As you can see in my Facebook status here, it was an unlucky Monday. I know I've been a victim of thievery several times before that I already consider it a form of TITHING :( Somehow, you never expect it to happen again to you and then bam! there goes another one. So that's what happened to me last Monday in, of all places, the company parking lot. I was just a few steps to my car when a man in a motorcycle very casually grabbed my handbag away from me and sped off. I was at first speechless from shock, but managed to shout "please run after him!!" to nothingness. It ... Continue Reading...

I've received some interesting comments to my US Embassy post(s) and as a result, I've wondered which countries are spared the ignominy of applying for the "overrated" US visa. My Google quest of course led me to the US Department of State website which has a portion dedicated to the US government's Visa Waiver Program (VWP). The VWP is the program where nationals of certain countries can travel to the United States without a visa provided they plan to only stay "for 90 days or less for tourism or business." Only three countries in Asia are in the list: Japan, ... Continue Reading...

It was The SweetHeart who encouraged me to set my sights on being a part of WordCamp Philippines 2008 earlier this year : "There's a WordCamp in your area, why don't you join?" I took note of the fact, even though I half-suspected he was ready to relinquish his Web Monkey duties. You see, when something's ready to be fixed in my blog, I either call on friends or request the sweetheart to put it on his "honeydew" list (honey do this, honey do that) :P Admittedly, am the lazy WordPress user, one of those persons who've taken to heart the definition of blogging as ... Continue Reading...

Between paying $131 for a US visa application and trying your luck in the slot machines, I'd choose the latter. At least with legalized gambling, you get a free Coke and a sandwich. Not with the d*ickheads-in-residence at the NIV Unit of the US Embassy in Manila who go through their job without rhyme and reason. I actually thought being a "diplomat" was a distinguished, honorable profession until you encounter them in real life (okay, I dated one of their ilk in my younger years, but that's another story!) Cases in point: they don't maintain eye-to-eye contact. ... Continue Reading...