Zeh iPod touch

Being the klutz that I am, I accidentally cut the sync cable for my
old iPod video (don’t ask me how I did it, I just did.)  So rather
than take the risk of going to the local market and getting a fake
cable, I headed off to AyosDito.ph since I’ve heard a lot
of great things about them and their classified ads service.

I went through their classified ads and was surprised at
the number of great deals that were available for my search.  To make
a long story short, I ended up selling my old iPod video and got
myself a brand new iPod touch in the process.  Was I happy with
AyosDito.ph and their service?  Definitely, not only did I
get something more than I initially wanted but even made a bunch of
great deals along the way.

What really surprised me though is that my first impression of
AyosDito.ph was that it was a marketplace to buy and sell
stuff here in the Philippines but I never imagined it to be a place
where one can browse jobs online as well.  After I finished
buying and selling the stuff that I needed, I went through their jobs
online section and applied for a virtual assistant position for eComm
(crossing my fingers!)
This may sound rather cheesy, but ayos talaga dito sa AyosDito.ph

Pandan Green Tea

Si Aida or si Lorna o si Fe!

Wow, that song just played on the radio just as I went to pick up my
home-brewed pandan tea from the kitchen.  The song reminded me of how 3 of my bestest guy friends have been at one time or another been
sought after by a love-crazed individual.  Of course it’s not really a
big issue but it seemed like the song was made especially for her
(just change the names and gender… haha) and that it’s amazing how
a decades-old song can still hit like a ten-wheeler truck when it
comes down to the lyrics.

For me, I love the friendship that I share with my buddies.  I get to
spend time with them, have fun with them and even hang out with their families.  What’s there not to love anyway?  I get all the perks of
being a friend (since they’re really sweet guys)  all without the
issues and dramas of a “romantic” relationship!

Mmmm… must be the pandan tea talking.

Dating tips

No haircut for me this year. I'll have to wait till next year before I can go back to this 'do.

1. TRAVEL ABROAD. I am looking forward to my first ever trip overseas. Finally, my passport will be stamped. Malaysia, here I come!

2. LEARN HOW TO DRIVE. I promised myself that I’ll learn a new skill this year. Actually, I’ve already driven (without license, inebriated, at 3AM) an automatic. Drove all the way from a downtown resto up to the boondocks aka my house. I can’t forget my guy friends’ expressions while I was on the wheel. The car owner had his hand glued on the hand brake, one was trying his best to stay calm while directing me “Left!” “Right!” “You’re at the center of the road!” “More to the left!”, and one was just whispering his prayers, “I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die.”

We got to my place all in one piece but it would have been better if it didn’t take me an hour to drive through 7.5 kms.  I’m looking at enrolling myself in a driving school so I can get my license hassle free.

3. GET A PET. I’m thinking of owning either a turtle or a dog. If nobody gives me a puppy by the last quarter of the year, then I’m left with no choice but to buy a turtle.

4. START A BUSINESS. Christian and I have already discussed what business we’re venturing on. Hopefully we’ll get this started before I turn 27.

5. GROW MY HAIR. I will not get a haircut on my birthday as originally planned. Instead, I’ll grow it so I can try on the wavy do I’ve always wanted.

6. TAKE AND POST MORE PHOTOS.  Last year, I wasn’t able to take much photos because… I got lazy. Pfft.

7. SAVE. 2008 and 2009 were my happy-go-lucky years. I spent a lot on food, gadgets, and trips. Most of them unnecessary. This year, I’ll make sure that part of my monthly income goes to my saving.

8. BLOG MORE. Read my tagline? “Chattee’s lame attempt at going over 140 characters.” The main reason why I love Twitter and Plurk is because I only need to post 140 characters or less. I’m a creature of few words, I must say. I don’t have the gift of weaving together 200-500 words. This year though, I’ll give blogging my best shot. I’ll try to update this site as much as I can–if no words come to mind, then at least a photo I’ll post. *crossing my fingers*

9. DRINK MORE WATER. I only drink an average of 3-4 glasses of water a day. I promise it’s going to be more water over cola this year.

10. LOSE WEIGHT. I am currently at my record-high weight of (6719²) / (414 * 1983) + 2 pounds. Hanging out with friends who love to eat definitely contributed to the 15 pounds I gained.  The solution? Hang out less, bring only enough money, watch what I eat, and do not leave the house on an empty stomach.

=================================================================
There you go, my first post for the year. At least I’ve already worked on my #8. Lol.
I have only posted here the 10 things off the top of my head.  Before the year ends I’ll be looking back at this list, and hopefully most,if not all, were accomplished by me. Anyway, here’s to a 2010 filled with love, happiness, and prosperity! <3 Till my next post…

Let's welcome 2010 with a big bang!

2010 is just around the corner, so I’m giving you  a recap of my 2009 in 9 words— in chronological order.

1. Chickenpox.
2. Http://katherinevlara.com
3. Jobless.
4. Broke.
5. GenSan.
6. WordCampPH.
7. AvatarMedia.
8. Employed.
9. Seasoned.

There you have it. I’ve always thought that 2009 isn’t really a good year for me, but after looking at the list above, I realized that it was actually a fun and productive year.  The good memories, I’ll treasure. The not so good ones, I’ll take as a lesson.

I look forward to what 2010 will bring, and… stay tuned for my list of  TO DOs next year.  Happy new year, everyone!  :)

Some of the best things in life are free; watching the sun rise is one of them.

It’s been 5 years since I last attended my college friends’ Christmas party.  I remember nights spent with bottomless Red Horse, tequila and crazy people who can’t stop teasing each other.  When bored, we usually end up doing silly things like—comparing nipples. Crazy people, I told you.

Tonight, we’ll be holding our overnight Christmas party in a resort.  It’s been a while since I last hung out with them, so I’m very excited to see everybody. There’ll definitely be booze, but I won’t be drinking much—prolly just a bottle or two. Because for me, the highlight of this party won’t be the food and the drinks. It’s going the be the sunrise the next day. I want to be sober so I’ll be able to sit on the shore, listen to the crashing waves and watch the sun rise. Happy happy. Joy joy.

See you tomorrow, Mr. Sun!

UPDATE:
Drank more than I was supposed to.  I had at least 10 tequila shots, so before 2AM I was already groggy. I didn’t want to go overboard, so I excused myself from the group and went to our room to catch some shuteye.  Because of snoring roommates, I was able to wake up at 5:20 AM.  My head was throbbing (my first hangover in 3 years), but I still went out to check the sunrise.  Sunrise today was supposed to be at 5:36, so I knew I woke up in time to catch it.  I stayed out for a couple of minutes only to find out that I wouldn’t be getting any nice view of the rising sun.  All I saw was the sky being painted with a tinge of orange—and a couple of drunk friends sleeping on monobloc chairs. Phail.

I’m lucky that in Davao, we got free wifi almost everywhere. But when traveling, I oftentimes face the horror of not having internet when needed. Good thing I got myself a Globe Tattoo Broadband plugin.

Because I’m a heavy surfer and I stream media, Globe Tattoo’s default time-based browsing is perfect for me (time-based browsing charges you 5 bucks for 15 minutes). On the other hand, my mobile phone which is also on Globe, is on per-KB charging since I use it mostly for checking mails.

(To switch from time-based browsing to per-KB charging, just text KB to 1111)

I’ve had my Globe Tattoo for 8 months now, and I’d say I never had any major complains. I was able to maximize my Globe Tattoo plug in, by setting up my Network Type on WDCMA preferred.

To check if your plug-in is on WDCMA Preferred mode, just go Tools -> Options -> Network -> Network Type -> and then choose WDCMA preferred from the drop-down menu.

I got mine last March at Php1895, but now Globe Tattoo Broadband Kit is sold for only Php895. The kit includes the USB modem, the Globe Tattoo prepaid SIM that’s preloaded with Php300 FREE load (15 FREE internet hours), and the user manual.

I got for myself the plain black and silver plug-in because it matches my netbook and laptop. But for those who’d like to stand out from the crowd, Globe Broadband Tattoo New Skins is also available.

Awesome designs, ayt? But do you have a better design in mind? Why not show it off so your design gets the chance to be made into commercially available skin. And oh, did I mention Globe’s awarding 5000 bucks to the best designs?  Now let your creative juices flow and submit your designs to the Globe Tattoo Broadband Gallery .

My oh-so-awesome Globe Digital Tribe Award trophy

An unexpected thing happened last month: this blog won a Globe Digital Tribe Award.

I was in Cebu to attend a family gathering so I missed Mindanao Bloggers Summit 3 and Philippine Blog Awards-Mindanao. A few days before MBS3 though, I got an email informing me that my blog was a candidate for the Chikka Readers’ Choice award.  I was able to sway 4 of my cousins and my mom to vote for me. Do the math:  5 x 3 votes per text to 2929 equals 15 votes. Definitely not enough for me to win, but heck, 15 votes is definitely better than zilch. Yay!

On the night of MBS3, I remember getting a call from Brendel informing me that my personal blog won a Globe Digital Tribe Award. Knowing my friends, there’s a pretty good chance that it was just a prank, so I shrugged the idea off. A few minutes after the call, I received a couple of SMS congratulating me for bagging the award. That’s when I knew it was for real.

Only one thing I can say, it’s very flattering to be sharing the award with these blogging royalties from Mindanao:  Ria Jose of Life With Ria, Lyle Santos of Thinking Out Loud, Andrew Dela Serna of Alleba Blog, Migs Hipolito of Migs Mobile, Avel Manansala of GenSantos.com , Chiq Montes, Pete Lavina, Bob Martin and Blogie Robillo.

To Globe Telecom, Philippine Blog Awards and my subscribers, thank you heaps! This award means so much to me as it’s one of the few good things that happened to me in oh-nine.

P.S.
And oh, this award gave me another reason to stick to my Globe mobile network and Globe Tattoo plug-in internet. Woot!

The pain on the thumb side of my right wrist has been bugging me for more than a month, so last Monday, I finally went to see a doctor.

Diagnosis:  de Quervain’s tenosynovitis

Treatment:

1.  splint right thumb (photo above shows the splint that I’ll be sporting for 4-6 weeks. Ugh!)
2.  undergo therapy 3 times a week
3.  Cataflam, t.i.d.

If Kadayawan wasn’t nearing, I wouldn’t have gone to the doctor. I knew I’d be spending hoursss taking photos during the festival, and I just wanted to make sure that I had no serious problem with my wrist.

At least it’s just de Quervain’s. The thumb splint will definitely help relax my thumb, but it will definitely get in the way of shooting in Manual mode. Pffft.

The best mom in the world!

Happy birthday, mum! I can never thank you enough.  Love you heaps!

Just to get me past 140 characters, I have listed below 10 random stuff about my uber cool mom:

1.  Can stay up late, like 2AM or 3AM, just to finish a season of FRIENDS.
2.  Can spend the whole day malling–that’s 10AM to 9PM. Not all moms her age can do that.  Lucky me.
3.  Favorite TV series would be House MD, CSI, Fallen, Brothers and Sisters, and Ghost Whisperer.
4.  Usually, she calls me “Tin” or “Teng”, but screams “Katireeeeen!” when she’s irritated or mad.
5.  Her magic touch eases my migraines and tummy aches.
6.  She’s allergic to chicken, pork, beef, tuna, cheese, tomatoes, soy sauce, msg, mushrooms, eggs, squids, crabs, eggplant, cow’s milk, chocolate…
7.  Generous to the point of being abused.
8.  Could play Text Twist for 5 straight hours.
9.  Likes yogurt ice cream and Selecta’s Gold Series Berry Strawberry ice cream.
10. Loves me unconditionally (or so I think, LOL)

Kettynxbai

Most of the people know me as Chattee, but there are also a number who call me Katie. For my coffeename, name on receipts, etc  I prefer the latter because it’s so much fun.

It started with Starbucks Cebu when a barista put the name “Kidie” on my cup.

Then, a number of Americans called me “KeeKee” even if I repeatedly said Kaay-Teee.

And now, comes this receipt from Chowking.

I wonder what’s next.

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