good samaritans in UK

UK is lovely! though i wasn't able to visit LONDON (which is the "real UK"), i got the chance to stay in Alderley Park (Macclesfield) and a day at Manchester. For not-so-geographically-pro (i admit, i am one) Alderley is a countryside (province). I love the place - beautiful (and very few) houses, huge lots, with cows and sheeps, vast grassland, few people, modern buildings/offices hiding on forests, few people, posh cars, few people, narrow streets and uh did i say few people? i did!

they say, alderley is the home for the rich, a house there cost 2M pounds (that's what the taxi driver told me), Posh and David Beckham used to live there (ok, i know the Philippines is not a football country). Simply put, Alderley Park is like Forbes park only multiplied in humongous british pounds!

But its not the place i remembered most. I took a train to Manchester on my last day. at the station, people told me that Manchester is different from alderley. Manchester is a city - and with it comes "all forces". People at the train station told me to be careful, beware of pickpockets, never to talk to strangers and check your wallet/belongings every once in a while. Ahh, the paranoia in me. With my Egyptian friend, we breezed Manchester with caution. If in alderley, you never saw a black guy - here in Manchester - you'll see people from all over - asians, blacks, middleeasterns, its like a mixed society (ok, ok, Manchester is a city, what do you expect).

at the end of the day, we went back with loads of goodies (oh well, my friend had loads, i just bought enough fyi - 1 pound = 96 pesos). we're always on the lookout for "bad elements". holding our bags and wallet tightly whenever passing through suspicious people. looking at each other knowing that we have to "guard our goods".

around 9pm (and there's still sun), we went back to the train station and went back to posh alderley. exhausted on the day trip, we went out to have dinner and by midnight started to pack things up. then i received a call - huh, me? who will call me here, i barely knew anyone?

I received a call from a man who told me that i lost my wallet in the train. to my surprise, my wallet is not in my pocket! the couple were sorry cuz they have to open my wallet (doesn't have money inside - only cards) so that they can contact me. they were asking on how they can give it to me. i told them that my flight will be 6am the next day. is it ok if i can just pick it up in their house. only to find out that they're place is 7 miles (around 20mins drive without traffic) from the hotel. I don't have any choice, i have to get the wallet this instance. so i told the unknown caller that i will call a friend (parang game show) to help me.

There's 6 Filipinos in the hotel (yes, we are definitely everywhere!), and its always nice to meet a kababayan (fellow countrymen) in a foreign land. i had TAGALOG chats with them everyday (for me, its cool to use FILIPINO abroad - para kang bisaya sa maynila ba, ganun ang feeling). i asked one to accompany me 7 miles from the hotel. so we went there around 2 am we found the place, the good Samaritans gave me the wallet, and as a token of my appreciation i gave them .... uh never mind, i gave them "something" for remembrance and invited them over to visit beautiful Philippines. the couple were sleepy already so we didn't have much time to chat.

Ahhh, my wallet, intact. complete. back to the rightful owner.

you see, i felt guilty feeling paranoid and all when i was at Manchester. and here, i found good Samaritans. no, they found me. my UK trip is over, but i will never forget those people - the Filipinos and the couple who got my wallet. There is hope to humankind.

UK is lovely! (spoken like a true Simon cowell)

globe imposible 3

dear globe (all comes in trilogy)

thank you for the quick response. i already got my reimbursement. SM San Lazaro Globe people were so kind, friendly, accomodative and efficient. Such a pleasant site to visit........hmm, i wonder why? Sa globe, POSIBLE. smart din pala sila ano?

.....will end my rant here (for now, actually). :)

kind regards,
rant-tarat-a-lot

globe imposible 2

dear globe

after i sent my email last saturday. i received a quick reply yesterday. in about six hours, i received a confirmation that i can now get the reimbursement at sm san lazaro! you see, i waited six months, i made an email expressing my disgust, and in six hours, i can now get my refund. amazing! sa globe POSIBLE! so? should i say now that globe people are actually smart afterall....... (it pays to rant....sometimes)

naaah, they should have done that months ago.

ps: they gave me an extra, i no longer need to reapply for my roaming everytime i fly abroad, they made my status permanent. am off to UK, see you guys after one week (talk about giving a price for their lack-of-"patient"-care)

kind regards
rant-arattarat

globe imposible

i'm tired of going to the mall following up the reimbursement from globe, so i emailed them.....

good day,

i have two accounts from globe that i requested for termination last december 2006. I have continously followed up the status of my termination. The instruction was that i will receive a final bill, and then i can have my refund to any globe station.

i have inquired with globe sm manila, sm north edsa, and the last was at sm san lazaro. By coincidence (or maybe, just maybe, there's a ghost employee), from all the 3 globe stations, the officer-in-charge was either on leave or already out of the office. If i remember right, sm manila instructed me that i can go to any globe station and claim my refund. but a month ago, i went to sm san lazaro to inquire for that. i filled up a form regarding my termination of 2 accounts, and told me that they will inform me if the fund is already available for pick up. the personnel specifically told me that i cant get the refund instantly, the instruction given to me by the sm manila personnel was wrong!

now, i have never received any follow up from your company. sm san lazaro told me that they will text me or call me after two days. is 2 days equivalent to 2 months globewise?.

the terminated number i have are: 09178586199, the other one, sad to say this, but i have already forgotten because i'm not the one using it (and its been almost half a year!).

please do check my account: these are my mailing address from the previous account ......(privacy).........sta cruz manila
the other account is mailed at ........(my dad-in-law doesnt want a penpal, sorry)..... san pedro puerto princesa city palawan

i hope that someone will address my concern, its been almost 5 months now. if this is the way you handle reimbursements, then you better improve the system. your people from different branches are saying different instructions. Sa globe POSIBLE! then prove it! All the while i thought globe people are smart...... sigh.

kind regards,
rant-arattarat

Easter family (mis)adventure

we just had a new addition to our family. at first, you have to spend some time with each other, sort of getting-to-know-each-other phase. know what to expect, listen carefully, gentle on maneuvering, speed up the acquaintance part, careful on sudden turns, get ready on tough times and rough roads, and if everything goes well, a nice break for a cup of tea will do.



and when you come to an unexpected twist of faith, bumps and bruises will definitely hurt.....



a quicksand along the way may stop you from getting to your destination.....



but perseverance conquers all.



all for my family. happy Easter!

eyeitis?

my job entails a lot of computer usage.... come to think of it, most of the jobs now cant survive without this nasty, i mean handy gizmo. but too much exposure to the monitor really makes my eyes hurt. then the pain radiates upto the occipital area. geez headache, eye pain. my job is not physically demanding (hence the flabby abs - 6 packed pandesal rolled into one big bulge), but at the end of the day, i'm still blessed with such a nice job (unlike the one i saw at BW's post) though it's really tiresome.

uhgh, my table is a mess, my monitor is not helpin a bit.


let me hear some music....... ahhhhh, that's it. imagine i'm havin some quiet time away from the office, a vacation in a place such as this....


just imagine......

ok, back to work! a cup of tea will give me a quick fix!

of Korean movies

Of Koreans and Movies.

During my residency days, I remember my batch mates set up a mini-movie house at our call room – an all-around laptop, an LCD projector, speaker, a white blanket placed on dilapidated wall and viola! Show starts after endorsement (which is around 8-9 pm, at least earlier that the last-full show at Robinson’s). All activities put on halt for a two-hour visual pleasure.

From jologs to classy. From English, Filipino and yeah, the most popular ones – Koreans. There has been a surged of everything-Korean on this part of the world. The Koreans invaded the Philippines (yes, they have out numbered the Japanese and Americans entering the country)! We have a Korean actress – sandara park, we have gazillion teleseryes from Korea - princess lulu, full house, sassy girl, etc etc etc (though I’m not an avid fan of teleseryes because you have to watch it daily – such dedication I cant afford). Now we have kimchi, K cars, Korean language studies and Korean Video Houses (take a walk along Ermita area, you’ll see lots of them).

Since I’m not fond of watching teleseryes (mini-series), watching a movie is the thing for me. And lo and behold – they have great movies. I think they have mastered the art of making quality films. You don’t have to speak their language and appreciate such masterpieces (ok, ok – subtitles is a must). After my residency, I have watched a handful. Their best at melodramas. The style of telling the story and presenting the TWIST usually near the end (which explains how, why and the whatevers of the movie) is totally brilliant! We are fond of watching western movies, it’s about time we try our neighbors’.

I just watched one this morning – Sassy Girl. They said, its part 2 of Wind Struck. Such a beautiful movie of love, relationship, pain and destiny. Don’t want to tell the plot, you have to see and appreciate, and remember – they always have a TWIST, which makes their movies worth watching until the end.

Ah, of rain and snow, of love and tragedy, of comedy and action. Their culture is not very different from ours, hence we can relate. Forget about their names (I didn’t remember a single bit) but watching every movie (or reading the subtitle at the same time), I assure you, they have movies far better than those made in Hollywood. Here’s some movies I recommend you watching.


Memories/Moments to Remember (50 first dates is no match with this one)
The Classic
Wind Struck
Sassy Girl
Sad Movie
Bungee Jumping in their own way
Am still looking for the Korean original “Lake House” - IL MARE




You have to watch the first 2 movies…..! So? How do you say hello? Ania sayo!