Once upon a time, a baby named Clara went out to lunch with her mom and aunt (that’s me) at a Chinese restaurant in downtown Kingston called New Kam Tong. Clara simply liked it there, not because her last name is in Chinese or for anything else.
There were two Chinese female servers in that restaurant. Because I am forgetful, let’s call them Zhang and Ziyi. They both loved playing with Clara and would serve her a piece of those Chinese crackers.
Those crackers really did melt in her mouth.
After lunch, Clara would always have those crackers in her take-away bag tucked somewhere in her push chair’s utility basket. Then off we go to Boots where her mom would buy her Cow & Gate milk and meals and lots of Huggies.
Clara didn’t like going to Boots. Although it’s warmer inside, she found it cramped with many people and office furniture blocking her way and view. She loved staying out in the cold.
It was in one of those benches you see at those Mr. Bean flicks that Clara and I met a couple of old women who looked like the Queen Mother. We would exchange smiles and pleasantries with them as we didn’t know how to curtsy.
A dozen of pigeons descended from the deck parking when Clara pulled out her take-away bag to eat some of those fish crackers. We fed the birds fish crackers despite the sign not to give food to them. We thought it was good. And the pigeons loved her.
During the State of the Nation Address (SONA) last July 28, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo announced that the three giant telecommunication networks heeded the government’s call to cut the SMS rate to half. Globe, Sun and Smart decided to cut the SMS rate down to P.50 from the usual P1 standard rate.
She said, “Texting is a way of life. I asked the telecoms to cut the cost of messages between networks. They responded. It is now down to 50 centavos.” Wow, that means I’ll have a budget to spare to buy a brand new air conditioning compressor and have cooler nights. And yes, a cooler head, too.
But before everyone starts jumping for joy and kiss Gloria’s foot for being “pro-poor”, let me state this clear. What the government has just announced in SONA is a 3-month SMS promo valid until October 22, 2008.
If you’re a Globe subscriber, here’s how you could avail of the PGMA’s SMS promo. It requires registration.
1. To register, text TO (space) 20 to 2868
2. Upon registration, P20 will be deducted from your balance.
3. Wait for confirmation SMS within 30 minutes.
4. Once you received confirmation, you may start texting galore up to a limit of 40 SMS a day.
5. If the 40 SMS limit was not exhausted in 24 hours, it will be forfeited. You have to register again and pay P20.
6. To check your balance, text TO (space) BAL to 2868. Balance inquiry costs P1.
In other words, the 50-centavo text promo is only valid for 24 hours at a registration fee of P20. Let’s hope this latest government scheme would save a hungry nation.
I have been sailing through various ads at PEX (pinoyexchange.com) when I came across a link to Kuya Kevin’s blog last weekend. Aside from writing down events happening around him, his blog gives an overview of what his book, Basta Lovelife, is all about. He tackles never-ending issues of most modern Filipino singles on purity and promiscuity, ambiguous relationships, homosexuality and character on a biblical perspective. Kuya Kevin is doing a campus ministry in the Philippines. Originally, he’s from Alabama, USA.
Before you sign the burial insurance of your dormant lovelife, or speed through the relationship highway without your helmet on, I recommend checking out Kuya Kevin’s blog instead of soliciting advices online from strangers you don’t even know. Life of a single person today has never been this complex as popular views are becoming as dispensable as paper cups. If you’re easily swayed by your hormones, emotions (no, I do not refer to myself hehe…) and by what you hear, see and/or taste outside, maybe it’s time to reconcile your acts and thoughts to what the Bible says on many issues. It’s not just a book on sets of do’s and don’ts but a guide to good and sane living. I don’t believe the book is outdated either. Otherwise, it won’t sell 6 billion copies worldwide. (Or maybe even more.)
