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I love reading books. Ever since I was a child, I preferred receiving books as gifts. In the past few years, every January, aside from creating my resolutions, I make a list of which 12 books I will read for that year. One book in each month. When I've finished reading one, I proudly check it in my list. Sometimes I read books not in the list, sometimes I'm not able to read all those in the list. But that's alright. The important thing is that I make a conscious effort to read. It pains my heart for those who know how to read but don't do it.
My college friend and I were chatting and we thought of creating a list of books to read before we die. Like a bucket list but this one will be all about books. I searched the Internet and Goodreads, a website for readers, has its Bucket List Books. It consists of more than a hundred books! Gasp! I browsed through the list and saw that I've read a few of them. (pat on the back)
Back in college, we had a subject on World Literature where we were required to read novels such as The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (most chapters, not the whole book, though), and Inferno by Dante Alighieri, not Dan Brown. I've been reading contemporary novels for years now and this inspired me to create my 2014 book list on classics. Sometimes, when I'm on my book haunts, I usually buy classic books, thinking I would be reading them soon, but these books stay on the shelves, collecting dust.
Can I do this? Prioritize reading the classics next year? I have some hesitations. Most classics are too wordy which could make me lose interest. I should be determined. I should embrace this Classic book list. AJA!
I went to an SSS branch near my home to pay my monthly contribution and salary loan. I also was determined to finally shed light on another loan conundrum. I had a payment posting problem which I wrote about here.
Here was my salary loan problem (please bear with me): Last 2009, I had my first salary loan and it was fully paid in 2011. I have a printout of the Statement of Account from the SSS website showing that I have 0 balance in the salary loan. Since I have no more loan to pay, I applied for another salary loan in 2011 which I'm still paying today. When I checked the SSS website a few weeks ago, behold, my 2009 salary loan still had a pending due of about P10.33 and yesterday, P10.38. What's up with that?
I waited in line for the SSS' "Public Assistance" to know how I can finally close the 2009 loan and be assured that this doesn't happen again in the future. The personnel was curious as to why it happened. She checked my printout, computed the total, saw that the salary loan was indeed fully paid, and wondered why I still had a balance. She advised me to just pay P11 and write in the loan payment form: FULL PAYMENT and the date of the salary loan which was June 16, 2009. She told me that she would call her contact at the Main branch in Diliman about this. I hope she does.
Since there were many payers today, I waited 2 hours (!) to pay P11. When it was my turn to pay, the cashier was surprised that I was even asked to pay that small amount. She asked me if I'm never getting a loan again. Maybe she thought that loan paying is like paying for a credit card wherein the previous debts are paid first before recent debts. Sadly, it is not.
The problem with the SSS system regarding salary loans is that if you have a balance in your previous loan, it remains there in your record, accumulating penalty and interest charges. And, surprisingly, in my case, I didn't have a loan balance, but magically, it incurs charges. If you don't have an online access, you would never know about the status of your loans. If you're paying for a current loan, the system doesn't credit your payment to the previous loan. You would think, or so I thought for this matter, that since I have a second salary loan, my first loan was already closed.
I'll be checking my SSS records online regularly and see if my "full payment" for the 2009 loan was posted and the loan would be hopefully, finally closed once and for all.
My nephew from Hubby's side of the family celebrated his 4th birthday last August 4. His parents organized a day of bonding and fun at Enchanted Kingdom (EK). I've been to EK twice -- once during college as a class celebration for a big production we did and the last one was in 2007. I was excited to come back and have fun at EK.
We started our excursion after lunch and my in-laws immediately rode the Disco Magic Ride, a new ride featuring a giant disk-shaped ride which can accommodate 24 people. The disc would spin and rock to an upbeat music while riders scream either for fun or fear. It was hilarious seeing Hubby's siblings shut their eyes and scream as they hold on to dear life. As for me, I'm not fond of riding those kind of rides since I get dizzy easily and I didn't want to spoil my day being sick.
My best friend since high school who was married to Hubby's brother urged me to ride the hot air balloon ride. I joined her, her husband, and son for the ride. I was a bit scared of getting dizzy, but I didn't.
I entered the Rialto 3D Theatre with the pack. The movie was Journey to Mysterious Island 2. The clip shown was the part where the movie's main characters were riding giant bees and being chased by colorful birds. At the end of the show, I was a bit disappointed since I didn't experience the same thrill when I went there in 2007.
The ride which I've been wanting to ride ever since was the Jungle Log Jam. Together with Hubby's youngest sister, we bravely rode the log. As we were moving, I was surprised to learn that the ride included an uphill climb and a downward splash! I totally forgot about that. My best friend was surprised too when she saw me riding the Log Jam. Good thing, I was alive after the ride to tell the tale.
It was a very long and tiring day at Enchanted Kingdom but boy, did we had fun! Also, I get to learn more about the family dynamics of my in-laws. It was difficult to adjust with another family if your Hubby was away. During this kind of activity do I miss Hubby terribly. Seeing his family made me wished he was there with me, enjoying the day.
Last August 2 was my birthday. When I tell people my age, I get compliments as they say I look younger than my actual age. Or, maybe they're just being too kind for the birthday girl.
I had a small "party" with neighborhood kids as my guests. I invited Inay's tutees for merienda that weekend. I always had a small celebration on my birthday but since my friends were too busy with their own families and unable to attend, I just invited my neighbors this year. Surely, children would be eager to come and enjoy good food.
I cooked Baked Mac, Filipino-style spaghetti and fried chicken lollipop. I also had ice cream and grilled hotdogs (which was a hit with the kids!). It was a rainy day that Saturday and I was happy the kids weren't discouraged by the weather.
After my guests left, my sister lighted a special cake she bought for me straight from the city. The cake was from a Korean-owned cake shop called Tous les Jours. Yes, it was quite ironic to learn that the French-named bakery was owned by a Korean.The cute strawberry cake tasted like strawberries, not cloyingly sweet and had a hint of tartness from the berries. The "leaf" part of the cake was made of green tea powder and tasted bitter by itself.
My birthday may be a rainy day but I just think that the raindrops were blessings from Heaven. And I guess you know what I wished for.
