Two Country Visits in One Ticket

I left the travel agency a few days ago not getting any better result than what I have searched. Gave me the impression too that if agents are all like that lady who attended to me, I wouldn't be surprised if more and more people would prefer booking online instead.

Anyway, I am arranging a trip to the Philippines from Canada. Most of the flights are in the range of 1,200-1500US$, two way. Since I would not be sure of my return date, rebooking the ticket would sum up to 1350-1650$.

But I found a better option. Via Japan Airlines! I can book a 700$ one way ticket with an option for a stopover for one week via Tokyo or Osaka (or both!). And then just use the budget airline Cebu Pacific Air onward to Manila from Osaka. *There's a downside, Cebu Pacific only takes 15 kgs of baggage, but well the balikbayan box has solved my problem.

I am getting more and more confident with these kinds of bookings. After all, I went to Canada before via a US stopover. On the ground I just went around NY, Washington DC and Connecticut. And previous to that, I went to Iceland via Sweden. And Austria via Slovakia. And still previous to that, Germany via the United Arab Emirates, visiting friends in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

This way, for a small premium, if not free, you get to visit many countries with one ticket

Love in the time of the worldwide web

Love, or specifically, telecommuting love affair is more possible than ever in the time of the worldwide web. We're lucky we live in this time and age.

Many say globalization has allowed the world to shrink. The number of people who go out of their respective countries to work, study or migrate to another has been on the rise. I am one of those statistic. Mr. Bargainhunter is another. Over periods of time, walls of separation defined our circumstance. We brought each other's hearts (though that sounds ewwww sweet), if not each other's company across Asia, Europe, and North America, until the weeks we get to be together again. I remember one time calling him at 4am his time bcoz i can't sleep on my side of the world.

Email, YM, Skype are our staples. But that presupposes both of us are online (this was before skype introduced unlimited pC-phone offers). What about if one or both are not connected to the net? Yes, this entry is devoted to all the wire and wireless techonologies we have used to keep the communication going.

1. 02 Handy* Fone. I subscribed to 02, a mobile company that offers (1) unlimited calls to landlines and 02 numbers across Germany, and (2) a landline number (on my mobile) when I am within the 1 km perimeter of my home (or any place I've registered) zone. Since it's cheaper for Mr. Bargainhunter to call a landline, having a landline number on my handy phone was really neat!

2. Smart Prepaid Roaming Cell* Phone. Both Mr. Bargainhunter and I had and still have handsets powered by the Philippines' Smart Prepaid SIMs. Advantages: (a) remains on roaming mode until such time you roam it off; (b) you only need to have it topped up with at least 30 PhP (.50 euro) every half a year!; (c) practical - receiving SMS is free and if the sender is from the Philippines it only costs her 1 PhP per message (d) can accept SMS through Chikka, for free. Disadvatanges: can't receive calls, but what the heck. that's too much to expect for such a low maintenance phone.

************When in the departure area, about 30 mins before boarding, type in "ROAM ON" and send to 333. When back to the Philippines, just type in "ROAM OFF" to 333.************

3. Chikka. If somehow, I get to meet the developers of Chikka, I'd treat them to a real homecooked meal! This program allows you to send free 70 SMS alone to Philippine cellphones EACH DAY! And more than 100 SMS to other destinations, like the US, UK, Spain, Italy and HK, each day too. If you don't have one of the chikka-recognized SIM, you can also receive SMS replies through a number chikka gives you.

4. Mobivox. This is a VOIP service which provides local access numbers in selected countries. Using my 02 handy then, I call a Mobivox local access number in Germany which connects me to Mr Bargainhunter's phone in Canada, and vice versa. We only had our time difference to worry about and not long distance bills. How's that for a change?

5. There were many other experiments whose services were really great for a time. But failed to deliver later on. But since for a while they were great too I'd mention them: Lycatel phonecard, Voipstunt and Voipzoom.

6. Peterzahlt. This is also one supreme moneysaver for making long distance calls. I login to peterzahlt, it asks me my number and the number of the person I wish to call. My phone rings, and when I pick up, the other party's phone rings too. Voila, free call galore! This only works for calls originationg from Germany, as of this writing, though.

7. Jajah. So far this is the best VOIP service for calls to the Philippines that I have tried. It gives good rates, clarity of audio and rebates! AOL seems to offer cheaper rates than Jajah, but haven't tried yet. If you have, let me know.

8. Online New York /HK/German Number. I used to have online German and Hongkong landline numbers but for now I just maintain the New York one, albeit I am not in New York. How do I do it? I bought a number from Skype. This number is really practical because I can bring it anywhere I am so long as I am connected to the net. Since calls from anywhere to the US are cheap, my callers don't find it financially draining to contact me. And it is also not so expensive for me either to buy that number, which needs to be renewed in a year's time.

And I should not forget one thing. Writing love letters and sending them through the post office remains to be the number 1 way to keep in touch, even in the age of the worldwide web.


*handy to Germany is what's mobile/cellphone to other parts of the world

Catholic Devotions Online

You know that this blog isn't a religious forum but more of a tips blog. But since this is also a blog about my personal finds, I'm writing here about something that talks about a part of me - my Catholic faith. If this entry isn't for you, just jump back to the older posts or better yet, wait for new ones.

A few years back, I was a Didache super-user, a Bo Sanchez Kerygma Publication in the Philippines for my daily reflection guide. But since I have been living abroad for the past few years, it has become more difficult for me to subscribe to it. So for a long while, my mornings (not faithfully though) have been days of communing with Global Catholic Network and then Daily Prayer Online, a portal by Irish Jesuits.

Both sites were no less helpful to my prayer time. But both do have less funky and local touch that a generation x-er like me prefer. Or maybe, there's no rational decision why I prefer Didache. I just do. So I was always looking forward to getting hold of a Didache copy again.

A few months back though, I was able to serve as one of the editors of an upcoming book for Lingkod, a single professionals group (to our group's parlance, we call "community") I used to attend back home, whose chief editor and project coordinator is from Kerygma Publications.

And lo and behold, I knew that Didache (and Sabbath and Gabay) are now accessible online! You may access for free, but giving a small subscription fee would really be thoughtful.

I am a converted chocolate fan

My college friends would know my standard line "i don't like sweets, they make me weak". By sweets I mean cakes, ice creams and chocolates. My first ever suitor a full decade ago, even had a difficult time finding what to to give me next coz i just ignored his feeble attempts of making me have a bite of ferrero rocher.

But since i have lived in Bonn, former German capital and still UN capital in the country, i made an unusual discovery. Sure Belgian chocolates still rank highest among these brown little yummy things. But in the neighbouring small, quiet town of Bad Honnef, a chocolate confectionery, Coppeneur made me surrender my sweet hate. And their chocolates are really a taste of love and heaven. I am a converted choco lover.



So next time you are around Bad Honnef, Bonn, Koeln, or North Rhine Westphalia, seek them out. Perhaps, your local chocolate store may also be carrying their brands.

Jstor and Project Muse for free?

JSTOR and Project Muse are an academic's best friend. However those from developing countries often find themselves having difficulty in accessing these scientific archives. Good thing, the Global Development Network allows eligible researchers access to scientific and academic journals.

Registering with GDN also allows you to be a member of a robust development network, with annual awards for best papers of young academics, too.

This was lifted from GDN's site:

"In cooperation with J-Stor, GDN offers Free Access to J-Stor Collection to GDNet Registered Eligible Researchers. Through J-Stor, registered researchers can retrieve scanned images of journal issues and pages as they were originally designed, printed, and illustrated.

JSTOR offers both multidisciplinary and discipline-specific collections. These options are designed to provide flexibility for libraries and institutions to choose the sets of journals and collection that are appropriate for their needs.

GDN has granted access to J-Stor Journal Collection to GDNet Registered Eligible Researchers on the Knowledge Base. Researchers will be provided with access to Business I and II and Arts and Science II and VI Collections.The current Collection brings together titles in Economics, Finance, Education, Social Sciences, Political Science, Archaeology, Marketing, Managements and more.

To access any of the collections stated above, please log into your profile available on the GDNet website using your username and password (www.gdnet.org/update ). Once you are logged in, please click over “Your registered services” and choose J-STOR."

If you are not a member of GDNet researchers’ community, please feel free to register your profile online(www.gdnet.org/register) and benefit from other online servicesavailable(www.gdnet.org/online-services)."

Landline + PC + (Printer) = Fax

Who said faxing is passe? It is still neat to get a quote from your insurance company faxed to you. Or in our case, we were asked to send a copy of our marriage certificate to the office of immigration. So fax is not dead folks.

But do you know that you don't need a fax machine to have a fax service? Wait, wait. Did I confuse you there?

Do you have a landline? Do you have a PC? (And if you want hard copies, a PRINTER?) Then, you can RECEIVE and SEND FAXES. Woohoo! Were you just jumping up and down there knowing you now have a fax? Haha. Sure. I felt the same way then. But how do you do it?

1. Make sure that your fax software component is installed in your PC. It comes with your operating system. Just see your OS documentation/help center.

2. Disconnect the cord/cable that connects to your phone unit.

3. Connect the cord/cable to your modem.

4. Send/receive fax. Your fax number is the same as the phone line you are connected to.
So let's say you are in Germany, then your German festnetz (landline) number is also your fax number. Let's say you are on vacation in Thailand, then the fax number is the same as the Thai landline you are connected to.

Take note that since you may have only one phone, and you call more than you send fax, you can't disconnect the phone cord from the unit all the time.

So if someone wants to send you a fax, tell the person to call again. Do 2 and 3, and wait for your fax to ring.

Editing a PDF File

I and Mr Bargainhunter, who are relatively young in our respective careers, are almost in an application frenzy. But with most application forms now in PDF format, we find it to be such a hassle to print the forms, fill them up by hand and then scan again for emailing, or worse, to go on foot for postal mailing!

Thanks to PDF Xchange Viewer, it is possible to fill-up those forms, ala typewriter. I find it especially cool too that it has a highlighter function. I can mark certain phrases for emphasis, or easy thumbing later on. Much the same way I mark in neon those passages that strike me, or which I need to be useful for quoting later on.

The sticky notes in the program is also a plus, coz sometimes I want to write down my own thoughts , or just make general scribbles around the text, when I am reading.

And best of all, it comes free!