Not Again!

view from the back

I've only been in a car accident before once. It also involved the car that I'm using now but back then, my husband was driving and I was seated at the back with my son. I posted about it here. However, in the accident that I got into today, I was by my lonesome.

I finished class at around noon so from St. Scho, I drove to South Supermarket at Alabang to have lunch before going home. I was able to park in front of Teriyaki Boy but I did not get down first as I was checking messages on my phone. Next thing I knew, there was a loud crunching sound and lo and behold, the white Toyota van on my left was turning right which was against the traffic flow. I was surprised as he should not have been able to hit me as vehicles exiting the parking lot should only turn left.

I could only sit there and stare at disbelief at what happened. I initially thought that my vehicle moved to must have hit the van like that but my handbrake was firmly engaged. I turned off the engine and gingerly stepped out of the car. The owner of the car who was apparently waiting for the driver quickly approached me and apologized profusely. I actually admire her as if that was any other person, she would've been cursing the driver to high heavens but she held her tongue and spoke with me calmly and with the right dash of humility. They readily admitted that they were at fault and all the witnesses and security guards said that I was innocent of any wrongdoing.

view from the front

I quickly called my husband and asked what I should do. He initially gave me instructions but after a few minutes, he changed his mind and said he'll just go to where I was. Fortunately, the supermarket is just 10 minutes away from the house.

The guards wanted the driver to move the van as he was blocking the traffic going inside the supermarket parking lot. The bystanders in Teriyaki Boy quickly signaled that I should take pictures and I nodded saying that I already have.

Security then said that they have already contacted the local police precinct and somebody is on the way to take pictures and do our police report. True enough, a man on a motorcycle came over in less than 15 minutes. He took pictures and interviewed us as well as the supermarket security. He told us that we have to go the traffic enforcement office as we have to give our statements. Good thing that it was just under the Alabang viaduct as I do not relish facing the traffic going to Muntinlupa proper.

When we got to the office, I saw some cars that were obviously from an accident in the lot--there was even a Benz and an Audi! I wondered why the owners were not claiming them. Probably the repair costs are astronomical so they just left it there. Anyway, we went inside the office where I sat down to write my statement. I'm ashamed to admit that I struggled with it as the whole form was in Filipino. Filipino is supposedly by first language but I was suddenly at a loss on how to convey what happened. In the end, I wrote something like this: "Naka-park lang ako sa parking ng South Supermarket nang lumabas ang puting van sa kaliwa ko ng pakanan." (I was parked at the parking lot of South Supermarket when the van on my left moved out going towards the right). Not very eloquent but at least it's straight to the point.

the damage

The officer on duty asked me to step outside so he can see the damage. He also asked me what I wanted to happen. I was surprised as I thought I was there for the police report only. Apparently, I have the option to press charges as I was the aggrieved party and they were obviously at fault. I conveyed that all I wanted was the police report so I can go  home and most importantly, have lunch!

I then paid P250 for the police report (supposedly for pictures and filing but I somehow find this unbelievable, especially when I saw the receipt. I did not complain anymore as I just wanted to get out of there) and was out of the precinct in 20 minutes or so.

After the precinct, my husband and I proceeded to Honda Cars Alabang which was where I have my car regularly serviced. We asked for an estimate on the cost for repairs as it's one of the documents required for insurance claim. In less than 30 minutes, I was able to get my quote and was able to go home.

The bright side of things, the whole thing, from time of the accident until I got home only took 2 1/2 hours. Not bad considering I was able to file my police report and get an estimate already. However, it's not something that I would want to happen to me for a long time.

So for those who will find themselves unfortunate to be in a car accident, remember to do the following things:

1. Take pictures of the accident -  All angles as much as possible.
2. Keep calm and keep your cool - Getting in a shouting match with the other party will not resolve anything. However, I know this might not always be possible if both of you think you are in the right of way. But try to be calm. Usually, the other driver calms down as well so you can talk like two rational beings so you can get it settled right away.
3. Get a police report - It is usually the most important document for insurance claims. Unfortunately, you have to go to the nearest precinct to have this done.
4. Call-a-friend - If you are driving my your lonesome, try to call for someone to accompany you especially when going to the precinct.
5. Exchange numbers - Get the phone number of the other party. Make sure it works and he or she is not just giving you a bogus number.

If you are fortunate enough to be accident free, try to be prepared for it by doing the following:

1. Get a dashboard cam - I initially thought that it's just a vanity thing but when you drive by yourself and when you get into accidents, it's your most important witness.
2. Update your insurance - Do not ever let your insurance lapse. Having an expired policy seems to attract accidents.
3. Defensive driving works - I consider myself as a safe driver. I don't feel my pride getting hurt if an asshole-driver cuts into my lane. I usually think that he must badly need to use the bathroom as he's in such a hurry. Nevertheless, it does not make him less of an asshole.
4. Keep a copy of the insurance and OR/CR in the car- You'll never know when you'll need it.
5. Keep a phone charger in the car- No doubt your glove compartment will be full of stuff but there's no harm in adding a phone charger or at least keep your phone charged. You will need it to call for help.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Even though my husband was out of the country this Valentine's Day, I still went to work quite excited. Not for me, but for the love that will surely be demonstrated throughout the day in the office.

I had an officer who gave the girls some plastic flowers and it was quite a touching gesture. We also held a "Cheesiest Line" contest at my department. Had lunch at SM Aura with my colleague and we were surprised to see that the parking was almost full. That has never happened before when we would have lunch there.

There were kilig moments wherein one staff was courting another one of my staff. He left her love notes, balloons and flowers. Kicker was when he had a teddy bear strapped on a remote control car delivered to her and he personally handed a bouquet of roses. That really made the rest of the department scream with delight. I had my own thrill when I went around the room and personally interviewed those who received flowers. It was a perverse kind of thrill knowing that I made them squirm by putting them on the hot-seat. :)

When I got home, my son greeted me with his own Valentine's Card. Even though I know it was a school initiated project, I still felt touched and proud.

For all its worth, Belated Happy Hearts Day everyone.

Two Years!

Last Thursday, Feb. 6, marked my two years with my current employer. I celebrated it by treating two of my colleagues to lunch at Banapple. I don't know if it's something worth celebrating when I'm having mixed feelings with my job now but the point that I lasted this long is worth noting.

This is my fourth employer already in my 15 years of working. I'm not perfectly happy with what I do but then, there is no such thing as a perfect job. Maybe there is one but I have yet to find it.

Like what I've been telling my friends and students, happiness is a decision and it should come from within. Probably happiness is not the right term with what I'm looking for but job satisfaction. One thing's for sure, I enjoy teaching but unfortunately, it's not enough to let me pay the growing bills so as of now, I have to keep it at part-time and let my day-job fund my passion.

On that note, I'm also marking my second year in teaching. I started on January 2012 as a substitute teacher. I'm still at it two years after and enjoying every minute of it.

Just earlier, I was teaching my students cost behavior. I found certain satisfaction when I saw their faces light up with understanding when I taught them the difference between variable and fixed cost and how to price their products. Now I know why some teachers are extending their lecture time because they're in the zone.

I don't know where my career path will take me but wherever it is, here's to more successful years ahead. Cheers!

Picture taken from www.themainevent.com.au

#PHthankyou

I'm quite happy with our Department of Tourism. I guess the President got it right when he got an Ad-man (Mon Jimenez) to market the Philippines to the other countries. The video above is two-prong (which I found in Rappler): It shows us thanking the international community for their help in the aftermath of typhoon Haiyan and on the other hand, it shows us as happy people with scenic sites as backdrop.

Here are other It's More Fun in the Philippines videos:


This video was the first one released showcasing the Philippines and if I may say, it's quite brilliant.


I think this one is relatively new and it brought tears to my eyes.

Thankful - Feb 5

My blessings for today:

1. My office laptop - For the fact that I can work from home. By 530PM today, I still actually had a lot of work to finish. Since I had to help my son with his Kumon assignment, I hurried home and had enough time to help him with his homework. Fortunately, he finished early so I was able to continue my reports.

2. My team leaders - I lead a department of 58 employees. It's not easy to keep tabs on everyone. So I have my ever-dependable team leaders that helps me do this. We had our monthly meeting earlier and though some of it involved some sermon, I still appreciate the work that they do. I don't know where our department will be without them.

3. My Kindle - I actually have two e-readers: a Nook which I bought in 2011 when we were in the US, and a Kindle Fire which my bought bought for me as thank you gift when she visited in 2012 (she actually came home to bury her mom and I did all the leg-work involved). Nook has a longer battery life and I cannot buy any books, but I can load ebooks into it. As for the Kindle, buying books is as easy as pressing a button. For a person who's very passionate about books, this is such a wonderful blessing!

4. My son - We've always wanted another child and I posted about our TTC journey here. But for some reason, I can't seem to get pregnant and to think we duplicated the treatment that we had prior my first pregnancy. I think I've already accepted the fact that my son will only be an only child and even if we will not be blessed with another offspring, my son is already an abundance of blessings.

5. Food - Since I'm in a "tipid" mode as I have to fork out cash at the tollway (my ePass is broken), I make it a point to bring my lunch to work. As I was looking for food to bring, I spied the Christmas gift of preserved bangus that my friend gave me. After ensuring that it's not yet expired (March 2015!), I tasted it and was pleasantly surprised to find it delicious. It's now my lunch for tomorrow.

Thankful - Feb 4

My blessings for today:

1. My safe travel to and from the office - I left the house extra early today. Good thing I did as after entering the highway through Filinvest, traffic came to a stand-still and I saw this plume of smoke in front of me. There were also no cars at the southbound lane. I knew then without looking at Waze or the news that there must be an accident down the road. Fortunately, traffic started moving and a kilometer before the Skyway entry ramp, a bus was at the southbound lane still smoldering. Apparently, the tire of the bus caught fire and it exploded. Good thing nobody was fatally wounded by the incident. It did, however, cause heavy traffic.

2. Helping my son with his Kumon assignment - it's a blessing that he was cooperative the whole time and he did not complain. He also used to pitch a fit if I would erase his answers because I wanted him to correct it. Tonight, he just wrote the right answers and finished his homework in less than 30 minutes. Now, if i can just teach him not to rush his work to lessen his mistakes.

3. My seatmates at work - I am blessed to have my cubicle seated between two wonderful people. My good friend and lunchmate is seated on the cubicle on my left and we sometimes talk to each other through the thin walls. People would look at us oddly whenever we would have our "through-the-wall" conversations as it looks like as if we're talking to ourselves. As to my right, I'm sharing my cubicle with another colleague who's quite financial savvy and keeps his own blog here. He's my soundboard, translator and thesaurus all in one. And he gives sound financial advise too!

4. Done Quiz for CIC - I finished my quiz for Saturday in early this week. Usually, I would be cramming it on the day before. Actually, I forced myself to finish it early as I requested my husband to have the print-out reproduced at the nearby copy center. I did not want to print the test papers on my home printer as I have more students in Cost and Internal Control (22) than in Risk Management (15).

5. My blog - This blog is a blessing for me as it helps me remember things and lets me exercise my creative writing. I also realized that my site celebrated its 10th year last year yet I did not even have a big celebration like other sites (on that note, my blog is one year older than Facebook. FB turns 10 today!). I've ignored blogging for almost 3 years and I intend to be more active in posting this year. I blame Facebook and my penchant for buying pretty notebooks which I use as journals. Sometimes, I get too lazy to post as I'll just be repeating whatever I wrote on my journal.

Party in the U.S.A.

I'm not a Miley Cyrus fan. I just posted the video as there's a very big chance that we're going to the US of A this May.

Last time we were there was 3 years ago and it was just my husband and I (see our itinerary at the side bar). This time around, we're bringing our 5 year old son with us. I'm quite excited about it and at the same time, quite scared. Basti already rode the plane when we went to Bohol a couple of years ago so he should be fine. It's just that the travel time to Newark is quite long. The shortest travel time that I found was 19 hours. That's a big difference compared to the 1 hour flight to Tagbilaran.

I'm already racking my brains on how to keep him occupied for the whole flight. Cathay Pacific, which has the cheapest fares so far, leaves in the morning. Two hour layover at HK and then the 15 hour flight to Newark. Hopefully, he'll conk out during the long-haul flight. I don't know how I'll be as the last time we went there, I barely slept on the plane (I so envied my seatmate then as she was asleep the whole flight--only to wake up during meal times). I'm praying that Basti will cooperate and will not sorely test our patience.

Anyway, we'll finalize our plans after our son's "interview" at the US embassy at the end of this month.