Passenger Talesstories about my experiences as a traveler and passenger

It is the usual practice to use real estate property, particularly house or land, as collateral when getting a loan from the bank or other lending institutions. In order to get a good deal, getting multiple mortgage quotes would be a great way to weigh your options and choose the best one.

However, a mortgagor should make sure that he could make the payments as stated in the contract signed by both parties. I remember reading once that it is not wise to mortgage your home in order to get capital to start a business because if the business fails and you cannot afford your mortgage payments, you will not only lose your money but your home as well. I quite agree because my grandmother lost her home through of such a situation. Of course others could disagree and say that it could be otherwise.

Heard from a conversation inside the jeepney:

“Di ko naman talaga sila kamaganak. Kamaganak sila ng tatay ko.” (ah ok?!?)

(“They’re not really my relatives. They’re my father’s relatives.”)

Isang batang ama, isa sa maraming ama na naghihintay ng espesyal na basbas galing sa pari pagkatapos nung misa noong Linggo.

Kailangang ipagpatuloy nating ipagdasal ang lahat ng mga ama na ipagkaloob nila sa kanilang mga pamilya ang lahat ng kanilang pagmamahal at naway gabayan nila ang kanilang mga anak sa mga wastong pamamaraan at paano mamuhay ayon sa turo ni Kristo.

(A young father, one of the many fathers, waiting for a special blessing from the priest after the mass last Sunday.

We should continue to pray for all the fathers that they will continue to shower all their love to their families and to guide their children to live rightly and also how to live according to Christ’s teachings.)

Fathers, be good to your daughters (and sons)
Daughters (and sons) will love like you do

Upgrading a computer’s memory really does wonders for the speed of a computer. Before, my laptop’s memory was the usual 254MB. My friend Jes was after me to upgrade but I was hesitant to buy because I found it quite expensive. I continued putting it off until it came to a point where in using my laptop was an exercise in patience because its speed was slower than the vehicles in EDSA during rush hour. So one day I finally gave in and realized my laptop needed a memory upgrade. Jes accompanied me to his favorite computer store to buy a 512MB memory. It would have been better if I bought 1G but unfortunately, my wallet complained loudly. My laptop’s speed was largely increased since my 254 was augmented with the 512 memory. I am very thankful that I listened to Jes.

When I was little, I was fascinated with snow (come to think of it, I still am) because it seems very exotic for someone who has not seen it outside of television or Movie Theater. Living in a tropical country has its advantages, like access to great beaches and beautiful green vistas. But I wish someday I could see for myself what the term winter wonderland looks like. I want to experience spending time in a winter ski resort, something along the lines of Winter Park real estate, trying my hand at skiing, riding ski and chairlifts, and going sledding. I hope that my someday will arrive very soon.

How sad for these animals. They are used to being free, wild and roaming large territories but now they’re stuck in a small cage unable to roam free.

(Nakakalungkot tingnan ang mga hayop na ito. Sanay silang malaya, walang taros at gumagala sa malawak na lugar ngunit ngayon nakakulong sila sa isang maliit na kulungan at di na malayang makagala.)

Last Tuesday I was kind of depressed because I received some bad news. It was nothing tragic, just a different answer to a certain question. In order to feel better, I headed out to Books for Less to look at their stocks of romance novels. Whenever I feel depressed I buy a book to make me feel better. Unfortunately when I got there, I was disappointed by their selection of books. There were no new novels by my favorite authors. I spent an hour perusing and settled on Mr. Perfect by Linda Howard even though I have already borrowed and read it before. I just had to buy something and I really did not mind adding it to my collection. When I got to the counter I tried to pay using my credit card but the bookstore only accepted credit card payments for purchases of P200 and above. Since there were no more books I wanted to buy to reach the total of P200, I had to fork out my last money just so I could buy the book. Well, it was a small price to pay to feel better.

A colleague recently visited our office. I was pleasantly surprised and slightly envious at how much weight she lost. She looked trim and fit. After commenting on her weight loss, we asked how she did it. No, it was not through diet pills but through a “no rice diet”. She asked us if we could manage that. Well, it certainly would be a challenge, especially for my other officemates who do not consider it a meal if there were no rice. Considering the high price of rice in the country today, a “no rice diet” would certainly kill two birds with one stone. A person would be able to lose weight and save money at the same time.

I was deep in thought while walking home earlier when I suddenly heard a voice asking, “Are you a teacher?” I turned and saw an old woman walking beside me. “What?,” I asked her. She said, “What school is that uniform?”, nodding to the green monstrosity I was wearing. I answered her that I was not a teacher but worked for a government agency. She said something else but I did not hear it and the old woman walked on ahead of me. I was still laughing inside at her comment when I heard a commotion at my back. When I looked back I saw two boys riding bicycles. Suddenly, I heard one of the boys say, “Careful, you’ll hit the teacher.” The other boy seconded, “Yes, don’t hit the teacher.” Waaahhh! Why can’t we have fashionable uniforms?

When I started working I also started investing in a health card. For the first few years, I did not get to use my card much. I thought I was wasting my money with the monthly payments. However, it was when I started getting sick last April that I fully appreciated the medicare advantage. Without my health card, I would be courting poverty with all the consultation and laboratory fees I had to pay. At least, all I had to worry about were the medicines.