Philippine Science High School - Main Campus: Our Journey with our Eldest Daugther

 I haven't written in a long time.  But I'm happy to have something to write about again that is important to me, and might be important to others who might find themselves on the same path.  So this blog post is going to be one of many throughout the years of our daugther's PISAY Journey (Philippine Science High School - Main Campus".

Our eldest daughter was a miracle baby.  After years of trying to get pregnant we finally had a positive test.  That happiness lasted about a month when during the initial check up the doctor told us that there was no heart beat, even after weeks when the baby should have had a heart beat.  There was nothing.

We were crushed.  The doctor scheduled us for a dilation and curettage but my wife insisted we get a second opinion.  We waited another 2-3 weeks, went to another OB gyne and requested for another check up.  The new doctor looked at her results, at us, and back to the results and asked us what we wanted out of this.  We said, that we just wanted a second opinion.

We went to the scheduled sonogram to check on a fetal heartbeat and the first tech couldn't find a heartbeat.  Again, we were crushed.  That first tech though, called in a second doctor or technician and together they checked again for a few minutes.  If you're not familiar with the tool, I think it's one of those rod things that they put "in there".  So it's not really comfortable.  Anyways, that 2nd person found something.  They left the room, talked to eachother, checked again, and after agonizing for a long time they told us that they did indeed find a very very tiny heartbeat.  But it was so tiny that it was barely there.

You can't imagine the up and downs of emotions during that time.

The new OB gave my wife medication so that the baby would hang in there.  And she did.  And now she's 12 years old and one of the most incredible persons I've ever met in my life.  This is our journey.

Now that you have a small background on our family and why this is important to us, you can imagine our happiness when we got the news that she passed her exams.  But passing that entrance exam is not where this starts.  I will elaborate this in the next blog post.

It's more fun in: Laiya, Batangas

Every year we've made it a family rule that we should go to the beach.  The nearest beach area that we always go to when we're trying to stay within a budget is Laiya, Batangas.  A quick Google search would show you all the resorts in that area so I won't go into much detail.  There's a resort for every budget so do your research beforehand.  Also, if you're planning on going during Holy Week, reserve your spot 2 months in advance.  Better to be safe than sorry because resorts get full quickly ahead of the Holy Week.  I learned the hard way.  Do note that most of these resorts in Laiya are all on one stretch of the beach.  So it's OK to find an affordable resort because it's all on the same beach.

One of the places we went to a few years ago was the Kabayan Beach Resort.  I chose this resort because it had affordable rates and they still had a room free when I called them up.  Lucky for us they did because we only decided to go there about a month before Holy Week.  The room we got was a bit more expensive than the usual rooms we try to book.  We got ourselves a 1 bedroom, with private bathroom, aircon, and kitchen because we wanted to cook our own food.  That's always been part of the fun in going to Batangas.  The damage as I remembered it was around P4,000 ($100).  This was about 3 years ago and I'm too lazy to go and check out their website right now for the latest prices.  You can do it yourself by going to:  http://kabayanresort.com.ph/

I also liked the fact that I could deposit the down payment of about 30% into their bank account and pay the rest off when we get there to check in.  They also have a large barkada room good for like 12-18 people if I remember right.  That was very affordable because you could divide the cost between everybody and it'll be like P300 per person.  This room has bunk beds but they're comfy enough especially after a day at the beach.

From Manila it takes about 3-4 hours by car to get to the resort.  It's a nice and fun ride considering that the roads going to Laiya are now paved unlike a few years ago.  It was a pretty bumpy ride back then.  There's no need to cook your own food since they have plenty of restaurants there but hey, we like to rough it.  There's plenty of stuff to do when you get to the beach.  You can play volleyball, badminton, the usual water sports, and other things.  But we opted to be lazy and just lounge around the beach and get a tan.  Pictures are worth a thousand words so enjoy!  Besides, I'm quite lazy today to write.  I also don't remember a lot of the details since this was a few years ago.  That's how long it's taken me to write this blog!  Man, I gotta put some time away to write on this thing.  Next adventures, Subic, Illocos Norte, Palawan, and Bantayan Island.  Yes, I've been pretty busy.

As Promised! Pictures from Texas. Enjoy!

Ahhh, business lounge in Manila...

Ahh...after months of not blogging I'm finally back.  I have so much stuff to write about but oh so little time.  I've been keeping busy with work and my new sideline doing some photography and article writing for a local food site.

That pretty much keeps me busy nowadays.  Have to edit the pictures and then write the article.  I've been trying to write a short novel too.  But then again it's hard when you have to also do homework for your masters. hehe.  Busy much? :)


Travel in Style, go Business class for free food.

Darn it, how can I arrange these pictures?  Anyways, gotta study up on how to make my blog look better.  These pictures you see here are taken with my good old camera phone.  Which I've already replaced with a nifty new BlackBerry and a new Nikon DSLR.  Ah!  Finally got my hands on one of those.  Been wanting a new camera for a few years now.  Now, I have to buy a new bag, new lenses, new flash, etc. haha.  There goes my money.  But when you love doing something you have to do it.  Now if I could just finish my short novel then I'd be a happy camper.

Ah ok...uhm, I'm writing down here because I couldn't figure out how to move the pictures to the side without deleting them or changing them.  No time to do it too since I'm writing this while the wife is still busy.  Gotta write quick before it's my turn to do the dishes.  ;)

So, these are just a few pictures from my trip to Texas last year.  Yeah, wow.  I've been trying to post these since last year.  Now i'm up for another trip to Texas and I barely have my pictures edited and posted.  I've already been to Palawan and Ilocos Norte and I still haven't gotten to write about that.  And then next week I'm going to Bantayan Island in Cebu and I have to write about that!  Urgh, how will I ever fit all this stuff into my schedule?  Maybe I'll skip lunch and just hang out at Starbucks and write.  Or I could eat lunch and hang out there?  Need the free wifi.

So I promise to myself, and to whoever gets to read this, I'll make sure to write about my experiences travelling and post tidbits of information that could prove useful to your own travel needs.  Hey, you might even pick up some tricks of the trade in getting good travel deals.

It's more fun...at Disneyland Philippines?

Ah rumors, what a lovely hobby it is.  The grapevine...

A N Y W A Y S...I've been hearing a lot of rumors lately regarding Disneyland Philippines.  According to the local news we've put in a request to have the next Disney theme park right here in our own country.  Wouldn't that be exciting?  Heck, I'm sure excited if it does comes true.  No more leaving the country to go to Disneyland.  We already have the talent here, and the Philippines is now 65th according to the WEF.  Economically speaking, I think the timing is just right.

Subic and Clark are definitely a good place to put the theme park.  It would sure boost the morale of the country and bring in a lot of needed jobs.

So where does the rumor part  come in then?  Well, rumor has it tatata!  That Disney is already hiring engineers and accounts for guess what?  Disneyland Philippines in Clark!  Isn't that a lovely rumor?  Although, I did point out to the news bringer that they could be hiring for Disney Hong Kong or any other Disney theme park.  But, according to the people who are in the know, it was specifically stated for Disneyland Clark.

So as far as I'm concerned I'm hoping that it is true, since I'm a big Disney fan, but I have my doubts.  I'll start believing the news once I get myself a picture with Mickey Mouse in the said theme park.

Universal Studios Subic...or was it Sentosa Subic...now that's another rumor...

Future blogs to write about

Ok, so I obviously still haven't figured out how to make my blog look better.  If you have any idea's or would like to help me out, please let me know at chickenromano@gmail.com.

Mental Note:  Things to write about...when you get the chance and squeeze this stuff in while doing daddy duties, work, and studies...

1.  Travel to Dubai
2.  Travel to Singapore
3.  Travel to Laoag:  Pagudpud
4.  Travel to Palawan:  Puerto Princessa
5.  Travel to Hong Kong
6.  Those restaurants throughout Manila that you've eaten at the past few months.

End of mental note.

The Great State of Texas!

So it's been a while since I last wrote something on my blog.  It's been a crazy few months...I now have a few more things to write about.  Busy busy busy.  Between work, class, and being a daddy it's hard finding time.  Anyways, I just got back home from a business trip (a few month's ago now) and I stayed a whole month in Texas!  Yeah!  I definitely enjoyed my whole stay there.  Texans were some of the most polite people I've ever met.  Always saying "hi", "hello", or something similar to that.  I'd definitely suggest you visit Texas if you have the chance.  If not for the food, at least for the hospitality.

There's a bunch of stuff I could write about but for today I'll be writing about my stay in Texas!

I arrived in the US around March sometime this year.  For some odd reason it was really cold.  I made a mental note that the first thing I would do is go to the local Target or Walmart and buy myself a jacket or something similar.  I arrived in Austin at about 7pm at night and I had to take a cab to the hotel.  My car rental didn't push through as I arrived during the time the SXSW music festival was going on.  No car rentals to be found anywhere.  I waited about three hours just to find out that no cars would be coming back for the day.

So I took a taxi to the hotel instead and arrived at the Hampton Inn about an hour later.  It is a small hotel in Round Rock Texas.  It's actually part of the Hilton family of hotels.  The hotel is located about 60 to 70 miles from the Austin Bergstrom International Airport.  From the airport, you will have to take the 183 North, then you will take the I35 North and if I remember it correctly, you'll have to take the 254 exit and then take a right on Dell Avenue.  It's actually pretty easy to find.

It's location on the I35 and right across from Dell headquarters, makes it a great business trip type of hotel.  You'll always find travelers from all walks of life there.  The hotel itself is a 6 story hotel, with a Texan motive.  The moment you walk into the hotel, you get that Texan feel.  Lots of wood and leather type of furniture in the lobby.

The front desk personnel were great!  Always fiendly and ready to help.  The first week I was there the nice lady in the morning shift showed me where I could go to do some great shopping and eating.  She actually took 15 minutes of her time to just chat with me and show me the ropes.

One night at the hotel was about $100.  This included free WIFI and breakfast.  Not too shabby for a 100 bucks.  The breakfast was your standard fare...eggs, sausages, pancakes, lots of juice and coffee.  But if you stay there a month, (even just one week) you'll get tired of the breakfast really easy.  I just wish they had at least some soup or something that could've made it more interesting.

But not to fret!  If you don't like the breakfast, you can always leave the hotel and walk across the parking lot and eat some crabs!  Now that was some delicious stuff!  There was this crab resto/bar infront of the hotel.  They had really good crabs.  If you are allergic to crabs, there are other foody places around the area.  If you have a car (which I really do hope you have if you're staying in Texas), there's the Walmart (you can do groceries), and several sports bars in the area.  To name a few, Hooters and Twin Peaks.  Ahem...

The room was comfy and carpeted (which I have missed having), it had one large queen size bed with fluffy pillows and comforter.  The bathroom was large enough to be comfortable.  The shower was a bit hard to figure out, but after a few tries I got the hang of it.  The internet was fast, it had some hickups but worked for most of the time I was there.  It was a good thing the hotel had wifi instead of just the hard wired connection at the desk.  After a few days I figured out that I should use my laptop on the bed instead at the desk.  The reason for this was because of the airconditioner.  For some really really odd reason of engineering by the hotel, the airconditioner was located on the bottom, right next to the windows and desk.  If you sit at the desk, the airconditioner would blast cold air right at your head every few minutes and it was really loud  After a few days I just stopped sitting at the desk.

So I spent most of my time just lying on the big comfy bed of the hotel and watching TV.  I've really missed that.  Just hanging around, lying on the bed and eating TV dinners.  I arrived early enough in Texas so that I had time to explore before my work week started.  Like my mental note stated, I was going to visit the local Target or Walmart.  Thankfully, there was a Walmart right across the street.  Well, at least I thought it was right across the street.  Apparently everything in Texas is big.  It took me10 minutes to walk to Walmart as the parking lot was huge.  I did some exploring and I really missed those big aisles when doing groceries.  I took pictures left and right of Walmart.  Can you imagine how weird that is if you're from Round Rock?  So I did some groceries and finally got myself a Dickies hoody.  It was on sale.  Great buy by the way.

So for the next few weeks after work I went shopping.  What else to do after work in a new place right?  I went exploring and shopping.  I was able to do this since after a few days my boss took me back to the airport to get that car.  Unfortunately, I didn't have my passport with me and I needed that to get the car.  Apparently something about not having info in their system so I needed my passport.  To make a long story short, I took another cab back to the hotel to get my passport, and then the same cab back to the airport.  That's like $70 one way.

One great thing about having a rental car is that I got to choose it.  This was my first car rental ever so when the attendant told me that I could just choose a car from the lot I was like a kid in a candy store.  I was like...this is so totally cool...(with a big grin on my face).  So I went down the lot looking at cars and there was this Ford that caught my eye.  The car guy told me the keys where in the car and so all I had to do was pick a car and drive it to the window thingy.  I took a seat in the Ford and I took one look at the dashboard when I realized I was sitting in a plane and not a car.  There were so many buttons and lights I told myself that this wasn't the right car.  Although it was a really nice car I decided to pick another one.  What I finally drove off the lot was a brand spanking new black 2012 Toyota Yaris.  It looked exactly like a Toyota Corolla to me though.  But it was exactly what I needed.  An automatic, with just the basic stuff a car needed.  Nothing that would cause me to crash the car.  And let me tell you, it was some great driving in Texas on the highway!  I was going at the speed limit but it felt great!  When was the last time you could do 60 to 70 mph on EDSA?

Like I said, I spent one month in Texas and every single day I was there and turned on the ignition of my car, I heard this song..."toniiiight we are young..." this song is now forever and ever engraved in my brain as my car driving song.  And I'm not kidding you...this song played every day of my stay there and every time I turned on the ignition of the car.

Anyways, there's no way I can put a whole month of experience on this iddy bitty blog of mine.  My whole point to this writing is I thought that Texas was a great state to visit.  I went out every single day after work and during weekends to explore what I could.  I ate at Rudy's...that's one great BBQ place...I'd definitely suggest you eat there.  I ate at that crab place in front of the hotel...I can't remember the name right now but when I do I'll mention it on a future blog.  I also went shopping at Old Navy...got some great deals from there.  And I was lucky enough to see the start of baseball season!  I drove all the way out to the Dell Stadium to watch the local college team get creamed by a California team.  Go orange local ball team...sorry!  Forgot the name... :)

So all I can say is I had a blast in Texas.  Austin and Round Rock will forever have a place in my heart.  Great people, great food, and some good shopping.  One example of the friendliness of people there was this:  one morning during breakfast, we had one dude in an army uniform getting breakfast...he had his BDU's on...and this totally random other dude goes up to him and shake's his hand and said "Thank you for the service that you provide our country."  Isn't that awesome?  I was like, that stuff only happens in movies...but apparently it happens in real life too.  Makes you kinda teary eyed doesn't it?

One thing I do would like to mention is that I had the chance to go shopping at the outlet mall about 30 minutes north of the hotel.   Bought some stuff and I saw this customer service place there...it said I could get back the taxes I paid on my purchases as a tourist.  I never did.  Why?  Because I knew that the great state of Texas does its job in providing for their people. I enjoyed the paved streets and security the police provided.  So why not pay taxes?  It was my way of saying thank you.  To Texas and its folks for a beautiful and great stay in Texas!  I will see you again someday!

Pictures to follow on next blog.

HSBC Philippines - Worst Service EVER!

I haven't written on my blog for a while as I have been busy.  Currently in the US on a business trip.  But this couldn't wait.  Hail HSBC Philippines for yet another lousy customer service experience.

So here's the story.  As I'm currently on a business trip I have no access to my credit card bill.  Simple problem right?  I could check it online.  But no.  HSBC's online banking site will not allow me to register.  It gives me some error message saying that I am not allowed to use this type of registration method.  If you're not familiar with it, it will give you two choices, one is via pin and the other via cellphone.  Since I never received a PIN I have to use the via cellphone method.  Error.  Not allowed.

So here I am, unable to check my credit card bill with an unknown amount due with an unknown due date.  I hate late payments...so this is very stressing to me as I consider myself a very responsible person.  The actual paper bill is at the office in Manila.  That is actually a guess since I'm not there.  Anyways, so I sent them a nice email, stating my problem that I am unable to set up my online account so that I can check my credit card bill online.

I get a reply saying something like we'd be glad to help blah blah blah.  But we can't verify your status via email due to security reasons blah blah blah.  Please send us your international contact number and we'll get in touch with you.  So I write them another nice email saying how much I appreciate the security measures blah blah blah.  I give them my roaming cell number and my personal office number while I'm abroad.

This is where it goes downhill.  1 week later.  No phone call.  No reply email.  So I send them another email asking for my phone call.  Days later.  No email.  No phone call.  So I send them another email asking for my phone call.  Days later...no email...no phone call.  So I finally send them an irriated...irate customer email stating that I'd do an internet search on the VP's email address and email him directly...days later...no email...no phone call.  So, me, being the very calm person that I am, try to call the HSBC customer service number even though I would have to spend my own money to contact them. 

After trying to navigate their lousy and not user friendly robot system, which by the way hangs up on you if it doesn't understand your commands.  I get this "Sorry, our office hours are from 8-5pm, Mon-Fri".  So ok...I try calling the 24 hour service hotline....guess what?  It beeps.  That's all it does.  Like someone left the phone off the hook.  So at this point my temperature is rising a bit.  How much money did I just spend calling HSBC from the US?  I don't want to know.  I'll probably find out when I get back.

So I let it go for a few days.  Until now, no phone call, no email.  So at 9pm at night, US Central time, I call HSBC Philippines again.  This would mean I was calling the Philippines 10AM. Yet again spending my own money to contact them.  After wading through the robot system I finally figure out how to get a customer service rep....by mistake.  I key in my credit number..."sorry, we don't recognize your card, enter it again"...so I enter it again..."sorry, we don't recognize your card, enter again"...so I enter it again....same error message.  But then, the voice says "if you are a gold card member, please press 1" so I figure I'd push it.  So I press 1.  I may or may not have a gold card but wouldn't you press it anyways at this point?  Right?

A few seconds and this customer service rep answers.  Usual hello spiel.  So I relate my issue, I finally get to find out my due date and how much I owe.  So far so good.  Good thing I called because my bill is due in like 6 days.  As for the reason I can't register online?  Sorry sir, nothing indicates that there is an issue with your account.  Didn't you receive your pin?  No I didn't receive my pin.  Can't you do something about this online registration thing?  Sir, can you give me the error number?  Huh?  I didn't notice an error number.  But I just gave you the exact sentence of the error message.  Isn't that enough to figure it out?  Sorry sir, I need to have an error number.  Letche!  So I let it go for now, since I got the info I needed.  I figured I'd call again when I'm back in Manila and I'll take note of that error message.

So everything is fine and dandy.  I no longer think about HSBC and how lousy their service is.  UNTIL, low and behold, I received an email today.  Do you know what they said?  Basically, this is what they said "we noticed that you already called.  So no need to call you.  Hope your issue has been resolved.  Have a nice day."

Pu*** *na mo!