PNR or Philippine National Railways and What to Expect

Last week, I celebrated my 28th birthday! =)

I can't believe it! Ang bilis lang talaga ng panahon. There were days that I think of me as the 20 years old young, dumb and broke version! hahaha.

Anyway, just like last year, I didn't file a day off from work. I actually went half day just so we could have a blowing of candles at home. Daryl bought cakes the night before to surprise me in the morning! Ang sweet ng Babe ko na to! Hahah =)

He actually asked me to choose the cake that he'll buy but I was torn with Mary Grace's chocolate cake and black velvet nila. There's a Mary Grace Cafe branch in Naia Terminal 3 kaya nakabili sya. Na surprise naman ako na dalawa talaga ang binili nya for me. =)

I woke up early then woke Jami and Daryl up so they could sing me happy birthday song! Lol! Haha. Yun din naman ang instruction ni Daryl the night before, gisingin ko daw sya pagka gising ko. I cooked them breakfast and ate the chocolate cake. We also bought Pansit ni Aling Lucy's Panciteria. Super mura kasi doon and masarap naman talaga. They only have 2 branches and bought are in Las Pinas. Good thing yung isang branch, walking distance lang from home so kayang- kaya bumili anytime na biglaan. We didn't plan anything grand for my birthday. Alam nyo naman, hindi talaga ako sanay ng mga bonggahan birthday. Laging birthday celebration at home with family and closest friends lang.

As a promise to myself last year, I planned on doing something new or experience new things yearly as much as possible. Regardless if it's big or small things so long as it's something new and helpful to me as a person. Lol! I actually can't think of anything else and doesn't want to spend a cent until one rainy day, I thought of doing something that I wished I have done years ago.

If you're living in the south of Metro Manila (e.g Las Pinas and Cavite), you are probably experiencing heavy traffic in Coastal Road given the improvements on the expressway. Sobrang traffic that the last straw was when I spent 3 hours on the road just to get home. It was the worst! I never dealt with that before and 2 hours of travel time is the longest that I can bare these days. I have a son whose waiting for me back home so I don't want to be staying on the road doing nothing while this could be used for a bonding moment with Jami or Daryl diba?

Anyway, a day before my birthday, I finally decided to try another route. Walking distance from the office building was a PNR station. I always think of PNR is worst than MRT. I can see their trains are old and rusty, over crowded and not well-maintained stations. However, I always wanted to try to ride someday and I guess that someday was the day before I turned 28th. I thought this will be a good additional experience for me.

I promised myself I’ll do and experience something new each year before saying goodbye to the old me. Paragliding ❌ Bungee Jumping ❌ Out of the country ❌ Hiking ❌ Riding PNR ✅ 🤣🤣 It may be a small thing, but it was a brand new feeling! I am a happy 27 year old woman! 👩🏻😊 #thrillseeker #ayearolder #imjbirthday #imjevent #imjcelebrations

A post shared by Jen Alipio (@its_mommy_jen) on Jun 13, 2018 at 5:10am PDT

I was so scared since I don't know what to expect. I heard a lot of horror story in the past about PNR like people living along the train tracks are throwing things (worst? Poop) on the train, a lot of pickpockets, mga ganyan! Hahaha! But I also had that exciting feeling na finally makakasakay na ako and I have something new to do. Sobrang babaw lang ano? But I made the right decision sa pag discover ng pagsakay sa train.

How was the experience? It was great actually. I have been riding the train since then. I have listed down the Pros and Cons.

Pros:

1. Cheaper. Yes! I am able to spare Php10 off my daily transportation budget which I can add on my expenses for the day or additional savings.
2. Since I get on and off their last station (Alabang), I always have some time to sit down before going off the train or save myself a seat and nap for 20 minutes before going to work.
3. Timely. They have a scheduled arrival and departure of trains. There were times na mejo late ng 2-10 minutes pero bearable naman compare sa MRT and LRT na hindi mo alam kung may darating ba o wala. Hahah!
*Edited - I actually experience a delay of 30 minutes. This was during heavy rain fall. 
4. Train Marshals. Yes! They have train marshals
5. Slightly bigger trains with overhead open cabins for your things. It will make it convenient for those that are standing kasi they could put their bags overhead para hindi masikip masyado.

Cons:

1. Crowded. Just like our other trains here in Manila (MRT and LRT), crowded din naman talaga but since they have wider trains, mas maraming kayang i accommodate. 
2. AC unit not enough. During times na sobrang crowded, the ac unit could not cool the train properly so mejo nagiging mainit sa loob but you are always welcome to open the windows. They have screens na so in case of emergency na may nangbato, hindi naman tatamaan yung mga pasahero.
3. Railways are not maintained. Since madaming nakatira sa paligid ng railway, I guess mahirap tuloy i maintain ang facility. Open area ang bawat stations although may guards naman, hindi din basta basta makakapasok ang mga hindi pasahero.
4. Due to settlers living near the train tracks, laging bumubusina yung train to let people know that it's coming. Minsan kasi, may mga bata talagang nag lalaro along the tracks kaya madalas may naaksidente. Most of the time maingay yung train due to constant honking.
5. Inaccessible during heavy rain fall. Since PNR has stations in Manila area which gets flooded easily (Espana), train gets delayed and worst, cancel it's scheduled arrival.

Above all these, I am quite happy with the experience and it was something I always look forward to nowadays. It's a perfect break from all those traffic and it makes my day interesting. I have been working in the same company for 4 years and finding new ways to transport is one of my way to make sure I am not bored on my daily routine. =)

Again, Happy Birthday to myself! A tap on the back for always being happy despite of the life trials! =)

The Highest Meralco Bill I ever paid!

It was a good thing that summer is over so makaka move on na tayo sa pag a unlimited aircon hindi ba mommies?

When Daryl and I started living together, we of course have been paying our own bills. I am so glad that we now have wonderful jobs that give us food on our plate and enough money for our needs. Bonus na lang kung merong pang 'wants'. Anyway, our ac unit is broken since last year after summer. It broke exactly the first week of rainy season so hindi ko na muna sya ipinagawa dahil tag-ulan naman na. The problem was the frion. Hindi lumalamig yung unit because it ran out of Frion na daw. Since June last year, we contented ourselves na walang ac. Okay naman, nabuhay naman kami because the weather was not that humid unlike kapag summer months talaga diba?

Fast forward to late March when summer started, grabe hirap na hirap na kami matulog. Our room has a direct sunlight in the afternoon so imagine the humidity inside our room when the sun sets. Sobrang init talaga! Daryl and I decided to get the ac fixed. We contacted someone via Facebook which happened to be our schoolmate in High School.

We were charged Php3,300 ata which includes the total renovation of our ac. Inayos pa kasi yung mismong makina dahil butas butas na daw (he showed us naman na totoong sira na) plus the Frion charging and cleaning. Pikit-mata na lang sa pagbabayad kahit over budget ng Php800. Hahaha! Our budget kasi was only Php2,500 to get it fixed pero dahil no choice na rin naman, inisip na lang namin na magiging maalwan na ang pagtulog namin sa gabi.

Finally!! Goodnight sleep na latuurrrr!!😌😌 #imjweekends

A post shared by Jen Alipio (@its_mommy_jen) on Apr 14, 2018 at 1:29am PDT

Or so I thought.

Came April, the appliance usage was soaring high!

Late night use of TV which usually only up to 10pm. By that time, umaabot ata ng 1am.
Almost everyday na pag gamit ng washing machine (dryer).
Nataon pang night shift si Daryl so meaning, he has to use the ac in the afternoon to be able to sleep well sa hapon. And since sobrang init nga, I let them be para na rin kay Jami. He tends to stay inside our room kapag naka on ang ac.

I was really nervous come end of April when our Meralco bill usually arrives. I was expecting it to be more or less Php 2,500+. Our usual bill was Php 1,000 to Php1,300 during cold weather months while it goes up to Php 2,500 every summer months. When the bill came? Halos maiyak ako! Hahaha!

Pinaka nakakatakot na nakita ko! Mas scary pa sa insidious 1!! 😱😱Tumaas ang balahibo ko at kinabahan ng todo! 😨😨 Para akong nanlamig sa takot, tipong binuhusan ka ng malamig na tubig habang nakatitig sa maliit na papel na ito. Iyak na mga momshies!! 😭😭Musta bill nyo? 🤯🤯🤒🤒 #infinitybills #meralcobill #budgetruined

A post shared by Jen Alipio (@its_mommy_jen) on May 28, 2018 at 5:58am PDT

Don't be fooled, dalawang bill talaga yan. We had one that's due since last month for Php 1,800+ plus the new bill of Php 3,500+.

Even so, I was so surprise to see na sobrang tumaas yung bill from Php 2,500 with ac usage (previous summer months) to Php 3,500 for only a month this year! I was told tumaas nga din daw talaga ang singil ng kuryente. When I posted this photo of our bill, ang daming naka relate! So basically nag taasan nga lahat and almost everyone had the same horror story.

I was just glad that summer months are over and we are starting to have rains. I remember when I was younger, tuwang-tuwa ako kapag summer, ngayon sobrang scared ko na kasi ang taas ng bill ng kuryente! hahahah! It wasn't that hot in the afternoon anymore so no ac usage while we limit to only 3-4 hours come night time. We also watched the usage of every appliances at home and make sure they are turned off when not in use. I am expecting it will lower down to Php2,000+ for the month of May 25 to June 24 cut off.

How about you guys? What are your Meralco bills horror story? =)

Daryl's 29th Birthday

I was browsing through my old blog post specially those years na sobrang bata pa ni Jami (around 2015 and 2016). This is actually the best part of blogging because I can still read old stories of mine na totally forgotten! I am so thrilled everytime I read and reminds me of how our life has changed.

Anyway, I was looking into my posts in April and didn't find one for Daryl's 29th birthday!

Since it fell on a weekday, we decided to celebrate after work. Nagkataon kasi pareho kaming morning shift in April so we could have celebration over dinner. We went home together so we could buy food na lang as we don't have time to cook. We arrived in Las Pinas around 7pm.

Robinson's Las Pinas is just walking distance from home so we opted to buy fast food there rather than going to SM Southmall. Mejo traffic kasi going to Southmall although you will have plenty of food options talaga.

We bought Jollibee Spaghetti (in party size), Bucket of chicken, Family size pizza from Greenwich, a tub of ice cream sa grocery and a cake I bought in Conti's prior to going home. It was an intimate celebration but we loved it anyway! =)

We have another visitor that night, Bojo, Jami's playmate. They both sang happy birthday! Look how happy the boys are!

Of course hindi mawawala ang family picture plus 1. Hahah!

Nanay took this photo! Hehe. :)

Again, happy birthday babe! I know this wasn't like those you had when you were young but I am sure na hinding-hindi mo na ito ipagpapalit sa kahit ano man. Kumpleto kahit may lungkot at saya, basta ang mahalaga, sama-sama. Nyaks! hahaha! I wish you good health babe! Jami and I love you soooo much!

What to do when another Mom hits your kid?

This happened two weeks ago. I actually had no intention to blog about it but this blog became a part of my motherhood journey so bakit hindi?

So here's what happened.

I let Jami play outside while I am doing household chores. We usually make sure na meron yang bantay when playing outside of the house. Alam nyo naman din ang panahon ngayon, mahirap na mawalan ng anak so either Daryl or Nanay or me would come with him sa labas ng bahay while he's playing with his friends.

That day, since meron nga akong ginagawa sa loob ng bahay (defrost ng ref dahil sobrang kapal na ng yelo), Jami was left outside playing with the son of our neighbor. They live couple of house away sa amin but since I know that my aunt is outside too, mejo naging kampante naman ako na matitingnan tingnan sya.

When my aunt called me to tell me na sunduin ko na raw si Jami because they went a little farther and dun na sa daanan ng mga sasakyan, I went out para sabihan na pumasok na dahil gumagabi na rin. When I came out of our gate, I saw them on their way back. Sobrang happy nilang dalawa and they were just laughing about their adventures. When they came malapit sa akin, I said:

Me: "Jami wag na kayo dun sa malayo!" (with a mejo malumanay pa rin na voice).

But since they were so carried away sa paglalaro, they didn't notice me.

Both of them running passed by me. The next thing I saw was the playmate's Mommy holding a thin stick pointing at her own kid. Pinapagalitan nya.

Mommy: "Diba sabi ko sayo wag kang pupunta dun?" while pointing the stick to her child's face.

While these happen, si Jami na walang pakialam continued playing and also pointing the gun on his playmate. This gun was a little long although hindi naman tumatama sa muka ng playmate nya, he was pretending na binabaril nya yung kalaro nya.

The next thing I know, pinalo ng thin stick ng Mommy yung arms ni Jami (na may hawak ng gun pointing at the playmate's face) and said "Wag mong tutukan sa mukha" with a matching angry face.

It took 3 seconds for me to process everything that's happening at that time. After mag sink in sa utak ko, I felt all the blood in my body went up to my head. I bet the Mom didn't see me standing there at nakita ko kung anong ginawa nya.

After 3 longest second of my life, feeling nabastos and so hurt, I called Jami angrily. Malayo na kasi sya dahil after sya paluin nung Mom, the playmate and him ran dun sa may tapat nung house nung kalaro nya. I was so mad talaga! When the Mom heard me, she looked back and we both looked at each other. She might have been scared kasi sa tingin ko pa lang parang sinasaksak ko na sya! Hahahah! Kidding. But yeah, it felt that way.

That Mom started walking away after namin magkatinginan for a moment. She went back sa tapat ng bahay nila still holding that thin wood without looking back from where I stood. Because I was so mad, I walked towards Jami to make him go home. I passed by the Mom without looking at her but I was really furious at that time. I held Jami sa braso and told him we are going home. Jami still seemed happy and his playmate without them knowing the situation. Lumapit kami sa playmate (whose a little younger than Jami) to give back his toy gun.

Me: "(Child's name) ayan na yung toy mo!" Hindi ko naman sya sinigawan. I didn't even look at him basta ang importante naibalik na ang gamit nya. Immediately, lumapit yung Mom to where we were standing. Natakot siguro sya for his son na saktan ko or baka gantihan ko ang anak nya.

Nung napadaan kami sa tapat ng group ng mga Nanay sa neighborhood na madalas kakwentuhan ng naka encounter kong Mom, I told Jami "Bakit hinahayaan mong sinasaktan ka ng iba?!" Although I know Jami won't understand, pinarinig ko talaga just so these group could let that Mom know na nakita ko ang ginawa nya. I know they did kasi they were looking at us.

When we got home, nanlalamig talaga ako and I felt kulang pa ang ginawa ko. I should have confronted the parent angrily to let her know na sobrang mali ang ginawa nya! I should have fought her dahil maling mali ang ginawa nya in hurting my son - in front of me! I was thinking of going sa barangay to file a complaint but I begged off. I was so furious pinapagalitan ko si Jami that the next apartment could hear all my frustrations. Wala akong pakealam kung pag uusapan nila ako! All I know was, makakasakal talaga ako ng mga oras na yun.

Anyway, I didn't do anything. I told Daryl about it and he said he'll talk to that Mom daw. I told Nanay about it the next day and she got really mad too. Of course who wouldn't? We don't want our kids to be hurt, more so being hurt because someone we dont know hurt them. Ang mas malala pa is someone who are not part your family! Yung mga taong wala naman karapatang gawin yun sa anak mo?!

I never hurt kids that are not my own. Mga pamangkin ko? Maybe napapagalitan ko or napapatulan ko but that was when I was younger and had no kids. I don't know the feeling just yet. When I became a mom, when another kid hurt Jami, I make him go home instead. Nilalayo ko na lang sya sa mga batang ganun rather than putting my anger on another kid. All they know is to play so they will never understand it the way we do so bakit kailangan mong saktan? Ako kasi ang rule ko, kung may problema kayo sa anak ko, tell me. Isumbong sa akin dahil ako ang didisiplina at kakausap sa kanya. Keep telling me kung hindi nagbabago. I will never allow anyone to hit my son! Sabihin sakin ang problema and I'll fix it with Jami. Hindi kailangan pagbuhatan ng kamay.

After that incident, I never saw the mom in the neighborhood. Maybe hindi ko lang nate tyempuhan or baka tinataon din na wala ako sa labas. Although hindi naman ako tambay sa labas dahil hindi ko ugali yun. I'd rather stay inside the house and do chores or cook, or watch TV. Last Sunday when I allowed Jami to play outside while raining, pinaligo ko sa ulan with another kid, I saw them playing in front of the house of monster Mom again. I was looking from afar until I saw the gate opened tapos sumilip yung Mom. Tiningnan ata sina Jami because they were collecting water galing dun sa alulod nila. When she saw me, she immediately closed the gate again. I was thinking na baka pagagalitan yung mga bata but I was there so hindi na lang nya ginawa.

I decided to keep quite after that incident not because hindi ko kayang ipagtanggol ang anak ko, I just don't want na magkaron ng kaaway sa labas ng bahay. I let it pass but will never allow it the second time na makita ko. Mas okay na yung sya yung may atraso sa akin kesa nagpadala ako sa galit ko that time and do something really bad. Now I see na sya na rin naman ang umiiwas sa akin. Regardless kung may mali ang anak ko or hindi nya gusto na tinututukan ng toy gun sa mukha ang anak nya, she should never hit anyone dahil bad yun. Sayang, mukang kasundo pa naman ni Jami yung anak nya but I will never allow Jami to play with this kid again. I actually spoke to Jami that afternoon and asked him not to play with that kid anymore

I am just really hoping na hindi na lang maulit. I got so paranoid thinking na baka kapag pumapasok si Jami sa loob ng gate nila before when he's calling his playmate eh pinapalayas nya or baka binabatukan. Diba? We will never know because she seem to do those things kapag walang nakatingin. Malas lang nya na nakita ko ang ginawa nya at nabuking ko sya. Even now na naaalala ko yung incident, I still feel a little anger. Feeling ko kasi hindi ko sya napag sabihan pero ayun nga, I am just letting it go for the moment. Wag ko na lang makikita ulit na gawin nya.=) .

Anyhow, it's been raining from the last couple of days. Keep warm and safe everyone! =)

Our Photobook Experience

Two months ago, Mommy Bloggers Philippines was given a chance to try Photobook Worldwide app. We were given a code for free 6x6 hard bound 20 pages photobook. 

I had known Photobook Philippines since 2015, purchased a discounted voucher code twice or thrice but always got no chance to start creating the book. I was too lazy to consolidate photos because mostly had low resolution and unclear. Codes had expire and no books arrived.

When I figured out that the voucher given to us was for Photobook app, I immediately downloaded the app to check on how it works. I was glad to know that I only have to upload the photos, re-size, and arrange the sequence according to my liking. I want our first photobook to be Jami's growing years so I collected his photos from Day 1 to recent. Since I can only put up to 20 photos in it, I have to carefully choose those photos that reminds me so much of his childhood.

When I was confident with the layout, I finished the order and paid the shipping fee thru Paymaya. Photobook has 7 days guaranteed shipping which made me really excited to see the outcome. Due to holy week, my order arrived after the holidays. I had it delivered in the office and was so thrilled that the courier (DHL) sends a text message as to when the package will arrive. Surely, they arrived on the  day they said they will deliver.

Finally, the wait is over!! Our first photobook was #dwyanejames growing years! Can’t wait for the next one to be delivered! #oneofmanyfirst #photobookphilippines #mommybloggersphilippines

A post shared by Jen Alipio (@its_mommy_jen) on Apr 1, 2018 at 7:10pm PDT

I can't contain my happiness upon seeing our first photobook!! I liked the quality of the paper and the print of each photos came out clear. They even arranged the photos because I didn't know I could re-size them when I submitted the order. Lol! Super excited lang mag order haha! The book had a hardbound cover which made it easier for safe keeping since it will not deform easily.

With the success of my first Photobook, I had a feeling of wanting to order more. Nakakaadik pala yung happiness to see your social media photos printed. I decided to buy vouchers from Metrodeal of 6x6 40 pages soft cover photobook for only Php20. This time, I will have to use the website to create the book. It was quite easy since they have thousands of templates to choose from or if you have the eye for designing your own book, you can do so.

Since this one carries more pages than the first one, I decided to collate all our photos for 2017. Every month, I selected the highlights for the past 12 months and include it in. I got the option to add more photos on each page versus what is already on the template. I also had the chance to put or add my own designs or even arrange it according to my liking. I find the website versatile than the app. I even had words and messages added on each pages to make it more dramatic and memorable. I want to remember every story of each picture so I put in some keywords on each photos.

Here’s how @photobookww looked like from the inside. This was the simple 6x6 hardbound photobook for 1,200 plus shipping. Pero merong life hack jan. Share ko next time pag dating nung isang inorder ko 🤣🤣 I love the book and this is so addicting! Review on the blog soon!😘😘 #mommybloggersphilippines #photobookfever #photobookworldwide

A post shared by Jen Alipio (@its_mommy_jen) on Apr 2, 2018 at 2:08am PDT

Part 2. ☺️☺️ #mommybloggersphilippines @photobookww #photobookphilippines #photobookfever

A post shared by Jen Alipio (@its_mommy_jen) on Apr 2, 2018 at 2:13am PDT

Just like my first order, the second one arrived on the 7th day from order date. I was so satisfied with the outcome since the images look crisps even if some are low resolution photos. As you know, soft cover lang yung second book but it doesn't look like it will deform easily, unless you intentionally do so. It was like a smaller version of glossy magazines so this made me really happy.

One thing I didn't quite like was the photos I uploaded near the binding. Due to binding of the book, the photos inside look like cropped. It was partly my fault because of the template I chose. It would only be perfect for photobook with flat layout.

The softcover version has arrived! Thank you @photobookww! I love it!! 😍😍 #photobookfever #photobookphilippines #keepingmemoriesalive

A post shared by Jen Alipio (@its_mommy_jen) on Apr 9, 2018 at 7:20pm PDT

Anyway, I learned my lesson in choosing my template and arranging photos so I know my future photobook will be as good as this one. I actually bought two more vouchers which I am planning to use in the future.

A tip to those who don't have a paypal, credit or debit card, you may download a Paymaya app. This app could give you a virtual card that you can use to purchase things online. You only have to cash in money thru their partners (I cashed in through 7-11) then you can use it immediately because the posting of money is real time. =)

Do I recommend photobook? A big YES! Imagine being able to print out more than 140 photos in one book made it more appealing. Did I save money in it? For me, it's a Yes. I only paid for the shipping fee of Php200-250 and additional Php 20 for the voucher and I got 140 images. Lumalabas na less than Php 2 lang per photo. Although hindi ito kalakihan (some are 2x2 size), I had no problem with it since nakikita pa rin naman. I just have to arrange the sizes of the photos and give emphasize to each photos na feeling ko ay maganda at deserve maging highlight per page.

Our new photobook carried 143 photos in total. Would you believe I paid only Php270?? So that’s less than 2pesos per photo and I don’t even have to worry about buying a photo album to keep them together! 😊😊 The voucher was from Metrodeal for only Php20 while shipping costs Php250. Was it worth it? Definitely Yesss!! Perfect pang gift din ‘to. 😍😍 #photobookphilippines #photobookfever #keepingmemoriesalive

A post shared by Jen Alipio (@its_mommy_jen) on Apr 9, 2018 at 8:46pm PDT

Photobooks are actually a great gift for birthdays and anniversary (you name it!).

I am still thinking of when to you the codes that I bought. I stock them just in case I need one. Although lagi naman naka sale ang voucher ng Photobook in Metrodeal, I still want to have one for emergency situation. Lol! You just have to take down notes of the expiration of your voucher para hindi masayang! :) Share your work para magka idea din ako. I uploaded some videos of mine on IG (@its_mommy_jen) should you want to see more of these books that I made. :)