One Night of Poetry Reading and Spoken Words for the Benefit of the Typhoon Victims

What is happening today in the Philippines is indescribable and beyond words. Two strong typhoons ravaged and wreck havoc among the people and killed hundreds of Manila residents and its nearby area. By this time you all probably seen on videos and news footages the destruction that Mother Nature brought to hapless victims by way of flood due to continuous rainfall that should have been for a month’s pour comes in merely a day.

Filipinos with the help of fellow Filipinos and the citizens of the world are scampering for ways to help and abate the destruction if not lessen the wound inflicted in the otherwise drowning situation. These trying times once again serves as a litmus paper to test the ability of fellow human being regardless of citizenship to extend help whatever assistance they can give.

In our own little way, as writers, musicians and artists gathered up our voices in a night of solidarity and sympathy and aired our emotions through poetry reading. There is not enough words to contain the anguish and torment the victims had felt during the drowning moment of the typhoon, however, still there remains voice of solidarity and conscience to let the world know that people still cares.

Audiences of the poetry night held last October 6, 2009 at Conspiracy Garden Bar were asked to bring relief goods and other donations for the affected residents of the typhoon Ondoy.

In a melancholic air of spoken words and poetry all huddle up trying to keep the cold chilling breeze left by the killer typhoon. The night was a night of stone-cold eerie evening like no other night washed away by fiery words of smoke-filled darkness. Keeping in mind that anything might happen sooner or later within the gusting wind where no place is a safe place.

This might serves as a painful reminder of the destruction of environment. No one thinks and no one utters a direct blame yet all are guilty of the degradation of the environment. If a small act of selfishness had snow-balled into a humungous destruction, maybe, just maybe a small act such as this unselfish poetry night for the victims of the typhoon Ondoy can morph into enormous salvation of what was left there to save.

Our act as writer, musicians and artists might not fathom the intensity of the situation and might not actually contribute to the healing of the wound inflicted but being artists we cannot just shut out eyes and muffle our voice nor cover our ears in the middle of the woes and cries of the victims.

This is something beyond our emotion can handle and helping out in any which way we can could makes us feel human again. Thanks to the people of Km64 and the fellow writers at www.filipinowriter.com as well as the owners of Conspiracy Garden Bar who makes this night possible.

Watch the video footage of the poetry night, here and here.

Cheap Flat TV at home

Few people know this, but recently i was quite astounded to the fact that you can have a flat TV (22 inches) in half the price of the real top of the line electronic brand in the market today.

If you are familiar with CD-R-King, dubbed as the cheapest shop for all your computer needs (well, not really all) they have those stand alone router look-a-like they called TV box. Cheaply-priced at around 2,000 plus pesos.

The TV box has many features in it. A Taiwan manufactured tuner that has an outlet for your TV antenna or cable connection, plug-in for stereo, PS2 connector, VGA outlet to connect to a monitor and a remote control.

All you have to do is to connect it to your computer monitor, if you have a flat LCD monitor, the better, however if you don’t want to use your computer monitor—you can buy one for 4,000 pesos to 10,000 depending on your budget.

The installation and set-up is easy, and you can save as much as half the price of those expensive flat TVs with the same dimension as your LCD monitor, and same resolution too.

Plugging in a sub-woofer speaker is optional especially if you have those monitors with invisible speakers or built-in speaker on it, but the heck it is enjoyable to watch in a dome sounding speaker!

This is not a paid adverts of any electronic brand, i thought i might share a thing or two about some cheap innovations in electronic fad nowadays especially when the economic downturn had it to most of us. Well, it’s not going to fill in an empty stomach, however the savings incurred is worth mentioning.

Technorati Tags: TV box,technology,LCD monitor,cheap flat TV,buy cheap TV,CDR king,taiwan TV

The Globe Broadband Ordeal

This is a copy of the letter I sent to the Globe Broadband Executive in hoping to resolve the worsening situation of my internet connection. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that my appeal will be heard.

This letter is in reference to my on-going complaint and request for your office to have a technical team to come to my house and install an external antenna to enhance my wireless broadband connection.

Last March 31, I approached the Globe Business Center office located at Calamba Laguna for the request to transfer my Broadband connection from my old rented house. The new location is less than a kilometer away from the previous one and I have already provided along with my application form a sketch how to locate my place. Also, I have given them (the business center) my Cell Phone number to contact me in case there is a problem.

The guy at the business center (I forgot his name) instructed me as he go on verifying my submitted application form that it will take at least 7 to 10 days before I will have an internet connection and for their technical team to come into my house and install the antenna. Ok so I waited.

The first Follow-up (April 6)

After 7 days, I called up the customer hotline (029198888) to follow up on the installation and the connection. I spoke to an operator, but to my surprise she had no record of my request of transfer of location, and immediately asked me all the details of it including the location of the business center did I happen to transact with, and so I obliged. The operator learned that the Calamba Globe Business Center did not do their job of dispatching my request for transfer as the 7 days had past prior to the follow up I made. It is only during that day that my request for transfer had its first movement after 7 days of being stagnant. The operator assured me that it will take 3 to 5 days to have my connection be active again.

The 2^nd follow up (April 7)

I followed up again the next day, knowing the previous experience with them that they sleep on my request. I have plenty of jobs that needs internet uploading and downloading. And having no internet connection for just a matter of days could do a surmountable harm in my economic situation, not to mention the reputation of meeting deadlines as a writer and artist. I spoke to a guy named Fernan. I can’t get a clear cut answer where is the exact date or time somebody will come to my house and install again or if not when will my connection be remotely connected? He just keeps on saying that all I have to do is wait. I have waited and wasted long enough time, and all I need is a clear answer when I will have a connection.

Since I can’t get a clear answer from Fernan (he keeps insisting that I should wait) I requested for somebody, a supervisor whom I can talk to. After a few minutes of waiting I got to talk to Gwen. She’s accommodating all right, and assured me that she will immediately look into my case and request a dispatch for the technical team. At around mid-noon she called back at my cell phone, informing me that they cannot access the ORDER NUMBER of my request for transfer at the Globe Calamba Business Center, there appears to be an error every time they attempted to generate an order number in my account. The order number is what they needed to give to the tech team in order for them to dispatch the working party to fix my connection.  Nothing happens, she just promised me to call me again if there will be an order number generated and had sent to the tech team.

After the day ends Gwen called me up again to inform me that she had already passed on the order number to the Tech Team, but apparently there are no answers from the team.

The 3^rd Follow-up (April 9)

The next day, I followed it up again, I’m getting weary and tired of the roundabout of this matter, all I want is a decent internet connection and nothing else, but I have been subjected to this uncomfortable situation wherein I have to talk to different people who cannot answer just a simple question of WHEN WILL I HAVE AN INTERNET CONNECTION?

I spoke to a supervisor named Michelle Baguna. Gwen handed her my case in time she is out, in fairness to Michelle she did her duty of following up and calling me whenever there are updates—but still nothing happens. The technical team is nowhere to be found. I learned also that my connection should have been restored April 7, but nothing is ever done.

The 4^th follow up (April10)

Michelle Baguna called me on this day; she told me that the Tech Team told her that I can now bring the Modem from my old house to the new house and have it installed myself. I had already brought the modem since the day one to my new apartment, since I feared that it will be lost if I left it in the old house—as a new tenant will occupy it. Also, I already brought the external antenna and the cables ready to be installed if only the technical team would come and fix it.

Okay, so I followed her instruction, I installed the modem and check the internet connection. Good! I have a connection—in a snail’s pace. I can’t even open an email, the attachments (if I ever got to open an email) is as slow as a snail, and the connection drops every 5 minutes or so. I tried to live with that until now (April 16) pending the arrival of the technical team who should install my external antenna. But not until this morning where I found out that the Globe Broadband had a system restoration and there is no internet connection.

The recent follow-up (April 16)

I decided to follow-up again and call the customer hotline (029198888) again. I spoke to Noah and ask what is the status of the tech team dispatch to my house? To my anger and surprise he told me that I should install the antenna myself. Where in the hell did these people being trained? I didn’t know that when the Globe Broadband handed me the modem the first time I had connection it comes with DO-IT-YOURSELF kit, or they come up with broadband installation for dummies. Where in the hell did the operator come up with the idea that the subscriber should be the one to climb the roof and install the external antenna? Did I pay for P1, 200 at the Calamba Business center for the transfer of connection for that? Whose job is it anyway? Is it the subscriber’s discretion to install their own antenna?

What if the subscriber is an old woman? or a just a woman for that matter? Do you expect your entire subscriber possess a long ladder and capable to climb and install an antenna to the roof? Are we covered with Globe Broadband life insurance if anything happens to us in the course of installing the antenna to the roof?

My new apartment is a two storey 20 to 30 feet from the ground and these modern houses are made of concrete and steel and a simple climbing and utilization of household utensils such as pliers and blade to cut the cord is not sufficient and not safe—the climbing alone is not safe for the inexperienced! That’s why I always insist for the tech team to come to my house and fix the antenna, how hard is that to understand?

After a debate with the operator named Noah, he turned me over to his supervisor named JV. Here it goes again, JV said to me that they have an ongoing system restoration repair that is why they cannot dispatch a technical team as I requested. I asked him when did the system restoration repair started?  He replied that it’s just barely a day. My god! I’ve waited for 16 days for the technical team to arrive to my house and have my antenna installed and all he could do for an alibi is that? I have been asking for the team for 16 days and he will reason out that they cannot be dispatched because there is a system restoration happening for just barely a day? What happened to the rest of 15 days I’m waiting? This is so goddamn preposterous. He even insisted that I should install the antenna for myself, knowing that the antenna need not to be faced anywhere, and further instructing me to just install it somewhere above the roof.

This is insane! I will not be surprised if I call again the customer hotline and some imbecile on the other line will instruct me to go get an internet signal for myself.

My role as a subscriber is to PAY whatever it is due to me, pay the amount that I agreed to pay in monthly basis. The role of the Internet Service provider is to PROVIDE me a decent connection, along with that is the support for me to properly enjoy my money’s worth of internet services. I have done my job, I already paid and paying faithfully ever since, the question is, did the Globe Broadband doing their job?

If in any case the subscriber failed to settle his/her obligation of paying the amount due, the Globe Broadband immediately act a corresponding exploit of cutting off the services and to the extent filing necessary charges, not to mention a letter from the law firm. But what if the Globe Broadband in itself failed to perform its duties to the consumer? Is it the same as we can terminate their services? Or filed charges? I think this is just a one way situation knowing the fact that the Globe have locked in the consumers in their “lock-in-period program” on which I think is unfair and unjust.

All I want is an external antenna installation so that I can even open an email, no I’m not even dreaming of watching videos in YouTube or downloading movies for my pleasure. If the location of my new apartment is not good enough for a decent connection, the business center should have informed me 16 days ago and have finally decided to terminate my Globe Broadband account and transfer to a much wider coverage of the other network.

I am still hoping that things will be settled for good, but keeps an open option of terminating my account and find another one who can assist me and provide me a decent connection.

 

ShopWiki: a Hodgepodge in Online Shopping Networks

The internet is full of information that browsing them everyday seems like endless. It is like when you are thirsty; holding an empty glass in your hand and right there in front of you is a gush of an open fire hydrant. However, when it comes to shopping online there are few reliable sources and sites that can be trusted. Who would ever want their hard earned money disappear into oblivion when shopping online? Of course nobody wants that. Then came along ShopWiki.

The good thing with ShopWiki is it is like a big shopping place where different stores can be found inside. Recently our family needs an additional computer; the kids in their school requirements needs to finish almost every projects and papers all at the same time and you know how it is like when they breathe in the back of your neck demanding their turn to pound the keyboard. 

This is where ShopWiki helps a lot. Browsing on their Laptop and computers buying guide helps us to choose what is best and suitable for our budget. Their computer monitors buying guide gives me an idea where to shop and the price range of a good and latest monitor to replace the old one.

I am thinking of buying a new printer for the kids because the printer I have right now is being used for my desktop publishing business and I don’t want to have any problem with my printer when I share it with the kid’s school work.

I’m always glad there’s ShopWiki online, a reliable hodgepodge and directory of online shopping networks. Best of all their information is sufficient enough for you to decide how to make the best out of your limited budget.

Borders UK - The Intelligent Alternative

Book lovers around the world will find borders UK an exhilarating venue where they can find lots of awesome books for the taking. They have the latest and the greatest collection of books, text books, audio books, books about travelguides, magazine subscriptions, music, and gift cards as well as DVD collection of rare and classic films through time.

Ordering is a breeze as they don’t charge shipping fee on all orders above £15, which is good news to those who find their shopping basket full of books—as the site offers vast amount of titles from fiction to non-fiction paperbacks.

I have come across their book of the month titled Darwin’s Island by Steve Jones, another witty and illuminating book about the man and his works that until now pose controversy among the believers and the students alike. Border UK also have in it’s shelve a book version of Slum dog millionaire, the award winning movie now on book. Check out their borders jan 2009 collection and book of the month and their reviews of best selling paperbacks for details.

In this world of technological advances, where book reading are substituted by numerous innovation in life such as the internet and the movies—flipping papers through book reading remains steady in its quest for giving off entertaining and intelligent options for the people around the globe. And this pursuit to bring back the intelligent habit of book reading to the public is one of the noble deeds Border UK carry on its shoulders.