Facebook fan

Today in our world in which taps on the keyboard and clicks on the mouse has been a way of life, social networking sites boomed like mushrooms, Friendster, Myspace, Hi5, Tagged and the list goes on. One site that stands out among the rest is Facebook.

They say Facebook is addictive. Some of my friends invited me to join hence, I gave in and tried what the fuss is all about. I am surprised to see a lot of my friends signed up already. Suddenly, I felt left out hehe. (Though I have Friendster account to keep me posted, I rarely open it.) I started using applications like Pet Society and Restaurant City. It kept me coming back to check my online barn and restaurant, which is one thing I got hooked aside from the updates of my friends. I agree, indeed, Facebook is addicting. It affected my blogging habits haha. It’s far different from the rest. Facebook chat enables users to chat with their friends online. The quizzes, games, events, virtual gifts are among their winning features that caught the interest of Internet users.

Personally, I love their games. They are cute and user friendly unlike MMORPG which requires more complex understanding of the characters’ built and the utilization of varied items in the game. In addition to the know-how needed, money is also involved to speed up leveling.

I remember encouraging my sister to use applications in Facebook particularly Restaurant City and Barn Buddy. She told me once that she can not comprehend and not so interested about it. But now, when she started, she’s always online and on play. She even beat up my restaurant statistics.

Now I believe when one starts using Facebook, it is unlikely to stop. Spending time with Facebook is acceptable as long as you can balance your time online and offline. When you spend more time online than off, that’s the moment to reassess and plan your habits properly. Hmmm, I think I’m close to that point of reassessment =).

Starbucks Frappe in a Bottle

I was surprised not because of a Genie in a bottle instead, my favorite mocha frappe in the grocery store! I don’t know how when was it made available in the supermarket.

I was in SM Hypermarket last Sunday when I was surprised to see the bottled Frappuccino beverages adjacent to other coffee products. Curiosity kicked in, I grabbed a bottle. There were three varieties I saw, Mocha, Vanilla and Caramel. But I learned from Starbucks’ site, there were actually six varieties including Mocha Lite, Coffee and Dark Chocolate Mocha. The price is 100 pesos which is cheaper compare to their standard mocha frappe available in their chain outlets. Why? I guess because it comes without the refreshing ice chill and thick whipped cream.

The taste? It’s a funny thing. I bought it, I got a picture of it and I blogged about it, but I haven’t tasted it yet. Haha I hid it under the pile of clothes in my closet. Unfortunately, I forgot to retrieve it when I packed my things and went back to my aunt’s house. I texted my brother to consume it and I told myself to buy another. I was unlucky, I got nothing from Landmark. Well, selfishness really is a bad attitude haha.

One Liter of Tears

Out of all the television dramas only few of them touches my heart. One of which was One Liter of Tears. Never did I miss a single episode of this inspiring story. I am thankful that it has been aired in Philippine television. Tonight will be its last episode, I suppose, the saddest of all. But I am sure, it will remain forever in the hearts of its viewers.

One Liter of Tears is an adaptation of the diary of a Japanese girl named Aya Kitō, who suffered from spinocerebellar ataxia. She began keeping a diary at the suggestion of her doctor, and continued to write until she could no longer hold a pen. The diary, titled 1 rittoru no namida, was published shortly before her death. Although some of the characters and situations are fictionalized in this television version, the dialogue frequently draws directly from Aya Kitô's own words. Moreover, each episode concludes with a narrated diary excerpt, framed with photographs from various stages in Kitô's life, before and after her diagnosis. The screenplay thus attempts to balance between faithfully working with actual text from the book, 1 rittoru no namida, while also inventing situational contexts so as to portray the struggles of the book's characters in dramatic scenarios. The character Haruto Asô, for example, does not exist in the original diary; however, as a fictional character created for this series, he provides an important mechanism through which Aya's inner feelings, the diary's language on a page, can become more fully actualized as part of a day-to-day narrative. (from Wiki)

This Japanese drama really lived up to its title. I can’t help but be encumbered by gravity of the story that I burst into tears in several heart pounding scenes. I admired Aya for her courage despite her sickness. Though her future was unpromising for her, she still managed to smile, continued to live and settled on what was left in her life – writing. She was able to accept her fate amidst her inevitable nearing death.


Indeed true. Everyday, we take for granted that we are alive, we breathe, we are able to run, walk and speak everytime we want to. And yet we complain for small unnecessary things and fail to appreciate the goodness in our lives.

Let us all continue to live like Aya, take one step at a time, lived with optimism and courage regardless of the setbacks we are bound to encounter. May Aya’s story continually touch ,inspire and change our lives. Life is a gift, let’s treasure it.

St Luke's Medical Center Extension Clinic

The other day, we went to St. Luke’s Medical Center Extension Clinic for our medical examinations needed to apply for student visa. SLEC is the accredited medical facility for Canadian, US and Australian Embassies. It is located at 1177 J Bocobo St, Ermita Manila.

We arrived at by 9:30 a.m. at the clinic and were done by 3:00 p.m. Though there was definitely long line of people waiting for their turn, their process is very systematic which eases the different tasks. Here is their working flowchart.

(click it for a larger view)

Wanted: Webdesigner

It is very evident that I have lesser posts in my blog compare to what I usually have. Wondering why? Well, I have a new baby! It’s another blog I am avidly occupied these days. Photoshop is my best friend during dreary days so I opted to create another blog to compile all my Photoshop works. I made several icons already that were patronized by my nieces hehe. They posted them in their Friendster profiles through the code I provided. I felt a tinge of pride hehe. Though the graphics are not so pro, I am still learning new ways to make them better. I intend to do some more and take it to another level – a graphics website.


As of now, here’s my blog,

Bear with me its not so presentable yet because of the inappropriate layout. The monumental hindrance I am facing now is finding the appropriate web design. I do not know how to have the gallery/categorized type or whatever-they-call-it design used in websites to organize graphics into different categories. I am referring to how the graphics were arranged like that of Glitter Graphics. I doubt if it could be achieved using Blogger as the platform. Wordpress is the option but my know-how on codes is very limited especially with CSS. Posting is the only thing I am good at using Wordpress hehe. Do you know some body who can help me with the layout? Or it could be you? Please leave a comment or reach me at alei_0408@yahoo.com. Thanks!