do something. So, we took a big loan here in Dubai and paid the property in full. At least we have a clean title now and a loan that will mature in the very near future.

What we have been through is not an easy feat. I am so thankful that we paid the property in time before the bank foreclose it. If we had not done that, we will end up losing all we have worked so hard for on that property. It is similar to what is happening in the US now with all the Outer Banks foreclosures. I could not bear seeing all our hard work go to waste.

We are just lucky that both of us have a good opportunity here in Dubai. We are earning better than our previous senior managers in the Philippines. We have learned a lot from that ordeal. We know how to value money and invest properly now. We are still planning to have another property soon in the Philippines. If ever everything falls into place, my husband and I plan to purchase in cash now. I am so afraid having loans these days. I cannot relive the nightmare I have had with the arrears on mortgages.

Rainy Days and Memories

Philippines is entering the typhoon season. Unlike the hot and very humid weather condition here in the Middle East, Southeast Asian region have only 2 seasons - wet and dry.

I remember my childhood days in the Philippines. My siblings and I used to wait for the rainy season because we would play and take a bath in the rain showers. My mom would take out the stainless steel drums as reservoir for rain water. She used the rain water for our garden and when she cleaned the patio.

I miss the rains back home. Although I do not like the torrential rains, I do love the smell of freshly watered plants. The sunny weather here in Dubai may be inviting to some people but I still like to see the rain once in a while.

Spoiled Under 30 Crowd

I got this from a forwarded mail and thought it was funny (and spot on!) not to share. I have no intentions of offending our younger generations for posting this. Just to give all of you - youngsters - an idea on how it was like to be a kid in the 70s and 80s. Peace!

"When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were. When they were growing up; what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning.... Uphill... Barefoot.... BOTH ways Yadda, yadda, yadda

And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way I was going to lay a bunch of nonsense like that on my kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it!

But now that . . . I'm over the ripe old age of thirty, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today. I hate to say it, but you kids today, you don't know how good you've got it!

I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have the Internet. If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalog!!

There was no email!! We had to actually write somebody a letter - with a pen!

Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox, and it would take like a week to get there! Stamps were 10 cents!

Child Protective Services didn't care if our parents beat us. As a matter of fact, the parents of all my friends also had permission to kick our behinds! Nowhere was safe!

There were no MP3' s or Napsters! If you wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the record store and shoplift it yourself!

Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio, and the DJ would usually talk over the beginning and @#*% it all up! There were no CD players! We had tape decks in our car. We'd play our favorite tape and "eject" it when finished, and the tape would come undone. Cause - that's how we rolled, dig?

We didn't have fancy stuff like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called, they got a busy signal, that's it!

And we didn't have fancy Caller ID either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, your mom, your boss, your bookie, a collections agent, you just didn't know!!! You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!

We didn't have any fancy Sony Playstation video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like 'Space Invaders' and 'Asteroids'. Your guy was a little square! You actually had to use your imagination!! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen... Forever! And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!

You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! You were screwed when it came to channel surfing! You had to get off your bum and walk over to the TV to change the channel! NO REMOTES!!!

There was no Cartoon Network neither! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning. Do you hear what I'm saying? We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little ones!

And we didn't have microwaves. If we wanted to heat something up, we had to use the stove! Imagine that!

That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You're spoiled. You guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes back in 1980 or before!

Regards,

The Over 30 Crowd"

Hahaha...Well said and very true! What's your take young ones? ;)

Tight Clothing

I always make it a point to prepare the clothes I will wear at least a day before so I don't make bad combination. Unfortunately, I forgot to prepare my clothes last night. I hastily grabbed the blouse I could find with a neutral tone to go with my gray business suit. Well, I did not realize that the one I grabbed was actually tad tight. I felt like I was one of those ladies during the Victorian era with tight corsets around their bodies.

I lost weight for sure but I still have flab in my mid-section. That flab will not go away that easy. I need to work harder if I want my mid-section well toned.

So, the moral of the story, do not procrastinate! Always prepare your wardrobe in advance to avoid discomfort and wardrobe malfunction. Good thing, my buttons were still intact!

The Ferrari Goes Zoom

I have been around town since morning trying to figure out why my salary has not been released. I already received my payslip 4 days ago. Sigh...

I was cruising along Amman Street according to the speed limit of 60 kph. I noticed that the RTA installed a new traffic signal on the newly opened junction in Al Nahda crossing Amman Street going to the back streets of Sahara Centre in Sharjah. A Ferrari zoomed by the taxi in front of me causing the latter to break few metres from the junction. Thank goodness I was not speeding or else, I would have kissed the rear of the cab. And that Ferrari, you might ask, zoomed to the junction without a warning and in lightning speed.

I thought, if that driver keeps doing what he does to harm people and other motorists, he would probably end up somewhere not very inviting. I could just imagine Ferrari parts flying everywhere.

People cannot use "fasting" as an excuse to drive recklessly. These lunatics drive like Evil Knievel even when it is not Ramadan. So, what could be that driver's excuse for being a menace on the road?

Little Faith in Banking

I have very little faith on the banking system here in the UAE. I always have the feeling of being "robbed" of my own money. It is so hard to explain but I do not get the abstract banking law in this region. 

The banks charge the account holder so many fees, for example, if you want a print out of your statement of account, you have to pay so and so amount per page. If you want a liability letter, again, you have to pay so and so amount.  Isn't that ridiculous? They keep charging the hapless account holders considering we are the reason why they are still afloat.

I miss the banks in the Philippines where I can bank on trust. It is a different ball game over here...

What's New on the Big Screen?

It has been a while since my husband and I watched a movie together. It was the Ironman 2 and I enjoyed the thrill of watching the action-packed movie on the big screen.

I want to watch a movie this week. I like something funny and romantic or even animated as long as it is light and not violent. I can use my card to purchase the theater tickets in advance so I can reserve the seats my family and I prefer. I will wait until next Thursday so the new release of movies will be up by then. If not, we can all still catch Despicable Me or Toy Story 3.

Organizing my Stash

I have so many scrapbook stash which are all placed in plastic containers. I do not have any studio for my arts and craft so I keep all the stash on a cupboard. However, each time I try to look for something, I cannot locate it because I have not organized my embellishments and other craft supplies properly due to lack of space.

I have been asking my hubby to allocate a corner of the flat for my arts and craft session but it is not possible to drill holes at home to put the divider so I have to settle with doing my craft on my study area.

I am off to Ikea to buy wooden drawers to keep my smaller embellishments so they are not everywhere. I just want my area tidy-up and in order. I can't crank my creative juice looking at my table which is a mess right now.

Maintenance Woes

Three years in this flat and so many fixtures to update! Our kitchen counter is slowly getting out of alignment with the wall. The cupboards' hinges are loose. The faucets are dripping. The wall paint chips and even the door chimes do not chime!

I just changed the dripping shower head two months ago and in the other bathroom too. I asked the maintenance personnel to fix the wiring of the other room because the chandelier would not switch on even if the electrical system was working.

So far, none has been done. I may end up calling an electrician to fix the wiring at my own expense. The maintenance is bad and I hope the rents go down further so we can move out next year to a new building with better facilities and maintenance service.

What's Wrong with Fashion?

I have missed so many issues of fashion magazines already. Last time I reached for a copy of those famous fashion magazines was 3 years ago. I am so surprised by the fashion sense these days.

I went to the mall earlier to buy a blouse. I went straight to Forever 21 because it is my favorite shop apart from H & M. However, I got so shocked that I dropped my favoritism right then and there. The clothes styles are tacky and weird, if I may say. It is as if I am going through racks and racks of Halloween costumes.

What happened to the dainty blouses, chiffon dresses, comfort fit trousers and elegant blazers I used to buy from Forever 21?

5 Days of Over - Thank You

Instead of over time in the office, I am calling it over "thank you" because I have stayed back 5 days in a row for free. Even if I ask for compensation, I will have to justify the reason why I stayed back. I really do not appreciate being asked why I stayed when the management has been stretching all the employees' limits. How can they possibly ask why a person has to render over time? Obviously, 8.5 hours, 5 days in a week is no longer enough to finish the gargantuan work they are passing to us. It just keeps piling and piling. You finish one and 1 million new tasks come in. Arrrggghhhh!

Again Lord, please, make it 2013 now...

Smiling Voice

Yes, I know. It seems weird to say "smiling voice" because a voice cannot smile. What I want to convey here is that, a voice with warmth and sincerity when speaking on the phone that you can actually feel you are important.

I called Dominos Pizza few hours ago to order and I was a bit taken back by the sound of the Dominos Pizza crew's voice. His voice was cold and not welcoming. It is as if, I disturbed him from his sleep and that he was so upset to speak to me considering the fact that I was a costumer.

He did not sound the least happy to serve. I was not in the mood to give him a piece of my mind because it was not worth stooping on his level. However, I just wondered what ever happened to customer service?

There are plenty of people applying for customer service jobs right now. I think that crew does not deserve to be in a place where provision of customer service is one of the objectives.

I should have taken his name down and reported him. He needs a mega dose of customer service training!

Insurance at Your Fingertips

The modernity of our time has given us plenty of resources at our fingertips. We can do online banking, research, watch uploaded videos, shopping, go through the Insurance Information Network, sell and trade, marketing and networking, socializing and communicating all at the comfort of our homes and the presence of technology. This modernization has brought about comfort and easy access to many of life's necessities through the use of the internet. One of the necessity each household should have is the insurance.

It is good to have such technology within our reach because we can source information easily if we need to secure business insurance policy, health insurance, life, home and property, pets and auto insurance policy. It does not matter what we require because we can all get the information and quote that we need. This helps us decide wisely before making the deal with the insurance company or agent.

There is a myriad of websites offering quotes for insurance depending on your needs and location. You may be living in the California area who is eager to buy a local California insurance or in the East Coast scouting for quotation based on your needs; you can all acquire the comprehensive information and quotes for the kind of insurance policy you prefer in an instant. Gone are the days when local insurance agents used to knock door to door carrying a suit case filled with brochures and legal paraphernalia to explain to the client. It is not common these days to drive yourself to an insurance company provider to speak to an insurance agent to get more details on the kind of policy you want to purchase. All these can now be achieved right at your home or wherever you have access to an internet. 

Philippine Hijacking Gone Bad

I didn't realize that something bad was already happening in Manila while I was in the office. I checked my Facebook for updates when I saw updates from friends about the hostage taking. I got to read more information when I came home to check the news.

A sacked policeman named Rolando Mendoza, 55 years old, seized a busload of Hongkong tourists near the Quirino Grandstand in Manila today, 23 August. The hostage taker carried with him a M16 rifle and opened fire to the hostages.

The hostage drama ended in a bloodshed and this is not good to our tourism.

I am completely saddened by this event. Innocent lives were endangered because of the gunman's bid to get his post back. And all for what?

I offer my prayers to the victims and their families. I hope the Filipinos will get through this though circumstance and show the world that this is just a setback done by a lone Filipino.