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Showing posts from 2017

14 Call Center Interview Questions & Answers

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The call center industry is one of the fastest growing in the country these days. As recently as ten years ago, there were only a few call center agents and the word call center was hardly ever used in the country. Today, almost every family has at least one member working in the call center industry. The reason for this boom is partly economics. In the Philippines, low paying jobs are very notorious and while call centers set up shop here because of the low labor costs, Filipinos decide to work for the call center industry because it pays higher than average wages. Consider this: if you are an average worker with an entry level position, you probably are getting paid seven to ten thousand a month; meanwhile, an average employee in the call center industry with an entry level position will get around fifteen thousand pesos a month, plus free dental and health benefits (HMO). Call centers also will pay your SSS (Social Security), PAGIBIG (home building fund), and PhilHealth (health ins...

Homegrown Organics Review

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It looks like Facebook knows that I'm into healthy stuff because last Monday, I saw an ad on Facebook for an online store that sells organic vegetables. Since I love the idea of buying organic vegetables online, I didn't hesitate to try out Homegrown Organics . Plus, they were offering free Sayotes . They had me at free. 😜 For my first purchase (and I say first because I'll definitely buy from them again 😀), I ordered 200 grams of organic Calamansi , 2 kilograms of organic Okra, 200 grams of organic Romaine Lettuce, 500 grams of organic Native Tomato, and a kilogram of Sweet Potato. I placed my order online last Monday and the vegetables were delivered three days after which is within the estimated delivery time frame that they give (2-3 days). Unfortunately, the Okras were yet to be harvested so I guess they'll deliver those another time. Anyway, I did receive an SMS from Homegrown Organics saying that the Okras can't be delivered yet. When I sa...

My Home Made Mayonnaise

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Last night, I dreamed that I was making mayonnaise in my blender. In the past, I have been trying to make mayonnaise by hand and using a blender only to end up with a watery substance. But because of my dream (where I successfully made mayonnaise using a blender), I told myself that I should try again. 😊 This time though, instead of ending up with a watery substance I got real thick mayonnaise (just like in my dream)! 🙌 I think that what made the difference was following the recipe to the letter. In the past, I haven't been doing so because the recipes I found online called for a lot of oil and uggh, who wants to eat oil right? But I realized that mayonnaise is a product of emulsion which is a chemical process, therefore, the amount of oil in the recipe had to be followed. The ingredients I used for my homemade mayonnaise were  oil ,  eggs ,  salt , mustard powder,  vinegar , basil, and garlic. However, the mustard powder, basil, and garlic are optional. Thi...

Letter Writing and Philately

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My friend told me that we are one day doomed to suffer the same fate as the people of Atlantis, that is, our descendants wouldn't know anything about us because everything is digital. If you think about it, it might become true because hardly anything is in black and white these days. Anyway, to help out our descendants, I thought I'd take up letter writing. 😊 Plus, it has been fifteen years since I last wrote and received a letter so there's novelty in it. 😜 So last weekend, I went to National Bookstore to buy some scented pretty stationery (like the ones that girls loved to collect when I was in elementary school). The lady asked me if I was referring to stationery  yung pang dalaga (she probably thought I was going to write someone a love letter). Tee hee. 😁 But alas, I was told that they don't sell that kind of stationery anymore! I had to content myself with colored paper and colored envelopes. I am writing to three people who I have never personally m...

Pelicula Spanish Film Festival 2017: 1898.Los Ultimos De Filipinas

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Last weekend, I participated in a contest by Instituto Cervantes de Manila where I won two tickets for the Pelicula Opening Night Screening. Pelicula is a Spanish film festival held every year in Manila. Since the event takes place on a weekday evening, I don't think a lot of people participated in the contest which is probably why I won. 😀 I had a hard time looking for someone to come with me though as everyone else had a job and couldn't come on a weeknight. Luckily, a former workmate of mine had her rest day on the same day and she agreed to come (I had to beg her 😛). The event began with the director of Instituto Cervantes and the Spanish ambassador addressing the audience. And yes, there were a lot of air-kissing diplomats and socialites in the audience (I felt right at home 😝). The Spanish ambassador also made mention of the world premiere of a nonfiction film titled Ta Acorda Ba Tu El Filipinas  by Spanish filmmaker Sally Gutierrez. The ambassador was like sorr...

Sugar and Ice Artisanal Ice Cream Review

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It has been two years and a half since I last stepped foot in Zamboanga city and my, things have really changed. I am seeing so many new restaurants in the city and of course, there is now a mall that can definitely rival SM called KCC Mall De Zamboanga. While moseying along the KCC Mall de Zamboanga, I saw this very charming stall that was selling what looked like fancy ice cream like the ones you see in Metro Manila malls. Taste and Price When I saw a scoop cost only 35 pesos, I told myself to keep my expectations very low. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I tasted it. It was to die for! I told myself that I simply had to blog and tell everybody about Sugar and Ice ! Ice Cream Sugar and Ice's ice cream has this really rich and creamy texture and sophisticated flavor. I really couldn't believe that I was eating really good, to-die-for ice cream at such a low price! Sugar and Ice's ice cream comes in several different flavors but my favorite is cof...

Cheesecake Etc Metrodeal Voucher Review

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The first time I bought a Cheesecake etc cake through Metrodeal in 2012 was uneventful, but this time was different and so I decided to write about it. I arrived at the Cheesecake etc Glorietta branch very tired since I was lugging about five kilograms of groceries with me. Remind me not to do my groceries the next time I do this. It was a good thing that the Cheesecake etc employee was all smiles when she greeted me that I immediately felt less tired. The employee's name was Chiny (not sure about the spelling) and she was so friendly throughout the entire time that I was there. She even gave me some information about the Chocodome cake which was what I chose. She said that it was actually not a cheesecake but a regular cake and that it had white chocolate inside. I really liked that she set my expectations because I did think that the Chocodome cake was a cheesecake. I think a lot of people, like me will assume that a store named Cheesecake etc would only sell cheesecakes. Oh ...

6 Steps on How to Pay Real Property Tax Online in Zamboanga City

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A few days ago, a friend of mine gave me an assignment to find out how to pay real property (real estate) taxes for her family's property in Zamboanga city aside from the usual method which is paying at the city hall. But I found out that you can actually pay real property (or real estate) taxes in Zamboanga city online! Here's a step-by-step guide on how to pay real property (real estate) taxes online in Zamboanga city. 1. Log on to  http://122.52.146.222/RPT 2. Type in your property's tax declaration number, the first two letters of the first name that the property is registered under, and the email address where you want the OR (official receipt) of the real property (real estate) tax payment to be sent. 3. Put a check on the checkbox that says "I'm not a robot" and then click on the blue button that says "Get Bill". 4. You will now be given an assessment of the real property (real estate) taxes that you owe to the city gov...

Help! I'm Becoming a Cynic!

A long time ago, I would never have questioned any desire to learn or do something new. Why else would I have self-studied Spanish, started a cacti and succulent collection, or created a website for Filipino writers when I was a teenager? I miss the old me who just did things for the fun of it. Today, whenever I am presented with an idea to learn or do something new, I always ask myself if it's worth the trouble and if I will get anything out of it. This is probably why I haven't done or learned anything new in the past few years of my life. I read some articles online about cynicism and they say that part of it is being older. Being older means that you now have a jar of experiences that you can dip into whenever you're faced with decision-making. While it tends to take out the fun in life, cynicism is also useful because it makes us cautious and caution is always a good thing. Not too much of it, anyway. I remember, a few years ago, while visiting my hometown, upo...

Who won Miss Universe 2017

On January 29, 2017, Miss France, Iris Mitten, was crowned as Miss Universe at the Mall of Asia Arena in the Philippines. Miss France is only the second Miss Universe from her country and ended a 15 year Miss Universe drought for the Europeans.