[Review] IVO C151 Faucet-mounted water purifier

I can't believe we only learned of this product recently! IVO Faucet-mounted water purifier is exactly what it says I don't know how else to translate that. It's an attachment that basically filters your faucet water so you can drink straight from it. Love it.

Before I let you on in my blabber, here's a Youtube review:

Alright, pros and cons:

Pros:
1. Compact and space-saving
2. Cost-cutting
3. Very convenient
4. Japanese technology, made by a reputable manufacturer that also makes dialysis machines. Yeah so kinda like if filtration is the game, Torayvino is the name. 
5. This particular model can filter up to 1500L of water

6. Water tastes fine. No aftertaste like in bottled waters.

Cons:
1. A bit pricey
2. Hard to tell when the cartridge is due for replacement (unless you go for a different model, there's one that has a LED screen to indicate your consumption)
3. Pretty bulky for our small sink
4. Good for small households only, I'd say 1-3 people so you don't keep on changing the cartridge (unless you don't intend to use it for regular drinking. Some people get it just for washing produce)

I learned about IVO by asking in our community Facebook group, then I also learned it's being advertised in OShopping. It's actually been around for a while. And IVO isn't the first one to introduce this type of product. Just search for "faucet mounted water filter" and you'll be greeted with tons of options. There's Megafresh, some generic ceramic cartridges, unbranded activated carbon attachments, but I decided to stick with IVO for the following reasons:

• It's manufactured by a reputable Japanese company, Torayvino
• It employs a 4-level filtration system (Pre-screen, 2nd Screen, Hollow Filter Membrane, Granular Activated carbon)
• Claims to deliver 99.99% bacteria-free drinking water - I mean if a Japanese product has boldly put such claim in their packaging I'm bound to believe it lol
• The product looks pretty haha (I mean compared to other brands yknow haha)
  
  

Okay, so what's in the box?

1. User manual in English
2. Head unit
3. Filter cartridge C151 than can filter 1500L of water
4. Various adapters

It's pretty easy to set up, you just need to try which adapter works for your kind of faucet. Once it's installed you'll now have 3 water settings...

Photo from Oshopping

You can look inside the cartridge to see the interior filter. 

.

This is one of my happiest household purchases so far.

We've finally kept our ugly blue water container for good because we didn't have to fetch water every week! I mean, our condo supplies us free drinking water but it's a hassle when we run out of backup and they're closed for the day or it's a Holiday idk I hate it. I also think they don't clean the containers well. Also, I hate having to nag my husband to fetch water when it's out lol.

It's space-saving, compact, and portable too. The attachments included in the package allows it to be mounted on almost any type of faucet. We don't really pay for drinking water, but if you are then this is quite a good replacement. I admit this is actually an added expense for us, we pay for the filter and cartridge replacement and our drinking water is now being added to our water utility bill, but it's not really a big deal considering how convenient it is to have clean drinking water right from your faucet.

VERY Important usage tips!

• After installation, make sure to "break-in" the filter by running a slow flow for at least 30 seconds to avoid air pockets from forming inside the cartridge. I read about a user who ran a fast flow on first use and by 2 weeks the water is already running very slowly, they had to replace it.
• If left unused for more than a week, prime the cartridge by running a slow flow first for a few seconds before drinking.
• If there's a water interruption, remove the cartridge to avoid accidentally running murky water on it once the water supply is back. Once dirty water has passed through the filter, the water flow will slow down terribly and you'd have wasted its filtering capacity. This is particular here in Metro Manila I guess because every time the water line is restored, it spits out dirty water at first, until it gets clearer and clearer and clean enough for drinking.

How's the price and availability?

IVO Faucet-mounted Water Purifier Set retails for ₱1,980.00. It includes the head unit and 1 cartridge. C-151 cartridge replacement costs ₱1,380.  There's also a pack of 3 available for around  ₱3,300. You can purchase online through OShopping, IVO PH, True Value, All Home, or Mercury Drug. I bought mine at True Value Glorietta. :)

How's it doing so far?

So far so good, we bought the unit on April 17 and it doesn't look like it needs to be replaced anytime soon. We're just a household of 2 so I figured it would take quite a while to have it replaced. They say it's time to change the cartridge when the flow is starting to slow down, ours took over a year to slow down mainly because we drink at the office for the most part hehe.

I would recommend this to a small household. Like maybe 1-3 people.

Also those living in condos because it's usually tight and every square inch of space savings matters.

Also if your faucet is low and doesn't have a standard threading, it would be very difficult to work with this. Luckily our faucet is kind of a bridge type that's tall enough that you can place a pitcher underneath. I've seen faucets that are so different you can't remove the aerator to reveal the threads.

I wouldn't sell this to big families, obviously they have more water needs and would max out the cartridge in a few months. With a cartridge that pricey, I'd say you'd be out replacing it every 3 months and that's not very practical. Unless, like I mentioned above, you don't intend to use it for your regular drinking water needs. It's a good supplement though.

  

UPDATE: April 6, 2020

Okaaay, it's been ALMOST A YEAR, and we haven't replaced the cartridge. We estimated our usage to be around 3L per day, which is quite lavish considering we drink water at the office too. That said, it would take us 500 days to max the filter capacity. Still a long time from now.

This is how the cartridge looks like right now:

It's gone darker, but I can't taste the difference yet hahaha. Should we change already? I'm not too worried cos we're still far behind 1500L but I don't know if that color is still considered safe lol.

UPDATE June 9, 2020: I checked with IVO PH and they told me that it's still safe to continue using the cartridge even with that color, as long as the water flow is still tolerable. So it's really up to us. So far, water flow hasn't slowed down considerably and filter cartridge has gone darker. No worries though because they assured me that no matter the strength of the flow, water quality remains the same. Love it!

Anyway. Yeah, go get this one. I fully recommend this product!

I need a break

This has been the most stressful day of my career here at the firm. I accidentally truncated a table that removed everyone's leave records. Easily trumps the infinite loop issue I had back then by a big notch. This has been my biggest ~work~ mistake and I'm so embarrassed by it huhu.

We were able to restore a backup copy of the table but the data was only until 1pm today. I deleted the records around 5:30pm so that leaves us with 4.5 hours of data gap where I could only hope no one tried to request or approve leaves. I'm so close to asking those who logged in between that gap to know if they made any leave transaction. Just to remind them to file them again, cos you know, they're gone. And I just want to make sure. But heck I'm too tired and right now I'm just kindof wallowing in my mistake. I tried to look for the logs but wtf for some reason there are no logs for the day! I'm suspecting the app isn't logging prod transactions at all and it's so weird but I already got an idea. My goodness.

I haven't touched the system in 4 hours now and while a part of me wants to continue working, I don't feel like coding 'cos I don't want to make any more mistaaaakes huhuhu. May trauma paaaaaa huhu!

Gosh I don't even know what to work on next! Whew. This is definitely not the Friday I was expecting. I was looking forward to continuing working on my dev tasks. I was having fun. I actually think I'm on a roll, little did I know this snowballing mojo of confidence would be smashed by a careless mistake. I was working too fast, missing the little details, relying on muscle memory, trusting my productive streak. Heck I just got a commendation yesterday for deploying a robot and now this?

Man I deserved this right? I know I did. I was being complacent and too confident with my work. What a slap. As much as I needed this wake up call, I didn't want to affect prod data just to learn a lesson! Huhuhu

Anyway. I have so much to thank my teammates for and Lani too our server girl whom I called first to ask if they have database backup. My team mates swooped to the rescue and looped in my boss. Juskooo I wouldn't have the heart to tell my boss I did something wrong when I haven't fixed it. The horrorrrr. They reassured me everything's gonna be alright, we have backup, we'll definitely get a development database now.... but argh. Stuff like this just kinda lingers on me. And I just realized, in my 7 years of working, that I'm not mature yet. What would I do without my teammates' support and my boss' supervision. I'm a frkn child I could cry!

I'm still mourning for the data we may have lost forever. Huhuhu

Anyway. Here's a distraction. Trifold brochure design for one of my friends.

Happy weekend I guess.

Ah, life

Currently slaving on a project I should've finished last month. I kept procrastinating on this because I knew I'd be able to stumble on a more elegant solution to my dev enquiries. And I did! I'm done with the code and I'm doing some testing and validation before moving to UAT. I'm glad I tested this out (well, that's a must) 'cos I was able to fish out a logical error in my workflow which resulted to my partial deliverable being inaccurate. What a shame!

Earlier this evening I had a health risk assessment from our clinic. As usual, yet another validation of why I feel awful everyday. I'm overweight. Obese 1 in fact. And just so I'd remember, here are my stats:

Current body weight: 69 kg (152 lbs)
Ideally: 45-55 kg (100-121 lbs)
BMI: 28
Body fat %: 37.9% (acceptable is 25-32%)
Body age: 47 (I'm frkn 28)
Visceral fat: 8.5 (normal)

Yeah so the only normal reading I have is my visceral fat and pulse rate lol. Can't be too happy. I definitely gained so much weight over the past few weeks. I blame rice. Don't we all. I'd like my weight to be down to 140 lbs first, that's enough to fit in some of my old clothes. I think even the upper range of my ideal weight is ridiculously thin for my height. But of course, thin is normal. At least healthy normal.

Oh well.

5 Possible Reasons You Can’t Get To Sleep

For some of us, getting to sleep can be a real mission. It can result in hours of tossing and turning, which can become more frantic as it gets to the early hours of the morning. There are many factors that can stop us from getting to sleep easily. Here are five possible reasons you may be struggling to drift off.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

You’re too stressed

Stress can keep many of us up at night. When stressed, our body releases cortisol which makes our mind more alert and our body more energised. Taking the time to de-stress before bed could help to flush out this cortisol so that your mind isn’t racing and your body isn’t tense. There may be forms of bedtime meditation that you can try in order to get yourself de-stressed. A hot bath meanwhile is another effective stress reliever. Avoid stressbusters such as exercise, which may simply perk you up and make it harder to sleep.

You’ve been consuming the wrong foods/drinks before bed

Certain foods and drinks will make it harder to go to sleep. Caffeine is the biggest culprit – coffee or tea before bed is best avoided and you may want to limit chocolate (this often contains caffeine too). High-sugar drinks may also keep you up, whilst fatty foods may cause bloating that makes getting to sleep difficult. Instead, try foods like honey or oats, which can help you get to sleep by promoting the hormone melatonin. Bananas and almonds are also good sleep inducers due to their content of magnesium.

You’ve been looking at too many bright screens before bed

Staring at a bright TV, laptop or phone screen before bed could be tricking your brain into thinking that it’s still daylight hours, delaying the release of melatonin. Try to make it a habit of turning off all devices with screens an hour before going to sleep. As mentioned earlier, you could try having a hot bath or meditating instead, or you could read a book – anything that doesn’t involve a screen.

Your bed/bedroom is too uncomfortable

An uncomfortable bed could also be preventing you from getting to sleep. If you suffer from any kind of back or joint pain, you may find that a soft mattress exacerbates the pain, whilst a firm mattress provides more support. Alternatively, some people may prefer a soft mattress that they can sink into. It’s also important that your bedding doesn’t make your too hot or cold – consider using different materials of sheets for different seasons to help regulate temperature more easily.

You’ve been lying in too late

Lying in late will make it harder to go to sleep at a reasonable time. Because you haven’t been awake long enough, your body and brain won’t be ready to sleep. Try making an effort to get up earlier even if you have no reason to. If it’s your day off from work, you may still be able to get a lie in – you may just want to keep a cut off point such as 10am to prevent you lying in too long so that you can then go to bed at a reasonable time the following night.

[Solved] Cannot link Paypal to GCash

After a bazillion years of trying to get GCash to respond properly to my concern, I finally got the answer I'm looking for. I don't want to go into the details of how frustrating it is to deal with GCash support kasi ayoko ma-highblood so let's just get into the details of why I wasn't able to link my Paypal account smoothly.

Root causes:
1. My Paypal acount type is business
2. My first name in Paypal is wrong (it included my middle name)

So yeah, before you attempt to link your Paypal account to GCash, make sure to take note of the following prerequisites:

• Your first and last name on Paypal must be identical with your first and last name on GCash
• Your Paypal account must be setup in the Philippines
• Your Paypal account type must be personal (not business acocunt)
• Your GCash account must be KYC-ed (fully verfied)

When I first tried to link my Paypal account, I kept on getting this error:

"We are unable to link your account. Please make sure your credentials are the same in both your PayPal account and GCash wallet"

The error message was followed by two emails. The first was a preapproved payments plan registration notification, and shortly after -- its cancellation.

The message prompted me to check my details both on Paypal and GCash. My email, full name, and even home address are exactly the same down to the very last character. So what gives?

I kept asking GCash support about it. I've gone throught Facebook, Website, and InApp support.

They're all trash.

I told them that I've checked my details and they all match. And if they could just provide me which details don't match, then I'll work on it. But hey, they just can't do any more digging. I was convinced that my details were perfect, but I still don't get what's wrong. They kept on resending the steps and guidelines and it was getting frustrating having to deal with their very incompetent support group. Eventually I took my problem with Paypal, but the answer I got was as dismal. The verification part is made on GCash's end so they're the one's who can answer my question.

Then I found this thread on Reddit discussing the issue. OP found out that his first name in Paypal included his middle name so he requested to have it changed. I figured it must be the same case with me. I just need to validate if my first name really included my middle name.

But heck, there's nothing on my Paypal dashboard that says this is my first name. I have no welcome banner when I log in, and my profile simply states my full name, as in <first> <middle> <last>. I was wondering where I could see a clue of what my actual first name is.

Until one day, GCash responded to one of my many emails with yet another set of steps and guidelines. But this one's longer and more detailed. It included the prerequisite that your Paypal account must be PERSONAL type and not BUSINESS.

I felt pretty hopeful! So okay, I requested to downgrade my account. From business to personal. No biggie, my Merch by Amazon account got terminated anyway so there's no reason for me to run a business account.

When my request got approved, I logged into Paypal and noticed this change:

I don't know why I had to blur that lol

I have a welcome banner now!

Okay so apparently Paypal doesn't greet its business account holders looool.

And also, I got to validate that my first name is indeed wrong! I mean, welcome templates don't usually include your middle name right? It's usually just Welcome <firstname> or Hi <firstname>! 

Great. So that's it. I had my name changed at Paypal, which was quite an ordeal too. I had to request thrice, each with a note that says not to include my middle name with my first name. All of them were executed wrongly. They'd say congrats we've changed your name but nothing has really changed! I'm still being greeted with my middle naaaame aaarggh. That's the time I contacted support through email, not by contact-us form, and thankfully they responded correctly.

Finally I was able to successfully link my Paypal account to GCash, and cash-in my money instantly.

The name change also did not affect my Paypal to Bank transactions, so I'm glad. No more waiting 3 days to withdraw my earnings!

Frustrating! Why you can't link your BDO Debit Mastercard in GCash

Last update: October 2, 2019 (Successfully linked BDO Mastercard to GCash!)

Long story short, BDO blocks GCash transactions because it considers it a high risk app.

According to a BDO customer support agent, Mastercard has added more security layers in its platform restricting several apps, like GCash, from transacting with your bank account in order to minimize fraudulent activities. 

In order to link your BDO account to GCash, you have to call BDO Hotline and request to whitelist your account. In this process, you have to confirm that you have no other means to shop online, or have no other card you can link to GCash. Otherwise, they won't process your request.

BDO clearly doesn't want you to link your account to GCash because of its many potential security threats. But I think they're not allowed to explicitly discourage you because that's denial of service? Hehe

So if you're considering using your BDO card for GCash transactions, look for other options. Or just quit using GCash altogether, their customer service sucks so much it opened a new level of disappointments for me. 

Story time!

The only reason I wanted to link my BDO to GCash is to allow me to transfer my BDO funds to my BPI account without having to go out to withdraw and deposit. It was an exciting thought, to be able to cash in my money from BDO and move it seamlessly to BPI. Real time and without charges. Wow. That's just so ideal for me as I've been doing this whole withdraw then deposit process manually for the past 2 years. 

But when I tried to link my BDO Debit Mastercard in GCash, I always receive this unfortunate message:

"Sorry, your card enrollment cannot be processed. Visit http://bit.ly/DebitCardErrorInfo to know more about failed enrollments."

So what should you do?

1. Forget about asking GCash Care or reaching out to any of their hotlines. 

They were NEVER helpful in my months long attempt of trying to ask WHAT'S WRONG. Even if you've provided ALL the details they need to look into your account, they will always, and without fail, ask for it again. They never review your request. They're just delaying your request until you eventually give up and forget about it. 

I call it rude, lazy, and a fckn customer service disgrace. But then I thought they were probably doing it on purpose to discourage people from actually using BDO because the bank has put so many restrictions on GCash. 

At this point they could have told you to call BDO instead to whitelist your account right? BUT NO. They don't know that detail. Or they're purposefully withdrawing that basic information.

Which leads me to only step that matters,

2. Call BDO Hotline at 02-631-8000 (landline)

Tell them you can't link your BDO account to GCash. They will inform you of the Mastercard security features they've put in place blah blah blah and ask you if there's really no other card you can use. Then they'll get your account number, card number and a few other info for verification.

They'll lodge your request to whitelist your account number and have you wait for 4 hours or a confirmation message coming from BDO. After that, you can try linking your account again...

I got this message from BDO nine hours after the call and immediately tried to relink my card.

Did it work?

NO! It didn't! Much to my dismay, which I'm growing more fond of, my card still won't link, and I'm still getting the same unfortunate message.

So what now?

Nothing. I don't want to deal with it anymore... at least for now. 

If you're experiencing the same problem, I hope calling BDO to whitelist your account works for you. It didn't for me, but I sincerely hope it works for you at least. Please let me know if it does, I want to learn of success stories! Maybe I'll try to look into it another time... when I'm not feeling so hopeless.

Haaaaaay! 

UPDATE (August 2019):

I tried to link my BDO debit Mastercard to GCash again, AND FAILED. I called BDO to confirm why it's still not working even if I've already had my account whitelisted, and the customer rep told me I need to coordinate this with GCash because everything is fine on their end, at least concerning my account.

I emailed GCash support once again, sent all the details they needed, and finally they answered with something more conclusive:

So it's BDO's fault?

So that ends it. No luck getting BDO to work on GCash. Hay.

IMPORTANT UPDATE (October 2, 2019)

Finally! Linked my BDO Debit Mastercad to GCash! Was also able to successfully cash-in from my linked BDO savings account as well, for no extra charge -- the very reason I stick to GCash for my interbank transactions. FI-NA-LLYYYYY!!! 

Thoughts? I think it's ultimately a Mastercard issue. I feel sorry for blaming BDO and GCash for all of this. But hello, they should also know not to keep their customers in the dark about what's happening with their credit companies. With this level of issue, we need technical answers.

It's also worth noting that we had OTP problems recently with our other Mastercards from Security Bank and BPI, which we escalated to customer service. Interestingly, they got resolved at the same time. Then I got the idea of randomly trying to link my BDO (even if I was 100% sure it would lead to more unnecessary frustrations) since it's a Mastercard, and holey moley, for the first time in this gruelling journey, IT FKN LINKED.

So, my advice? It's not you. It's them. So just wait it out.

ALTERNATIVELY - Use PayMaya

Alternatively, if you still can't find yourself to link BDO to GCash, TRY PAYMAYA instead. I've been able to cash-in money from my BDO account to Paymaya, then from Paymaya to my other bank accounts. FOR FREE. 

How?

1. Download PayMaya on your mobile device
2. Register using my invite code so we both get ₱50 credits!
   
   COPY PASTE THIS INVITE CODE: 
   3K6FPH4
3. Click on Add Money >> Using Debit or Credit Card >> Using New Card
4. Enter your BDO Mastercard card details, along with the amount you wish to transfer
5. Cash-in amount will be credited to your PayMaya wallet in real-time
6. Now, if you want to transfer your PayMaya funds to another bank account:
   Click on Bank Transfer
7. Enter bank details >> Continue
8. Funds will be sent real-time using InstaPay

Niggling Pains That Can't Be Ignored

Image by Ernesto Eslava from Pixabay

Nobody likes being in pain, but one of the most common complaints that people have, is that they're in some sort of pain. Whether it be because they're aching, because they've got a medical problem, or something has just started causing severe pain out of the blue. There are literally thousands of causes for this, yet we're so bad at actually finding out what's wrong. So many of us put up with pain until it's completely unbearable, until one day it gets too much, and finally a doctors trip happens. But realistically, we should be sorting the problems we're having as soon as possible, to make sure that we have the best outcome. So we're going to run you through some of the paints that definitely shouldn't be ignored, and simple thing that you might be able to do to get it sorted quickly!

Joint Pain

Joint pain is something that we're all going to experience at some point in life, especially as we move towards the older years. But even as young healthy people, we will have all of the joint aches and pains that older people have. It's due to the work we do, and the way we look after our body. People who sit in offices a day are known for their problems with joint pain, but mainly in the neck. But neck pain isn't something that should be ignored, and just shrugged off because you know it's related to your job. You should start practicing a better position at work, ensure that your back is straight and you're not slumped over. This will straighten your posture, and allow your neck to sit in a neutral position rather than tilted. It takes all of that pressure off the neck joint. Doing light rolls of your head and neck stretches to relieve any tension is also advised!

Something Caused By Injury

Now this is definitely something that can't be ignored, yet again, so many of us do. Injury can occur for many different reasons, from lifting something to heavy, to sports related injuries. Physiotherapy is always recommend when you've been injured with something that's long lasting. So torn muscle or ligaments, it's almost essential to have the physio to help the injured area repair to the optimum level. Don't ignore any pains that you're having through injury when it's long lasting area. It's always best to go the your doctor or to A&E, just to make sure that there's nothing more serious going on!

The Worst Kind Of Aches

There's nothing worse than both tooth and ear ache. Both are such a niggling pain that can lead to headaches and other aches. There are quick remedies that can soothe some pain, such as resting your ear on a hot water bottle, and for the toothache, getting into the dentist as quickly as possible is essential. There are emergency dentist appointments for people in serious pain, so never leave it!

So if you're going to take anything away, it's that you go to the doctor or whatever medical professional is relevant, and always get pain treated before it gets any worse!