Respect forgotten

While riding the metro railway, my sister told me that a group of teens was standing near her. They started discussing ipods in loud voices. For some reason, the teens thought it better to talk loudly. And this was the first trip of the metro railway, which means that it was around six in the morning. A woman asked them to keep their voices down as some people were trying to get a few winks. But the teens continued as if they never heard the woman. Some people forget the meaning of respect and proper decorum.

Peso-Dollar Exchange Rate

Here’s the Peso-Dollar Exchange Rate for April 25, 2009:

The Peso-Dollar Exchange Rate for April 25, 2009 is P48.460 = USD1.00 (Official Government Rate).

Paypal’s Peso Exchange Rate for April 25, 2009 is 1 USD = 47.0410 PHP.

Hooray for the 47+ Paypal peso rate! Just in time for the payout for a program we all love

Happy weekend!

Trangkaso and being Bakunado

Trangkaso is a very common form of sickness. High fever, runny nose, cough, sore throat… these are just some of the symptoms of flu. In my case, whenever I have trangkaso, I experience muscle pain, weakness, dizziness and sore throat.

Influenza or Flu is a virus that affects the upper respiratory tract. That’s why it is normally accompanied by cough and cold. It is passed on from one person to another through the saliva. Sneezing, coughing or though utensils used by a person with flu. You can use a hanky to cover the lower part of your face when you think you are facing a sick person. You can avoid people sick with flu. But, believe me, you are still prone to it unless you become Bakunado!

According to http://www.bakuna.ph, we should all get vaccinated once a year. It is very important that we do all we can to stay healthy. Especially with the state of the economy nowadays. You don’t want to lose a job just because you got sick with the flu and couldn’t go to work, right? Plus, you don’t want to put your love ones in a stressful situation, taking care of you and going on with their lives. And did we mention it is costly, too?

Hazel after the Bakuna almost two years ago… why the long face, baby?

For our baby, we are not taking any chances. We had Hazel vaccinated almost two years ago. She is due for another one this month. She was supposed to have the flu shot last month but I was too busy to take care of it. Unfortunately, she was sick with the flu last week. The change in weather is affecting her the most, with the temperature so hot these days. Hazel is a very active kid and being sick is like being punished for her. She doesn’t like being stalled from her play time and like most kids, would cry and sulk when being prevented from running around the area. When she’s sick, you can see it in her eyes how she feels so weak but would pretend to be strong for us to let her out of the house to play. Good thing she’s doing great now. Still, we’re not taking chances with her health again…

“Yey! I am getting a Bakuna soon!”

Flu vaccination is most important in babies, kids and persons who are susceptible to sickness. Go get a flu vaccine now and live a more active life!

Effects of recession

Are you feeling the effects of the recession already?

My friend who works for a big call center company here in Manila is now feeling the brunt of the global financial crisis affecting so many companies around the world. She’s now on a 9-hour, 6-day work week. Some of her co-workers are complaining. If I were in their shoes, I wouldn’t complain anymore. It is hard to get a job nowadays. Adjusting to longer working hours is better than being out of job.

We should all start thinking on how we can help our employers so that we can all rise above this problem we are all facing. Additional work hours, less rest days, less incentives, no more bonuses… these are all way better than being out of job. And these will all be given back in time, I’m sure of it.

Exit

Do you know where the exit is? We often hear this question in a big place. Especially from persons who are unfamiliar with it. Of course, I am only talking about the entrance-exit of a given place. Let me remind you that there is another exit that is important. The one that has a big and lighted Exit Sign at the door. The fire exit.

I always make sure when I get off the elevator I check where the exits are. In case of emergencies, I know where to run to. And this is a very important thing to be reminded of all the time.

In the case of building administrators, better make sure that each fire exit has an Exit Sign visible to everyone. In case a fire break out or there’s an earthquake, elevators are shutdown. Fire exits are the only way out of a building or a structure. And the lighted Exit Signs are like beckoning the people towards safety.

Exit Signs know that. That’s why they are offering exit signs of different types to structure owners. Go and visit ExitSigns.net now and choose from among the different styles of exit signs that they are offering. Exit signs are very important. Remember that.

You've got mail!

One of my pet peeves is finding an email inbox filled with unread messages. My friend, Tim, knows that. After I boot up my computer, the first thing I do is check my emails. I use Gmail and it remains open until I go offline. Right now, I only have 3 unread messages. These messages are new and remains unread as a reminder that it needs to be acted on soon.

When I was in Baguio more than a year ago, I kept asking Tim to open my email account and check for new messages. So if I don’t reply to your email, that only means I am either really busy or I haven’t read it yet.

Bataan weekend

Ahh… it feels good after that Bataan trip! I was able to relax and really get some much needed rest. I was able to sleep longer than usual as well. The sound of the sea was soothing to the nerves I forgot whatever worries I had before the trip. Going on weekend getaways can do wonders to a person. Life is not all about work and problems and worries. We should at least be able to step back, relax and step away from everything. Even for a while. And I did just that last weekend.

Former boss

I chanced upon the Multiply site of one of my former bosses. I was searching for some photos of a beach resort and my search yielded her site. I was surprised to find her! She had so many photos there. A bunch was even from the wedding of a former co-worker from the same company. Another was her Vegas vacations with former co-workers as well, her staff way before she joined the merged company.

It was just nice to reminisce and see what my old co-workers look like now. Most didn’t change at all. And are still single like me. Ha-ha!

Weather in Manila today…

It’s slightly better than yesterday. The weather here in Manila as of 6PM today, April 14, 2009, is 31°C. It feels like you have a flu. That’s how hot it is right now. Taking a bath won’t do that much. It will just make you feel the heat and humidity more. Even putting the electric fan on steady so the air will blow directly to your face and body will only cool you down a bit.

Imagine the electricity shutting down! Meralco knows that every summer, people need electricity more than ever. As always, brownouts happen every now and then. A few minutes ago, electricity was down in our area. Tsk tsk

Maynilad Water is also pulling a stupid stunt. Shutting down water supply and just giving us an hour or two every day to fill our water drums. My dad has been calling up Maynilad Water’s 24/7 hotline 1626 asking them to do something about the water supply in our area but they are stubbornly refusing to do anything about it. My dad told the CS he talked to two days ago that should a fire break out in our area (wag naman sana!), residents wouldn’t have any water to use to put it out. What without water even dripping in our faucets!

So I am here in my corner at home right now, sweating even with the electric fan on steady in front of me, fuming mad because we don’t have water supply so I can take a shower to feel a bit cooler. Aargh!

Free banner maker

Wow! A Banner Maker! I have been looking for one for quite some time now. Some friends have etsy stores and are asking for my help in creating banners for them. I love creating things for my friends and banner making is one of the things I would love to help them with. Good thing I found Pure Silva Banner Maker! This web site offers banner making for FREE! Yes, you read it right. It’s a free service that they offer. All you have to do is go to their web site at PureSilvaBannerMaker.com and start creating the banner you like. Put in the specifications and in a matter of minutes, your banner is ready! It’s actually very easy. I tried to do one. Unfortunately, I forgot to save it

So if you are looking for a free banner maker yourself, just go to PureSilvaBannerMaker.com now and go create one right away!

Link building

There are various ways to drive visitors and potential customers to your web site. Search engine optimization or SEO is the most common way of doing this. Optimizing a web site so that it will show up in the first pages of major search engines with the keywords fitting your products. So many businesses are doing this to drive traffic to their site. You know what a good number of traffic does to a web site. It increases its potential to sell their products and become a household name.

Another way is link building. Organic links are what most businesses need to be able to, again, get more people to their web sites. I know a business that hired the services of a professional link building company and was rewarded with increase in their sales for a quarter. They did it again after a quarter and they got the same results.

I know a lot of businesses out there need the same results to sustain their companies so I suggest they go to Status Media PLC. This company offers SEO, Link Building as well as PPC Management. Their goal is to help businesses get more exposure for their products and services. Drive traffic to their web sites, promote their services, create potential customers in the process. Eventually increase sales.

With the state of the economy in most countries, it is best to find a guaranteed way to increase your company profits. Find a service that will give you back your money’s worth. Go to StatusMediaPLC.com now and check out the services they are offering. Let them help your company get the promotion for your products. Optimize your web site and drive traffic to your site. Or get organic links and yield the same results. Or choose PPC management. Go and visit StatusMediaPLC.com now!

Certified bookworm!

Oh yes, I admit it. I am a certified bookworm! I would rather spend my hard earned money on new books rather than on new clothes. Books make me happy! One reason why I love books is that it takes me to a whole different world. All my own. I can be in a crowded room but when I open a book, it dissolves and the world becomes mine. You can say that I have traveled far and wide, thanks to the hundreds of books I have read. I cannot really afford to go on trips but because a book I read took place in England, it felt like I’ve just been there.

Have you read Twilight already? When I read that book, it felt like I knew the Cullens and the Swans personally. It felt like I’ve been to and from Forks. Good books have a way of doing that to you. Making you feel like you are part of it.

If you are looking for new books, which I do all the time, go to Borders.co.uk and choose from the extensive selection they have there. Borders UK has great deals to offer. Visit the web site now and check out books, CDs, DVDs, magazines and a whole lot more.