Wish Granted: Starbucks Planner 2009

Adrian handed me a black box. I wasn’t surprised, it was pretty obvious, I already know what is inside.

And when I opened it…. dan- da – dan!

Now I finally lay off my hands to my own Starbucks Planner. Yeah. Enough of those Google searching just to see how it looked like this year, I have my own planner to flip and scribble through.

It is nearly the end of January and the Planners are still available in Multiply and e-bay which was good for me. I have no time to fill promo cards so I decided to buy from online sellers. I looked for the cheapest one available, gave the number to Adrian to deal with the transaction. It was offered for 850 pesos but Adrian bought it through meet up for 800 pesos only. He saved 50 which were good enough because he did not haggle for that final price. The bonus? It was black. The color I wanted my planner to be. I was quite pessimistic about it because of the “running out of stocks” thingy. Well, that black is really for me hehe. Thanks to Ms. Joy from Sulit.com. =)

Not much of the market was captivated by this year’s planner unlike the previous years. But I just can’t let that this month pass without having it. Take a peek.

My awards!

One time, big time! I have several awards shared to me by Ate Lainy of Our Journey to Forever and Ate Mystique of Mystique's Moments.


I always appreciate being awarded and tagged. I feel special and remembered . Out of so many bloggers here in the blogosphere, they thought of me. Thanks pretty ladies Ate Lainy and Ate Mystique for the awards. I may not be active for the past few days but you still shared these lovely awards to me. =)

Now I am sharing these awards to these deserving bloggers:
Beth of Everything Under the Sun
Kcat of I am Kcat
Wendy of Nurturing Nigel
Abie of The Sweet Life
Cherry of Tales of Pinay Single Mom

Irretrievable Files

Does this ever happen to you? At times my fingers work faster than my mind. As I was sprucing up my files saved in my USB, I accidentally deleted a folder containing important files. It was too late when I clicked “cancel” button. Dang it! Nothing was left but the empty folder. In most cases, deleted files can be restored through the recycle bin. However, files in the USB are not sent in the recycle bin. What a misfortune. Mind over matter, I composed myself, searched the Internet for possible ways to retrieve my files. I have downloaded two programs namely Fast File Undelete and Smart Undelete. Both scans the system and shows the list of files deleted and creates information regarding the files’ status. I almost jump to my feet when I saw the filenames of my deleted files. But, to my surprise and dismay, it cannot be retrieved without purchasing the software. I was hopeless, I just have to charge it to experience.

A lesson learned, not all things can be undone. It should live by these healthy computer habits:

• Back up my important files to avoid instances like this
• Control my impulsive-clicking-finger every time I execute an action
  
• And lastly, double selected check files before deleting

photo from raymond

Starbucks Planner 2009

For coffee addicts, Starbucks Planners are rewarding must-haves. I have accumulated Starbucks planner last 2007 and 2008. But this year, I got none =(. Fair enough, I did not give much attention to acquiring one until the start of the year. I have no stickers since I have not been to Starbucks that much lately and the dream of having a planner won’t happen unless I buy. I was not aware that this time, there were only few stickers to be completed.

This year’s Planner is available in three colors, red, black and blue. I prefer the black one. I just don’t know if it’s still out for sale. Starbucks Planners are selling like hotcakes. They always ran out stock and you still have to reserve before having one. However, I will be trying my luck. hehe

Is there someone kind enough to give me that black one? haha

photo from Flickr

Narcissistic shrines on the web

I would like to share this article I have read from Manila Bulletin.

The evil that is social networking sites

Czarina Nicole O. Ong

Poor Narcissus. All he ever did was love. Love himself, that is. Narcissus loved himself so much, that when he saw his own reflection in a pool, he tried to kiss it and unfortunately drowned in the process.

No one is foolish enough to follow his example. Sure, people love to bask in their own limelight once in a while, but nobody would go as far as kissing their own reflection (literally, that is). But today, the big three W’s have sites popping up that encourage the narcissistic or the "love me" complex. They call them social networking sites, but calling them narcissistic complex sites would have been more apt.

How it all started

Deemed as the pioneer of all social networking sites in the Philippines, Friendster was first launched in 2002 and currently has over 85 million members, the majority of which are from Southeast Asia. Friendster’s VP for global marketing David Jones even says, "The biggest percentage of users is from the Philippines, clocking in with 39% of the site’s traffic."

Friendster’s appeal to Filipinos is phenomenal, and is soon followed by Multiply and Facebook. Each site is unique, boasting of features different from that of its counterparts. Testimonials are exclusive to Friendster, writing reviews are Multiply’s forte, while Superpoke and Mob Wars are Facebook’s babies.

These sites have been used not only as dating sites or friend finders, but also as a hub for trade and business. Multiply, especially, boasts of thousands of entrepreneurs, selling items ranging from clothes, accessories, and shoes to gadgets and cameras.

Clearly, people have found how to maximize the use of these sites. But human nature, being the predictable devil that it is, has also found a way to destroy it.

The bad side of the network

People would not be content with just browsing and posting pictures. The Pandora in every one (not just the girls) simply has to check other profiles too. And if one chances upon a better site, or just one which boasts of better pictures, then the seed of insecurity has been planted.

Because of this insecurity, people will go out of their wits’ end trying to upstage one another. This encourages the Narcissus in all of us. The more friends we have, or the better we look in our profiles pictures, then the more fabulous we are. That’s why a lot of people invest so much time and effort in beautifying their sites, sometimes neglecting their physical needs because of it. These sites then become subtle tools in telling the world, "Look at me! Love me! Envy me!"

But this isn’t supposed to be. The idea behind these sites is actually inspiring. Getting people to bond and discover more about each other through a single website is mind-boggling. But the idea has been abused; in fact, it has been distorted. And because of this distortion, what was supposed to have been another one of mankind’s greatest inventions is transformed into a disturbing, self-absorbed, and spite-inducing hub. If he were born today, Narcissus wouldn’t have merely drowned in a pool. In fact, he would have simply died of starvation while sitting on his computer chair, waiting for his thousands of pictures to be uploaded.

source Manila Bulletin

Very true isn't? Well then, are you Narcissistic?

Pagerank, a gift from Google

My new year started with a blast. As I was browsing the net, I came across page rank checker. I have read through several blogs the Pagerank update many bloggers were glad about. I felt a tinge of envy since I have been used to having PR0 in my blogging history hehe. Reluctant as I was, I still checked mine. However, this time, it was unexpectedly different. Yes, there was an eye popping news. This blog, This is so me, is now officially PR2. I have checked it several times thinking the site might lapsed a bit. With a deep sense of gratification, after several tries, there was only a single result, PR2. I was like "wow". I never dreamt of having it but here it was. I felt proud, happy and thankful. This was a good jumpstart of the year.

My love for blogging cannot be hampered with or without Pagerank. Nevertheless, I am so grateful to Google for this New Year gift. I am also thankful to all my readers and droppers. I owe it to you. Thank you so much!