22 June, 2012

Summer Beach Trip

Region Five; Bicol; PhilippinesSadly, none.

Summer is over? Time flew by so fast! And I can’t believe we didn’t even get to enjoy a beach trip, the whole 1 month (plus less than a week more) that I was in the Bicol region. The region is surrounded by water and I didn’t get to enjoy the warm feel of the sand under my feet or the wonderful smell of salty air from the sea.

I should get the sunless tanning booths discount deal that I saw on my email inbox earlier because my summer wouldn't be complete without me getting a few shades darker.

15 June, 2012

Everyday and every day

Everyday and every day are pronounced the same but are not interchangeable.

everyday_or_every_day 
Everyday is an adjective that means ordinary, routine, or commonplace.
Example: I will now eat fruits and vegetables everyday.

Every day is an adverb that means each day.
Example: Every day is a new opportunity to correct whatever mistake was done the previous day.

Tip: To check whether you’re using the correct word, try using “each day”. If each day works on the sentence, then every day can be used. If it sounds wrong, then everyday should be used.

11 June, 2012

Could not connect to website

I never encountered a downtime with the server where all my seven blogs were hosted. Not until two weeks ago, when my web host transferred all my blogs to a new server. I and the other people who have blogs hosted on that server never questioned her decision. We just assumed that she’s doing that for the betterment of our blogs. I’m not sure if she has backups just in case something happen during the transfer. As I’ve said I never had any problem with the hosting and I truly trust the hosting administrator.

After the transfer, I wasn’t able to access my blogs and even my hosting account cpanel. Seven days, I just waited because the hosting admin said that it probably is still propagating. I kept emailing and sending messages on facebook and on her cellular phone everyday to tell her that my blogs are not working still. On the fourth or fifth day I just get tired and just opted to wait because she keeps on giving me the same answer. Although in some forums and hosting FAQ pages, it says that propagation time is 48 hours maximum.

I got so anxious on the seventh day because I had blog tasks that already expired. I contacted her again and she said that my blogs are online on her side. My sister suggested that I access the blog using a proxy server. It worked.

cant_access_blog

Today, I again can’t access my blogs. Some other people hosted on the same server can’t access theirs also. The blog takes so much time to load, just stops and gives up loading and show this message. Using the proxy server doesn’t work also.

The problem most probably is with the server hosting my blog. I’m depressed since I have tasks expiring tomorrow. Tasks has expired on me during the seven days that I waited for the supposed to be propagation. As much as I want to understand the administrator, I also have a reputation to uphold to my clients. And I lose money each time a task expires.
What do you think should I do?

03 June, 2012

UP and others

Yes! Magazine cover, June 2012I’m sorry if you’re not happy reading my post title. But I’m a proud UP (University of the Philippines) Alumni, I have a lot to thank UP for. It’s just my opinion so just let it go, it’s just a title, do read on.

My mom is a Yes! Magazine collector. She collects it because she loves looking at celebrity homes and getting ideas on what she can still renovate in the house. Ah, her life I envy! Her only problem now is what to do with her monthly pension.

So I was reading her latest issue, June 2012, of Yes! Magazine and can’t agree more with what Chico (the other half of the Chico and Delamar duo) said* because I feel the exact same way. (* - boxed in red on the image below)

Chico of the Chico and Delamar tandem, UP AlumniI was shy before UP. I never voiced out my opinion for fear of making a mistake and getting laughed at. I was never bullied though like Chico.
I didn’t have a lot of friends in high school. The close friends that I had in first year, I had to “unfriend”. There was this one girl who declared herself the group’s leader. Not verbally but she acted it. And everyone in our group always follow her lead. If she wants to sit under a tree, they sit under a tree. If she wants to go to the library, they all go with her to the library.

I didn’t want to be part of any of that so I stopped hanging out with them. I go straight home after school. I’d rather read a book or hang out with my boardmates than be bullied by Mary Lord. Yes, that’s her real name.

But in UP, there were no bullies. I found my confidence in UP.

Everyone treated everyone equal. Mary Lord’s will never exist there. And I found friends who are still my friends up to now, 19 years after.
Thank you UP!

02 June, 2012

How to tune a guitar

My son's guitar was out of tune the other day. So I took the liberty of tuning it myself. I'm planning to buy a tuner but the instruction from this book that we at home have is good enough at the moment. Here's the step by step guide on how to tune a guitar. Photographs and instructions lifted from "New Ways to Guitar and Piano Playing" by Romeo B. Mahinay.

guitar tuning guide guitar tuning guide

Summer Fun Activity: Guitar Lessons

My son chose to enroll in guitar lessons this summer break. He already has 2 guitars, one is in Manila and I bought another one here in the province. I bought the second guitar last summer break when I enrolled him in guitar and piano lessons. Those lessons were unsuccessful because one: he keeps complaining that his fingers hurt after each guitar lesson and two: he didn't practice when we got back home in Manila so he completely forgot his lessons.

guitar lessons

But this year he's getting good in playing the guitar. Maybe because I didn't choose what he should enroll in. He also asked his teacher to help him learn "Crash" by Matt Willis, a song featured on the movie "Mr. Bean's Holiday". He gets to play the songs that he likes and he now loves playing the guitar. My niece, who’s taking piano lessons might buy a guitar or a banduria because she wants to learn how to play another musical intrument this summer break. RJ wants to learn how to play the drums. Maybe next year, we’ll see.

ALECO Albay

This problem has been going on for years already and it hasn't been resolved yet. I can only count on my one hand the number of days, each month, that we didn't experience power interruption. Take note of the didn't.
There are even days when the ALECO office near our town doesn't even know that we don't have electricity. What a very lousy service. So if you live in Albay, here are the ALECO numbers that you can call.

ALECO_serving_Albayanos
Polangui - (052) 4861486
Ligao - (052) 4852348
Legaspi - (052) 4811584
Tabaco - (052) 4874625
NGCP - (052) 8241109

website: aleco dot com dot ph

How to Get Started as a Paralegal

Legal assistants such as paralegals support lawyers by doing a variety of tasks. Duties vary depending on the size of the organization; the paralegals generally help in investigating the facts of the case, research, report writing, and help lawyers during trials. There are even various types of paralegals such as corporate paralegals and litigation paralegals. There are several different ways make this your own career path.

scale_of_justice

Education
Paralegals must hold either an associate degree or bachelor's degree. Many community colleges have associate degree programs for aspiring paralegals. There are also colleges and universities that offer bachelor’s degrees and master’s degrees in paralegals studies. There are even certificate programs that provide paralegal training for people who already have a college degree. Although rare, some employers hire paralegals with no education or experience in the field, but train them on the job. However, most paralegal jobs require a bachelor’s degree.

Students within these programs can expect to learn about legal research, the legal applications of computers, and other academic subjects. In order to become a good paralegal, students must be familiar with using computers for legal research and litigation support. Paralegals need interpersonal skills as they spend a lot of time working with clients and other professionals. As they work with many cases at a single time, they must be adaptive and have strong organizational skills. They must also learn how to speak and write effectively to document their work and relate their information to others.

Student should also consider taking an internship to gain experience working in a private law firm, government agency, or other setting within the field of law. Students who have completed an internship likely have better technical skills and better employment prospects.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are more than 1,000 colleges and universities who offer paralegal training programs, but only about 720 of them are approved by the American Bar Association.

Certification
While not required work in the field, paralegal certification can help with gaining employment. Students can gain certification through different paralegal organizations by passing an exam. Certification can also be acquired by those who meet certain experience and education criteria. 

Training
Those who are hired directly without any legal education or experience are typically trained on the job. Most people in this situation have other skills that are useful to law firms, such as criminal justice or tax preparation.

Experience
Most employers like employees to have at least one year of experience within the legal field. Technical understanding of a specific legal specialty can also be helpful to candidates. Work experience is particularly important for those without any formal training.

Be warned!

Have you ever been in this situation?

Cashier: "Ma'am / Sir, we ran out of 5 cents (or 10/25 etc). Is it ok if your change is 5 cents short?"

philippine coinsOr worse, the cashier short-change you without even informing you that they ran out of coins? Why do they ran out of coins even in the morning when store just opened?

There was this one time when everyone ahead of me in the counter was short-changed. Imagine how much grocery stores "steal" every single day? Yes it's outright stealing because for the longest time that they've been in operation, they should have already “mastered” how many coins they need to have in their cash register each day to be able to give the exact change to all their customers.

Last time I bought a silver jewelry, I was ready to contra-battle their trick. I will never allow them to steal from me, I now bring 5, 10 and 25 coins in my coin purse. I'm a smart shopper, you should be one too.
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