Passenger Talesstories about my experiences as a traveler and passenger

Upgrading the memory of your computer can really improve its speed and performance. The bigger the system memory, the faster a computer can perform. Before, in the case of a desktop computer in our office, when the hard disk was replaced with a bigger one, the memory gave out and had to be replaced with a bigger one. I learned that this was usually what happens when upgrading the hard disk; you also need to upgrade the memory.

Nowadays, it is very easy to upgrade your computer because the components are readily available. Your friendly neighborhood malls have areas or zones just for computers, computer parts, and other computer-related gizmos. Not only that, there are also computer components available on line. For computer memory, you can check out buy.com. They have a wide range of computer memory available on line and sometimes you can even avail of free shipping. Talk about accessibility.

My one-year-old nephew is staying with us. He has very few toys and I have not gotten around to buying him more. His favorite among his toys is the teddy bear I bought him last Christmas. It is really fun watching my nephew’s diaper clad bottom stuck in the air while he wrestles with the hapless bear. My mom has been urging me to buy him a new teddy bear, one that is made of cloth, because of our family’s history with asthma. The bear’s fur might irritate him. I am also thinking of buying him toys that will also serve as learning tools, helping his mental and physical development. I just hope I will finally get around to buying him new toys soon.

Last May we went to Vigan from Baguio. The trip took around four hours. When we entered Ilocos Sur, it started to rain heavily. I was so busy talking to my officemate that it was only the next day that it dawned on me how dangerous the ride was. The wiper was not working that was why the driver and his companion took turns in wiping the condensation from the windshield inside the coaster. During the ride, I was amazed how the driver could see through the heavy rains and the dark outside. Looking out, we could only vaguely see the approaching headlights from the on-coming vehicles. It was almost zero visibility. It was a testament to the driver’s skill and familiarity with the roads and of course, God’s protection, that we arrived at our destination safely.

The next day we started our Vigan tour at Baluarte, Chavit Singson’s Zoo. We’ve been there three years earlier and a lot has changed, except for the very healthy boy who drove tourists around in the pony cart. During our previous visit, my guy officemates gave him the nickname “Extra Rice”. When we saw him again, they began murmuring, “Si Extra Rice”. A colleague of his heard us and he said that “Extra Rice” was called “Itlog” due to his rolly polly looks and almost bald head. A lot of animals have been added since our last visit.

My entry for the LP Back to School theme was a picture of ball pens. When I was in college, I noticed that even the most indifferent of students came to class armed with a ball pen and nothing else. No bags, no notebooks, no readings or books, only ball pens they whipped up from somewhere.

I remember one embarrassing incident involving a ball pen in college. It was already late afternoon and I and the other members of the registration volunteer corps were already sitting around resting after another grueling enrollment day. I was digging from my backpack for my Parker pen when a condom fell out of my bag. (The condom was one of those distributed in the school during the World Aid’s Day and I just stuck it in my bag.) My org mates looked at the condom, then they looked at me strangely. Then they went back to what they were doing. I was so embarrassed but I acted like nothing happened. Hehe.

The first ball pen brand I can remember was Kilometrico, from Papermate pens. My uncle was a sales representative for the company and he gave us free samples. I can even remember watching one of the lunch time variety shows that featured a game sponsored by Kilometrico where the contestants would see who could say Kilometrico longest. I do not know if the brand is still around but I have not seen it in the past few years.

I remember when I was in third year high school one of our subjects was computer. It was a minor subject and was just part of our technology and home economics class (THE). What was memorable about that subject was that we changed teachers twice within a period of one year because the regular teacher was involved in a motorcycle accident so she had to take a leave of absence. The teachers were slightly more memorable than the lessons. The first teacher was a guy who was very fond of wearing sandals with socks and the next one was a girl with very curly hair who was very fond of wearing a blue blazer. Thinking about it now, wearing the blazer made her appear older than she really was. If I remember the gossips right, she was still in college when she taught us BASIC Programming. Then of course there was the regular teacher. Her leg was still in a cast when she came back to teach. I can still clearly remember her telling us that riding a motorcycle was like riding your tomb.

I do not remember much about the class except that we were taught about the different parts of a computer like the ram, CPU, monitor, etc, and of course BASIC programming. All I can remember about it was that I did not understand anything and the only reason I did not fail was because the grade for that class was just a small part of the THE class. I could not understand how typing the words “go to” could generate something. Of course, it did not help that all these lectures were done only with the aid of a blackboard and chalk. I had to listen to the curly haired teacher talk gibberish and copy down her notes on the blackboard without any clue to what she was talking about. We only visited the computer room to try out the commands once or twice during the whole year and for only a few minutes. You can say I learned more from our typing class. At least we got to use typewriters extensively during every class.

Of course high school was a long time ago and I am sure computer classes nowadays have improved much since that time.

I usually watch Singing Bee at the TV in my room. Unfortunately, it is not cable connected but has only an ordinary antenna so the reception is not very clear for certain channels, like ABS CBN. Also, if someone or something brushes by the antenna, good luck! You have to adjust it again. I am thinking of having cable installed for better reception and more channels. But if I really want to go all out, why not replace the TV with a home theater system complete with home theater seating? Yeah, like it would fit in my room. It is so small even two beds do not fit. But it is a nice fantasy though.

Makikita nyo sa mga katagang nakasulat ang halimbawa ng katawanan ng mga Pilipino. Ang nakasulat na “No Sugar” para ipaalam sa mamimili na hindi matamis ang kanilang longganisa ay mga katagang galing sa palathala ng Pepsi Max. Ito ay nakakatuwang paglathala ng pagkakaiba ng dalawang klaseng longganisa.

(You can see from the slogan an example of Filipino humor. The phrase “No Sugar” to indicate that the longganisa is not sweet is from the advertisement of Pepsi Max. This is a funny way of showing the the difference between two types of longganisa.)

While waiting for an FX the other day, I saw this FX signboard:

Pasig
Palengke
Tiktite

Then earlier, while strolling inside Megamall on my way to David’s for Rever for a haircut, I saw this inside one of the stores/offices there:

Loss weight safely.

Saw this signage while playing tourist in Ilocos Sur last May:

One of the things that students cannot do without, a ballpen. The very organized students have different colored ballpens to organize their notes. There are also students who go to class bringing only their ballpens with them and writing their notes on whatever scraps of paper they can scrounge. How about you? What kind of student are/were you?

(Isa sa mga bagay na di pwedeng mawalan ang isang studyante, bolpen. Yung mga pinakamaayos na mga studyante nagbibitbit ng iba’t ibang kulay ng mga bolpen sa klase para maayos ang kanilang mga notes sa klase. Meron ding mga mag-aaral na walang ibang dala kung hindi bolpen kapag sila ay pumapasok sa paaralan at sinusulat sa kung ano anong papel na mahagilap nila ang kanilang mga notes sa klase. Ikaw? Anong klaseng mag-aaral ka?)