These Online Deals: What not to buy from them

You wouldn't think Manila, of all places, would indulge in online deals! This is the land of those who love to haggle for a lower price after touching the item and fitting it first. You wouldn't think we are very trusting enough to deposit the payment first before getting the vouchers. And who knew that those lamps are just PhP300.00? I better get one! As if I never had a lamp before!

These online deals became my morning indulgence. I come in really early in the morning and they are right in my inbox waiting to be viewed. It is like the Japan Home stores where you find things you never really need but you just wanna buy cause it's on a good discount.

Well, that indulgence ended too: After I bought service vouchers and never had the best of appointments. You see, if you are purchasing items, go ahead. If it arrives broken at your doorstep, you can choose not to receive it at all. But for a service, you can't do that. You pay for the voucher and seek an appointment. Only to find out that the appointment will happen after 2 months.

Guys, seriously, I tried being keen the next time. There was this really really cheap service treatment I had been waiting for. Before I bought it, I made sure if the appointments are open. The branch said yes madam, our calendars are not full, so just go ahead and buy the voucher(s) first because we will need that (seemed like a wonderful assurance). My mistake. Just another hard battle for your time.

The next time those online deals enter your email as worse as spam does, make sure you stay away from the services - meaning treatments like massage, haircuts, facials, laser, dental, etc. These things are very subjective and it is always your word against theirs, unlike a bad product which you can return to sender if it dissatisfies you. What's worse is they do not keep an inventory of "treatments", only schedule them, so time is vital, and once you buy the vouchers, you are at the whim of their availability to render their services on you.

I even heard from a clinic that the sales managers of online vouchers do not match the capacity of their clinic to render the service. What is important is for the online company to sell as much vouchers as they can and then it is the clients who suffer. I tried many times to return my unused vouchers, even contacted the online company (Ensogo) to please pay attention to my delayed service and just return my money. But their phone lines are too busy, nobody picks up after the voice prompt, even if you try over and over, and the emails just don't get a response. I did get a nice response from Cash Cash Pinoy when I raised a concern about the delayed delivery of the LED Christmas lights I bought last year. They apologized profusely by email after I told them it is almost Christmas and I haven't put up any lights yet. But hey, again, those are products, not services.

Just my experience.

Cute photo finds at Google+

I have been maintaining google plus because the photo sharing I find there is just so awesome. There are thousands of really cool photos and I'd like to share them with you.

Disclaimer: these are not my photos. Just sharing those I found too cute or interesting.

View of Milky Way from Mars

I will try adding more photos as they come along :)

New phone case concept: Introducing the Micro Satchel by Cuzo

I have been raving about the release of this Micro Satchel by Cuzo! A satchel is a messenger bag that has become really popular in Manila since a year ago and the designs can vary but it looks like this:

External: Adjustable body strap, 1 front pocket;
Internal: 1 flat pocket fully lined
Size: 7”H x 10.5”W x 3.5”D

This micro satchel that I am talking about is really micro! Because the intention is only to fit the phones, not your entire day's personal effects. At 8cm L x 13cm W x 3cm D, it can fit 2 phones! I tested it with 2 Blackberry phones, both fit. iPhones fit too. It also has a small sleeve inside that where you may slide sim cards. 

A strap can be used on on side or as a full strap like you would use it on a bag. What's more, this itsy bitsy satchel is full leather!

I'll show you what it looks like below:

(Update: Sorry but this product has been discontinued  since 2014)

Frontera: Affordable Chilean Wine

I have been buying red wine for the past 6 months and the choices are only the affordable ones. By affordable I mean those less than PhP 600 a bottle.

For 2 months now, I have been addicted to the brand Frontera. This is a Chilean wine for which I have tried all three variants: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Chardonnay. The photo you will see here is the Chardonnay bottle.

Try it because not only does it taste great sans the awful aftertaste, it is also ridiculously affordable: Less then 300 PhP a bottle! Isn't that a great deal? Get ready with your cork screw guys! :)

Kellogg's Run for the Healthy Filipina - my come back 16km run

Coming back to running after a long long time, I registered for the Kellogg's Run for the Healthy Filipina. The gun start was at 5am. Me and my friend were late for about 5 minutes. No problem because almost all runs these days will carry a barcode or a timing chip. The problem is me using the actual run as the training.

I geared for my come back run, and prepared to get a bad time for this. I am not cut out for a good finish in this condition anyway. Now for a runner with zero training, hills can mean death. And yes, the first 6 km was all hills, and hills again by the 11th and 13th kilometers. Was it tiring. But then again, I shouldn't be surprised, the venue was in Mckinley Hill.

Luckily, it rained for the most part of the event. You just got to love the rain. As a runner in this tropical country, the rain is a huge blessing, not a deterrent. I love running in the rain. I wouldn't know how I could have finished my full marathon last December 2011 without the rain. I don't know how I could have finished 16km today without the rain.

Most of all, my prayers were answered. I had asked for an injury-free run. My Asics Gel 1150, though ever-reliable, is not as well-cushioned as it used to be, but hey, I finished unscathed. Haha

Celebrity couple Troy Montero and Aubrey miles hosted the program. The raffle prizes were just awesome! My friend and I stayed until the end because the prizes were either Gift certificates from brooks worth  PhP1000 or PhP2000, yogurt pack from kellogg's, reebok gift packs (could be bags), reebok shoes gift certificates (!!), and puma watches (!!!).. now who wouldn't stay and stand soaking wet just to  have the chance to win those. By the way, I did not win anything. hahaha

The loot bag:
2 solo boxes of Kellogg's cereal in "special K" variant
2 pieces Carb block supplements
3 sachets of C-Lium Fiber supplement
1 ready to drink coffee from Pokka

The event also gave out a bottle of Vitamin Water for each finisher.

Overall: I enjoyed the route, it was not a boring view. I liked the even spacing of the water stations, and never felt like I was ever out of hydration. The Marshalls are attentive to which turn you should take depending on  your distance.

Way to go Kellogg's!

The finisher's medal, only for 16km runners