Passenger Talesstories about my experiences as a traveler and passenger

A former officemate introduced me to ipods. We were chatting and he asked me if I wanted to buy an ipod nano. He then sent me the link and I checked it out. I was instantly captivated with the product. I decided that I wanted the ipod video instead of the nano because of the bigger storage capacity and it had more features. I liked the ipod touch also but it was not within my budget.

Now, whenever I travel I always bring my ipod. Before I used to bring my Walkman and cassette tapes when I traveled so that I had something to occupy me during long journeys. Then my brother bought me Discman, which I lugged with me with my favorite CDs. Sometimes I even brought with me both, adding to an already bulky baggage. For me, the advent of ipods made listening to music on the road easier and more handy than both the Walkman and Discman.

This morning I was up earlier than usual. I wanted to be at the office by 7am. It was raining when I left the house. It’s very hard for me when it’s raining because I have to get tissue for my running nose while holding a wet umbrella. Anyway, when I got off Ligaya I saw a perfect rainbow arc. It was like a colorful bridge arcing over the sky. I stopped for a few seconds to admire it. I really wished I brought my camera with me. I also saw another rainbow on my way home but it was not as perfect as this morning’s.

I guess getting your heart broken is the best diet pill. No, I am not speaking from my own experience but from my friends’ experiences. They lose weight when they break up from their boyfriends or if they suffer from unrequited love. One of my friends is going through heartache right now and she complains that she lost her appetite. It shows in the pictures she posted that she has slimmed down. Of course the downside is that along with the pounds, she lost her healthy glow and inner smile. So I can’t really recommend it just to shed those unwanted pounds.

Mahilig sa tsokolate itong pamangkin ko at mahilig din sya sa ice cream. Ang ice cream at tsokolate ay dalawang bagay na di sya makaintay na masubo. Gustong gusto nyang maya maya sinusubo sa kanya kaya yan tuloy madungis na itsura nya.

(My nephew loves chocolates and ice cream. These are the two things that he can’t wait for the next bite or spoonful. The reason why he’s so dirty is that he wants his ice cream fed to him fast.)

HDMI stands for High-Definition Multimedia Interface. It is a compact connector interface for audio/video that transmits uncompressed digital streams. It is very desirable to use for consumer electronics and PC products because it delivers true HD quality through a single cable. HDMI allows high-definition electronic devices to communicate. Some devices that use this are HDTV, Playstation 3, HD-DVD and the Blu-ray player.

My aunt who lives in the US told me in one of her emails that her husband has discovered golf and is already an enthusiast. It seems that his every spare time is spent in the golf course. They say that you either love the game or you find it stupid, no in between.

Here in the Philippines, golf is a rich man’s game. It takes more than the salary of your average employee to buy that top-of-the-line golf clubs not to mention your other accessories. That is the reason why most golf courses are found in upscale neighborhoods or military bases. Those who usually play golf are doctors, businessmen, top executives, politicians and top brass of the military. If my aunt and uncle still lived here I am sure he would not have become addicted to the game much less tried it out.

Surprisingly, in one of the public schools we visited in Korea last July they had a small putting area on the rooftop for children to practice golf. Outsiders can also use the facilities. I guess the accessibility of golf to the ordinary salaried men or women would depend on which side of the development quotient your country is in.

It’s almost the end of the year and this means for some people paying life insurance premium, especially if you signed up for quarterly payments. The other day I reminded my brother about his premium, which is almost due. There are so many kinds of life insurance as there are insurance companies. There is permanent, universal, variable or term life insurance. I am not really sure what kind of insurance I got. I just followed my mother’s advice. But I heard that pension is better than insurance. I really do not have an idea. I guess it does make sense to invest in pensions rather than insurance because with pension you can benefit from it while still alive while life insurance usually means that your beneficiaries will benefit from it during your death.

MBT shoes are a revolutionary concept based on the theory that the instability of soft ground alleviates backache. Swiss engineer Karl Müller invented the Massai Barefoot Technology to make soft natural ground available to people who have to walk on hard surfaces. The specialized sole is what differentiates MBT from other shoes. The sole makes it possible to feel like your walking on a sandy beach or mossy ground and it gives that natural instability that increases muscle activity. By just wearing MBT shoes your body is exercised already.

I can remember when I took the IELTS two years ago the topic the interviewer asked me to talk about was furniture. She asked me to describe the furniture in our house and what kind of furniture did I like. I am not good with interviews and the topic kind of stumped me. Furniture is not something I really think about. Sure I notice if the couch is comfortable or clean or if it is too big but that’s almost it. If you ask me what is the difference between modern furniture and antique furniture then I can only say that the former is new while the latter is very old. I can’t remember much about what I said during the short interview but I must have made sense because I passed the exam.

Ito yung plantsa noon na nilalagyan ng uling para uminit. Naabutan ko pa ito nung bata ako pero di ko na nagamit (hay salamat naman!). Parang ang hirap ng buhay dati nung wala pang mga plantsa na gumagamit ng kuryente at mga telebisyon na wala pang remote control.

(This was the one used for ironing before wherein charcoal was placed inside to make it hot. I can remember seeing this when I was still a child but I was not able to use it (Thank God!). It seems that life was hard before when there was no electric iron and televisions had no remote controls.)