At last! I have my new passport!

I usually renew my passport in October every 5 years.  This year, I thought of having my passport renewed earlier. Maybe in time for something in October? *wink* -- I am saving this for another post. I must wait until things are certain. :)

Anyway, I applied for the renewal of my passport last June 4. I was told to be at DFA-Baguio (located at SM City Baguio) as early as possible.  Some said I should be there at 8AM, others said 5AM, while someone said I should be there as early as 2AM (of course, I thought this was OA).  Okay, so Jason my love, arrived in the area earlier (5AM) than I did (545AM). He did so for me to get into the queue ahead of the others.  After more than 3 hours of queuing, numbers were distributed at 9AM.  These numbers indicate what time the applicants must be back for the processing of their papers.  My processing time was between 12 noon to 1 pm.  That means that we have 3 hours to wait. Jason and I took advantage of that time to have extra copies of my documents and have lunch.

And so at around 12 noon, I was already back at SM.  This time, I went straight to their office.  Jason had to leave for work and so I texted my sister, Ria to come see me.

It took about 65 minutes for the entire process - from lodging of the documents to the last stage which includes encoding of data, picture taking, thumbmarking, and affixing of signature. I was told that I can pick up my passport July 18. Last July 16, I have received a message that said:

 

I waited for their text message but I thought, I might not get one at all. So Jason and I decided to drop by DFA yesterday to check if my passport was already available.  In less than 10 minutes, I got my new passport!

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First Semester Starts in August... now what?

First semester starts in August. Yes, starting this year, first semester will start in August. Well, not in all schools.  Other schools opted to start in June just like how it used to.

I have so many concerns about this change.  Since I usually travel during sem breaks, concerns regarding traveling make me feel uneasy.  For one, if first semester starts in August, that means it will end in December.  I am afraid that I won't be able to travel that much this time since airfares in December can be very pricey.  Even hotels can be very expensive at that time of the year.  Second semester starts in January and ends in May.  Rainy season starts by then.    If "summer" term starts in June and ends in July, traveling can also be very difficult at this time of the year.  Though airfares can be cheaper at that time, I don't feel comfortable traveling considering all those typhoons and strong rains brought about by the southwest monsoon.

Another concern I have with this change is the fact that most of things I enjoy doing can be best done during October and also in March and April.  I am referring to running, hiking, trekking, and swimming. Surfing in December can be fun though.

Is it about time for me to look for a different set of hobbies?

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We Need These Kinds of Law

My younger sister enjoys free tuition and discounted miscellaneous fees because I am working in the same university where she is studying. And that part of her miscellaneous that she has to pay is deducted from my salary.

I am not complaining. This benefits our family.  However, as a tax-payer, I will be happier with a higher take-home pay. 

Please expedite... Turn this bill into a law!

Read this article: Tax-deductible college tuition, other fees sought

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So what's the taxi meter for?

One thing I appreciate about taxi drivers in Baguio City is that they are honest and they do not take advantage of their passengers. Well, at least, most of them are.

I just came from NCR to attend a seminar at the AFP Theater.  My students and I travelled at 2:00 in the morning last February 8 so that we would have enough time to go to places we wanted to visit and would have enough time to rest before the said seminar.  We arrived at the Cubao terminal of Victory Liner at around 8:00AM.  The other group went straight to Camp Aguinaldo where they will staying until Sunday.  The group I was with decided to eat breakfast in a nearby fastfood before going to our destination, Broadway Court Apartelle. After that breakfast, we hailed a cab along EDSA and asked the driver to bring us to New Manila where Broadway Court Apartelle is located.  He agreed but said we had to add Php50 to our fare.  Since we were all tired and we just wanted to take a shower and take a nap, we agreed to pay that extra Php50. In the afternoon, we decided to go to Solaire. So, we took a cab and travelled from Quezon City to Paranaque City.  Luckily, the cab driver did not ask us to pay extra. Same was true when we took a cab from Solaire to SM Mall of Asia. But, on our way back to New Manila, the driver of the taxi we took asked for yet an additional pay.

After the seminar, we decided to take a jeepney that would bring us to Araneta Center so we could have early dinner before going back to Baguio City.  And then again, we decided to ride a taxi that will bring us to Victory Liner's terminal in Cubao which is very near the area. After a few minutes, my Korean student noticed that the meter was not turned on and so he called the attention of the driver.  He just smirked, we were not given any answer as to why the meter was not turned on. He dropped us off in front of the terminal.  My Korean student paid Php100. We were not all sure if the meter would read Php100 if it were on.  The driver was about to call our attention. Well, I am sure he would have collected more than Php100 but we did not mind him anymore. When I turned to look at him again, he looked so furious and so was I.

Sadly, I was not able to take down the names of the cabs.  I texted the cellphone number printed on the door of two of the cabs that asked for extra pay but I did not get any reply from the operators.

I wonder how thesedrivers get to feed their family with money earned the wrong way...

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Exam Week

Exam week is almost over. After this, I will need much time to check, record, and compute midterm grades. I am looking forward to good results.

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