Today: What food would you say is your specialty?

 Daily writing prompt

What food would you say is your specialty?

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I would say Guga Rub Steak and Truffle Mac and Cheese. Also oatmeal raisin cookies and banana cake. Caesar salad too, with dressing made from scratch. I don’t know if I love to cook but I know I love to eat! Who doesn’t haha.

Hmm. Might as well prepare them for my birthday!

Today is pretty chill. It’s RTO Mondays and thankfully I got parking yey!

I know I just babbled about getting a Dyson for my birthday but I’m currently contemplating it now that I’ve set my eyes on a bigger goal. A new car. Which I’m gonna share here because I figured this blog has been effective in curbing my appetite for material things like an overpriced vaccum and an unnecessary automobile upgrade. So here goes…

Source: https://toyota.com.ph/veloz

I know I wanted to get a Honda CR-V. For a while it was my dream car. And I think it still is. But for now a CR-V is too much for our needs. What I’m looking at right now is the Toyota Veloz. And I think I can save up for its top of the line version. Which is why I might hold back on getting a Dyson. So I can keep the 50k haha. After all, my 4-year old Dibea D18 is still working great. Plus it’s not like I can save on our monthly general cleaning expense by getting a new vaccum. They all work the same. Just a matter of preference for fanciness.

But a new car. My mom has been sublty suggesting we get a new car so we can give our goold ol’ Toyota Vios to them lol. And I want to, believe me. I want to give them a car cos their current car is already too old and cranky, we call it Lolo Wind. It’s a 2004 Isuzu Crosswind that’s currently on its last breath.

Hope my parents can get a new car though. My sister can very well afford one for them but she’s a tough nut when it comes to spending money. As much as possible she wouldn’t. Hope that changes though cos it’s also for her own good.

Anyway, back to the Veloz. I love everything about it except how it’s lowered. The backside I also don’t prefer much, but everything else I’m okay. I only really looked at the Honda BR-V to compare and I wanna go with the Veloz cos it has more bells and whistles. When it comes to cars I’m kinda loyal to Toyota, but still aspiring for a Honda because as they say, Honda is Honda. Though we can’t probably afford maintaining one lol.

Yeah that’s it pretty much as far as my ever changing wishlist is concerned.

So go blog, do your thing. We don’t need a new car do we? 😆

Today: Do lazy days make you feel rested or unproductive?

 Daily writing prompt

Do lazy days make you feel rested or unproductive?

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It all depends on what I have planned and if I’m able to do any of it. Any day I’m not able to do what I planned to do is an unproductive one. If there’s no plan at all, then there’s nothing to produce.

Just like the past few weeks at work. We’ve been bombarded with knowledge transfer sessions for support work that take up a lot of time. Back to back to back meetings spanning four hours, every day of the week. I’m so tired of attendting those meetings, specially when it’s not very clear what the expectation is from our team. And most specially today, when I’m having a really bad headache. It takes away time I should be spending doing actual development work; from projects I should have started months back. So in a way I’m being punished for procrastinating on those.

Oh well.

Birthday wishlist

It’s RTO day today. Surprisingly parking is full in the building so I had to park in an open area two blocks away. This never happens, it’s the first time I encountered full parking in the office building. At least when I got parking rights hehe. And it’s a Monday. Nobody usually comes in on this day. I suspect it’s because the developers who moved to our building somehow all came in today and got all the spots. Bummer. And of course they have cars, their salaries allow them to haha.

Oh well, hope it doesn’t rain later.

Currently listening to some random cafe themed playlist on YouTube while writing this. I’m happy we finally have Youtube access. We requested it for training purposes but honestly I use it mostly for music. At least for now hehe.

It’s gonna be my birthday a month from now. I’ll be turning 33. Nothing exciting haha. I figured I’d list a bunch of things I plan to buy with my 13th month pay and say it’s my birthday wishlist haha because you know, my wish is my command. 🤣

First on the list is a Dyson vaccum. I’m eyeing the V12 detect slim. I’ve always wanted a Dyson vacuum but I couldn’t justify having it. Now that I can fully afford it without thinking twice, I don’t need justification anymore HAHAHAHA. It’s enough to say I want it haha but I’m still gonna wait for 11.11 cos I still love getting discounts and I’m not that rich. Plus it’s a personal gift to myself so it can wait a month!

That’s really all I want for my birthday. Not including the usual staycation. I wanted to replace my sneakers with something from Skechers that’s machine washable and doesn’t have laces so it’s easy to put on but I’m not too keen on it cos I still like my current sneakers from Decathlon. It’s filthy and has a huge speck of oil but I’m too lazy to clean it. More like I don’t know how cos it’s not machine washable haha.

There’s another thing I want to buy but not for myself, for my husband. I want to get him a monitor cos it’s damning to see him code on a friggin 14″ laptop screen lol.

Oh well, guess that’s it!

My Mondays look different now that I’m squeezing RTO in my routine. Normally it’s just the grocery today then WFH after. But since my husband and I can’t RTO at the same day because of Koomi, I decided to give up my usual Friday RTO and just go on a Monday. We have number coding today but I go during window hours so it works! 😊

[2023] My Driver’s License Renewal Experience at LTO Estancia

Yey! Finally got my 10-year valid driver’s license in plastic card! That’s freaking rare given that there’s a shortage of cards around and some people are only given a printout of their DLs so yeah I’m pretty lucky!

Here’s how it went…

Branch: LTO Estancia
Day: Friday
Time in: 12:30PM
Time out: 1:30PM

The actual processing actually only took 30 mins, but I arrived at a time when the clinic is on lunch break so I had to wait until 1pm for them to re-open. I made sure to be first in line. Yup, there’s an LTO accredited clinic right beside the office – Think Wise.

LTO office has no lunch breaks. They’re open Monday-Friday 9am-3pm.

LTO Estancia is located at 4F East Wing. It’s kindof hidden as it’s all the way at the end. when you reach Healthway there’s a narrow hallway beside it that leads to LTO so make sure to follow the signs. You can also ask around, that’s what I did.

What to prepare:

• Your own ballpen (the clinic sells one for 10p each)
• Driver’s License
• Pass the CDE Online Validation Exam (no need to print the certificate)

Register at LTMS (https://portal.lto.gov.ph/) and access the exam by going to E-LEARNING > CDE Online Validation Exam

You can take the exam as many times as you need until you pass (80%). You can take the course but I didn’t, I just went ahead with the questionnaire. Most of the items are motorcycle related so I couldn’t relate haha.

Again you don’t need to print the certification, they will get it from the system. You can take it on your phone or wherever, there’s also a computer in the office for those who want to create an account and take the exam. The staff are really nice and helpful, even those at the clinic.

• For Revision of Records (Address) – photocopy of Proof of Billing

I had to change my address as well so I had to provide a proof of billing. You can have it printed at the clinic for 10 pesos per page. But I had mine printed at Alert Driving School (just beside LTO) cos I was afraid the clinic would overcharge after reading they sold their ballpens for 60 pesos each last year lol. I spotted a printer by the counter so I asked if they could print and they did, 10 pesos din naman pala hahaha.

Fees

Medical – 600
License fee – 585
Revision of records – 100

Total – 1285

I must say the medical fee is a bit hefty, but in fairness the doctor looks real and he did an actual visual acuity test HAHAHA. And I believe it cos it revealed my eye problems lol. They also had a working weighing scale and a height meter. Can you believe this clinic? The status quo for LTO accredited clinics is run-down offices ran by a staff that collects 300 and hands you a signed piece of paper. They didn’t have to raise the bar.

The clinic is clean, it’s cold, the staff are helpful and organized, and the doctor seems real 🤣. How refreshing.

You know the bar is so low with government services so this one’s shocking hahaha.

To be fair, it could be a Pasig thing. I had several transactions with LTO Ynares and all of them were pleasant. My husband has paid traffic fines a couple times in their jurisdiction (kamote kasi) and on both counts it didn’t take him 2 hours to finish. So there.

And that’s it! Pretty pleased with the experience. Plastic card, 10-year validity, 30 mins processing time, and nice and helpful staff. Good job LTO Estancia! Please keep it up! 👍

Today

A bunch of things I need to do today before I get swamped with meetings

Work related:

• Ask someone from tier 3 how to validate the SQL query I’m gonna run.
• Ask one of my stakeholders for any process document they might have so I could better understand the flow of the process they want automated.
• Fucking work on the script for this one project that’s been sitting in my local for months. The goal is to at least be able to publish it in orchestrator this week. Or today if I have any bit of shame.

That’s really all I want to be able to do or at least start doing today. On a much bigger scale I also need to fix my projects’ Confluence pages and organize the documentations over there.

Personal stuff:

• Pay our utilities. Our shocking utilities. We just moved in two months ago so this month’s bill shows our real consumption. It’s definitely bigger, but our elec rate also increased by ₱2/kwh so let’s see hehe
• Pay 2 credit cards
• Book an accommodation for my birthday. Been eyeing a bunch of Airbnbs at Tagaytay and I want to be able to secure something today or this week so I’d have something to look forward to ♥. If ever, it’s gonna be Koomi’s first long drive so we want to see how that goes!
• Renew my driver’s license

🙂

Today: When was the first time you really felt like a grown up (if ever)?

 Daily writing prompt

When was the first time you really felt like a grown up (if ever)?

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That would be when I applied for a checking account. I had to get one because we were gonna rent a parking space that required PDCs. When I finally got hold of my first checkbook I felt the rush of adulthood wave past me. Like I earned a level up badge in life. I didn’t feel this way when I moved out to live with my husband, not when we were starting to pay our own rent, our own car, not when we started paying our own bills, not when I got a credit card.

But a checkbook somehow made me feel like a legit grown up haha. I can’t explain it but maybe because it looks cool whenever I see my mom fill out checks? HAHA

Other times I feel like an adult is when I start tinkering with home repairs like installing a faucet, fixing a bidet, changing a receptacle, unclogging a p-trap. Stuff I would normally ask my dad for help hehe. But that’s regular grown up stuff I have to learn inevitably lol.

So yeah it’s a owning a checkbook for me!

[WordPress] Adding Google Fonts to block editor/full site editor

When I moved my blog from free WordPress.com to self-hosted WordPress and reinstalled the same theme, I noticed that the font selection was different when I tried to edit my site via the Full Site Editor. 

WordPress free had a lot of fonts whereas my own site only had one or two even though I installed the same theme.

I looked around for solutions but most of the plugins use the Customizer instead of the Block Editor and I didn’t want to use that. I simply want Google Fonts to appear in the Font dropdown of the Full Site Editor whenever I want to edit my theme.

Plugin: Fonts Plugin

After much Googling I finally found the solution that works for me…

Jetpack Google Fonts

Everything you need to know about it is here. But basically, to make it work…

1. Install Jetpack plugin
2. Install Gutenberg plugin
3. Go to your Jetpack Features page
   [yoursite.com]/wp-admin/admin.php?page=jetpack_modules]
4. Enable Google Fonts

Once that’s setup, open your Site Editor >> Click on Styles >> Typography >> Manage Fonts (Aa icon) >> Install Fonts

Once you get access to Google Fonts, search for the font and select the variants you want.

After Installation it should appear on the list of fonts in your block editor. Just the way you want it!

I mean ideally I would want a lot of fonts readily available so I could play around with it but this solution is good enough for me. It also helps to just select the fonts you want to use to save on loading time and avoid analysis paralysis! 😊

Hope this helps!

Today: If you had a million dollars to give away, who would you give it to?

 Daily writing prompt

If you had a million dollars to give away, who would you give it to?

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Wow. Converted to PHP that’s 57M. If I really had to give it away I would give it to my husband so it comes back to me lol. Well, that was my husband’s answer. I actually never thought of that.

Personally though if I were to give it away without plotting to get it back I would give it to KBCF to fund the church building project. It’s my previous home church. I’m not active anymore, but there aren’t a lot of organizations I trust.

I grew up in a Christian household. As a kid me and my family would attend Word of Hope. Then when we moved I joined a different church, Victory Novaliches, while my parents stayed with WOH. I was active at Victory. I taught kids as a Sunday School teacher, I was with a cell group. I thought my faith was flourishing. Until I was reminded to make disciples. I couldn’t do it. I was too scared to reach out. Every time it crossed my mind I start second guessing my faith. If I was a real Christian why is it so hard for me to evangelize?

When I got married I moved to a new church, KBCF, where my husband attended. Although it was smaller, it felt warmer. It didn’t take long for me to get familiar with the attendees. Its size made the pastors and elders more approachable. So approachable I wouldn’t dare doze off as the audience is merely yards away from the pulpit lol. And because I couldn’t sleep, I listened more. And because I listened more, I learned more.

I would say my Christian life grew with KBFC. It encouraged me to study the Bible, make fellowship, and ask questions. It brought enlightenment to the glamorized Christian worldview of prosperity and abundance. They’re not afraid to get real. Which is probably why I grew. Grew out of it, not of the church, but of my faith. I realized I’m too comfortable to be called a Christian.

Soup brain

 My brain is fucking soup right now. I want to go home.

Today: What is your favorite hobby or pastime?

 Daily writing prompt

What is your favorite hobby or pastime?

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It changes over the years. Depends on what I’m currently obsessing about. Normally I would say drawing, reading, or writing. But I’ve never drawn anything in so long. I’ve never finished a book in months. And I’m only beginning to write religiously again because I have a new site and I just finished tinkering with the layout. Which makes me excited to write content haha.

So yeah, for now it’s writing.

But if I’m not writing I’m probably watching kdramas on Netflix, playing Royal Match, cleaning the house with Rainy Jazz in the background, or simply procrastinating on work. The last being what I do for the most part.

Today: Tell us about a time when you felt out of place.

 Daily writing prompt

Tell us about a time when you felt out of place.

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College. I was in a University I liked, taking a course I didn’t like, in an academic org that without fail always made me feel stupid. Mind you, I didn’t take it against anyone. It’s just that the course was too hard for my brain. A subject my peers could understand in one semester, I had to take thrice. I thought getting into an academic org would help me but I just felt more and more inferior. Everyone was so smart and I felt so little, so stupid.

I shouldn’t have been there in the first place. When I failed the entrance exam, my parents found a way to put me in the waitlist, but it meant taking a course I didn’t choose, and losing a semester of school. It was important for me to get into this uni because it’s a prestigious one, and my older sister is there.

The only available courses for me were in the engineering department, because they only looked at your Math and Science entrance exam scores. Somehow my scores put me in the 90th percentile, which gave me a good chance. My preferred courses looked into English and Reading as well – where I scored low, so that pulled my percentile ranking down.

So yeah, I entered on the 2nd half of the schoolyear. And spent 2.5 years feeling so stressed out at school. No matter how much I studied I just couldn’t grasp anything. After failing a lot of my prerequisite subjects, which is a lot of Maths and Sciences, and realizing I won’t get anywhere with this field, I decided to leave.

My parents supported me because they knew I was having such a hard time and they didn’t want me to suffer so much, specially when they realize it might take me a decade to graduate with this kind of brain haha.

So I left and transferred to a nearby college, where my dad taught. I picked a course I was interested in, started as a new freshman, and enjoyed school. I had friends, got a part time job, was busy with several orgs, and loved it. I graduated with latin honors and even met my husband there.

So in a sense it all worked out.