oscar fever

Join the Oscars Pool by clicking the following link:

http://www.defectiveyeti.com/oscars/?4609

If for some reason that doesn't work for ya, you can also tell folks to go to http://www.defectiveyeti.com/oscars/ and enter this pool id:

4609

Wha?

I don't get it. Not at all.

I just came home from Burger King and got into this minor argument with my sister about how dangerous my neighborhood is and whether it is safe to be walking around at night. She fears that I might get mugged or stuck up, but I argue that my neighborhood is safe and the people are passive. The probability of being attacked is near-nil.

So fives minutes after she signs off a friend messages me, "Lao! i just needed to share something!!!" She then gives a short exposition about her past hour, when she witnessed a gang attack a man right outside her window.

"a few moments ago, there was a man who was chasing another man in our street. i think they are in a gang. the other guy was left lying on the ground. he got hit by a bottle of beer, i guess. i looked outside the window. and they were right in front of our home... waaaaaah. then i saw the other guy, pointed his gun to the guy on the ground. then fired."

Okay, this is like one of those incidents in Jasper Fforde's books where everything seems too coincidental to be realistic. If I had an entropy measurer, all the beans and peas would be seperated. But here's the thing -- what is the probability of that happening right after I get into an argument about that exact subject matter. What's the probability of that guy being attacked in the first place? What's the probability of that happening to me? Actually, the right question to ask is, what happened to the guy who was shot? Apparently, he's still alive -- so don't you worry. Supposedly, the gun was improvised and the vicitm was taken to the hospital.

Does that mean I'm going to set a curfew for myself? No! Why? Because I won't let a little fear inhibit my way of life. Why fear when the probability of getting into a car accident is far greater than being shot? Why worry about "dangerous" neighbors when my teachers are just as or even more vicious? Am I making a stupid argument? Maybe, but I'm not going to run and hide because of a few bad men.

Bad Day

I just wrote a lengthly exposition on my Bad Day, but after I clicked Publish Multiply directed me to another page that read "There was an error processing your request. Please try again.
If the problem persists, please contact customer service." I lost everything. (AND I WROTE THE WHOLE THING... 90% of it... WITH ACTIVE VERBS!! YOU KNOW HOW HARD THAT IS?! <-- passive verb...)

But here's a summary of my day.

• The MRT lacked trains this morning -- corollary, I missed the CE call-time by 40 minutes.
• I purchased a retail SIM card for Globe* for my marketing class but botched up the MPIN, locking the device from any type of transaction.
• The UCPB ATM didn't cough up any cash -- though it did cough up a receipt claiming I did withdraw.
• I spent 110 pesos on calling Globe, UCPB, and Metrobank's customer services**. Apparently, customer services is not toll-free.
• I returned to the bookstore and ashamedly admitted to Rey that I locked the phone an hour after purchasing the SIM.
• Saw a woman using Metrobank's ATM two hours after I had checked it and found the machine OFFLINE. I still needed money so I withdrew some. Found out that UCPB did not credit the withdrawal to my account =D
• Received a message with my new MPIN =D

Anyway, THANK YOU GOD for solving my problems for the day and enabling me to have a good attitude despite everything.

*I'M SELLING LOAD FOR GLOBE NOW! IF YOU PURCHASE P300 WORTH OF LOAD I'LL GIVE YOU A FREE BITE-SIZE CANDY BAR! (note: terms may change without prior notice)
**Customer service's funny. They have the same script, ask the same questions with the same sentence structure, and they always apologize after listening to your complaint, as though the fault was theirs and theirs alone.

[edit] Wow, I just realized that cross-blogging between Multiply and Blogger still works even if Multiply says there's an error.

Bad Day

This morning I woke at 0700 for a CE. To make the 0830 call-time, I'd need to leave the house by 0730 (which I did). It took ten minutes to walk to the MRT station where I stood on the platform and waited with a hundred other people. One by one, trains rolled by -- all full of people. It's not unusual to let a train or two pass during rush hour, but I stood there for 40 minutes, not moving from my position. An invisible man (and who's apparently omniscient) apologized over the loudspeaker saying there was a shortage of trains that day. Finally, at 0820 a near-empty train hissed to a stop to the shouts of "Hurray's" of many. I got to school at 0910. I ended up not sharing at the CE.

Later that day I got a retail SIM card for Globe** for my Marketing class. So, in order to send load you need to type in an MPIN to authorize a transaction. When K. Rey gave me the PIN at the bookstore I heard him say 3456 (in a mumbled manner). I figured the PIN would come with the SIM, so when I tried typing the number in it kept saying incorrect PIN. So I thought, "Ooookay." I tried typing in the PIN that was under the scratchy part, but that was wrong as well. I ended up locking the PIN.

I called customer services and got this guy with a squeaky voice who reminded me of my first accounting teacher. In the end, he couldn't help me.

After lunch, I walked to Metrobank to withdraw some money. I stepped up to the ATM machine to find out the thing was OFFLINE. So I went to the UCPB ATM at school and withdrew money -- or so it said. After dialing my PIN, I typed the amount I wanted and waited. First my card came out, then my receipt . . . but no cash. The receipt even said I had withdrawn money.

So there I was, back on my cellphone calling customer services. It's hilarious, both banks/customer services have the same script. And they always apologize after listening to your complaint, as though the fault was theirs and theirs alone. The sad thing about customer services is that despite wanting to help, they can't right away. Instead they give you a references number to your complaint and tell you to call back in 5-10 working days to solve the problem.

I checked my phone balance after these calls and found out I spent P110 pesos. Apparently, customer services is not toll-free.

So I had to do something.

I went back to the bookstore and waited in line while a handful of other Marketing students got their retail SIM cards. So after a few minutes I approached Rey and apologized to him for botching the PIN code. He gave me a disdainful look, and I read these words in his eyes, "Kid, you're wasting my time." He ended up calling some person and got my MPIN reset. (Sweet, one item down!)

I took an FX home but first checked Metrobank again to see if they were back online: they were. So I withdrew my cash and found out that UCPB didn't credit my withdrawal from my account.

Thank You God!!!

**I'M SELLING LOAD NOW! PURCHASE P300 WORTH OF LOAD AND I'LL GIVE YOU A BITESIZE CHOCOLATE BAR. (note: conditions may change without prior warning)

Christmas Wish List*

1. Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde
2. Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde**
3. KORG GA30 Guitar Tuner
4. NOKIA AC-8 Charger
5. 2 GB miniSD card
6. Cheapo Seagull Guitar

* I know, I got this out pretty late, but Santa will understand.
**Along with First Amongst Sequels by Jasper Fforde . . . its sequel