My phone is starting to give up on me..

Just last sunday evening, i found out that my phone's speaker doesn't work anymore and so does the camera.  I can still use it to call and be called if it is attached to the headset so it really is still usable but i have no camera to capture those bloggable moments.

It's a pity because i really like my phone, the samsung s7330.  It takes clear enough pictures and i have had no complaints so far with regards to reception and internet connection.  In fact, it's my main tool for taking photos and updating my social network accounts and so it really is more than a phone to me.  I am thinking of having it repaired.  However, if it's beyond repair i already have mobile prospects in mind. Or i can choose to stick with it and just buy  a cheaper digital camera that works underwater.  Which do you think is a better option?

 Hubby has a blackberry courtesy of his employer and hsbc has a 0% installment plan for it but I am not so inclined to get one.  If i get this prepaid, it costs less than P 14,000. Ouch!

This beauty from my!phone is dual sim and costs only PhP 5,990 and is feature-packed.  Infact it claims to do what blackberry does in a cheaper manner.  I like this one better if only it comes in red. It boasts of a 3.2 megapixel camera, bluetooth connectivity, and wifi.  What else would you need? 

But really i have been itching to buy an underwater camera for sometime.  Not that, i have any plans of scuba diving soon.  My children are mermaids.  Abby particularly, sometimes wears her pink necklace, touches it and says " I want to be human." During our ferry boat rides from liloan ,leyte to lipata, surigao city when we were sailing beneath the stars and i told them to make a wish because i saw a shooting star, they wished that they become mermaids.  And i told them to shut up( He he).  Good parenting huh?! Seriously, they take to water like ducks. If it were upto me, i would spend every other weekend near a body of water just so they would really swim and play to their hearts content.  So an underwater camera would really be a dream right?

According to Kyle Schurman of About.com, the G5WP includes 12.2 megapixels of resolution, a 4X optical zoom lens, a 2.7-inch LCD, and the ability to shoot video at a limited resolution. The G5WP measures only 0.8 inches in thickness, and its lens does not extend outside the camera body. With an expected price of about $180, which is about the same price shown in SM Appliance cemter, the G5WP is one of the least expensive waterproof point and shoot cameras you'll find. The G5WP is available in three stylish colors: Graphite gray, ocean blue, and raspberry red.

Of Yayas..

Ever since I gave birth to my eldest child AJ, there have been nine yayas in our household excluding the two that we currently have now.

This is michelle montenegro, she has been with us for more than a year and she is very capable, kind, intelligent and doesn't need much supervision.  But she left abruptly with Yaya Merlyn who has been with us for only 3 months.  I suppose, they do not like to be saddled with an additional baby to watch over.  I can understand that. But to leave us with unkind words? Ha, i am not such a good judge of character.

Yaya Grethel is liked by Abby but hated by AJ.  Abby likes those who conforms to all her whims.  AJ dislikes her because she can't watch her favorite shows on cartoon network and disney because Yaya Grethel likes to watch willie's wowowee.  And she has a tendency to spank AJ even when i already told her not to lay a hand on the kids and leave the disciplining to me.

They go with us whereever we go, they sleep in hotel rooms and in proper hotel beds whenever we go out of towns.  They eat what we eat. We send them to the dentists and OB-Gyne when they complaint of pain, free because that is what we are.  We treat them with kindness, hoping that they would also treat the kids and us kindly and faithfully and because that is the Christian thing to do.  And yet...

These are the yaya's who left without honoring the verbal condition that they give us one-month notice when they no longer want to work with us.  Regardless of the plance fare, i spent for them coming to Manila.  I think, I am a generous employer and understanding too. And they seem happy too, and yet one wonders.

This is Yaya Jhoanne Teopiz.  I am reserving my assessment of her. She's a more open person, a bit loud but i think what she lacks in knowledge she makes up for in kindness. Hopefully. No one is perfect after all.

I do understand that these kind of jobs are merely transitory considering the meager salary that they are receiving compared to the responsibility that goes with the job and the emotional investments on both our sides.  So when any of them tells us that they want to leave already, there really is nothing we can do except to ask them to respect our agreement that they give us one-month notice in advance.  They leave for different reasons, some pregnant, or going to school, or they had saved enough for business.  It's commendable for them to aspire for a better life and i encouraged them in that direction.  We never hold on to them, not that we can.  Most leave with kind words for us, but there are those who just leave and invent stories regardless of the kindness we have extended to them. I don't waste my time anymore with that kind of people. So yeah, they are important to me but i can also managed without them.

Ferry boats: Matnog, Sorsogon to Allen, Samar

We enjoyed the ferry boat ride from Matnog, Sorsogon to Dapdap port in Allen Samar primarily because it is a short ride less than two hours and it's breezy out there in the deck.  The kids have a grand time watching the kids who will swim for coins. 

 The kids are still in their pajamas because we left the night before at past 10pm so they were in their sleeping attires.  I also wanted them to travel comfortably but shortly after taking this picture , i already had them changed to their day-time casuals.

We took our bath at Calbayog, Samar already because there was plenty of water and clean wash room. We only have to pay 20 pesos per person for taking a bath. 

Short Stop: Mayon Volcano, Daraga, Albay

We left manila past 10 pm of September 22 and so we were fortunate to see Mayon's perfect cone early in the morning unhampered by clouds.  We stopped by the road side just to take photos of the great mayon inside our vehicle.

Even with countless eruptions, the great mayon still retains it's perfect cone-shaped.  How's that? We truly has a great God, creator of small and mightly things.

Overnight Stop: Zamboanga City

Our visit to Zamboanga is two-fold, to visit hubby's siblings who lives there and for hubby to attend a reunion at his school Zamboanga School of Fisheries, which is a maritime school. He spent his days and night with his batchmates while we stayed at his sister's house. I mainly spent the day tutoring AJ on her exams. We brought all her books with us but i can honestly say we only covered math and reading. Bad idea to bring books on vacation, it's never gonna work. Note to self, re-schedule vacation after kid's exam.

Anyway, later we lighted candles at Fort Pilar and enjoyed the breeze for a while at Paseo del Mar. There was a brief brown out in most parts of the city but thankfully, a relative of theirs invited us for dinner at Village Restaurant. The food was okay but the place is a good bonding place for families because of the playground. The kids enjoyed their stay thoroughly.

I would have wanted to visit the barter trades again but we did not have the time since we had a schedule to follow.

Downtown zamboanga has narrow streets and traffic is already horrendous. Lots of tricylce. I think the streets are even narrower than Iligan.