Quarantine Wishlist Part 2

Aha! In fairness to my previous wishlist, I already bought most of them lol. To recap:

✔ Tempur sleep mask - reviewed here
✔ Xiaomi Mi Box S - already ordered when I created this list
✔ Sofa repair - finally pulled out three days ago
✔ A comfortable PC setup - all good! Monitor good, keyboard good (reviewed here). Current setup here.
✘ Lots of money - oh you'll be a mainstay
✔ Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 - passed up on this and got airpods instead. Reviewed here
✔ iPad mini and Apple pencil - Finally after a year of contemplating lol. I got a mini and my husband got an ipad and a pencil 1. We're sharing the pencil until I decide to get my own (or not) haha.

✘ Instant Pot - not so hot for this anymore hehe

Now I have a new list! What the heck, they're mostly kitchen things, effect of quarantine. Hope I'd get my husband to chip in these ~upgrades~ 'cos after all... yes I do the cooking, yes I do the cleaning. Okay nvm.

Subway sticker tiles

Oh I've been eyeing this subway white sticker tiles from Stiles PH for a while now. 

Can you believe those are just stickers on the wall?! Hopefully when they restock, and my allowance permits, I'll be able to finally put a backsplash on our kitchen.

High quality non-stick pans

I've had it with low quality cheap sets from SM Store. Metro and Chef's Classic suck. After a while we switched to stainless steel kahit mas hassle thinking it's healthier cos at least we won't die of teflon poisoning or whatever, but cooking is a nightmare when everything sticks! Argh.

I'm looking at Tefal, Neoflam, Lock & Lock or whatever's good out there. Kahit pa-isa isa!

Corelle dinnerwares

I just want the plain white ones. They're so freaking light,  have 3-year warranty, and claims to be break and chip resistant. Urgh, ECQ got me upgrading our kitchen all of a sudden hahaha.

Cute mugs and placemats

I really want to refresh our mugs to something plainer and more elegant. Like black, gray, white, or transparent lang ganon. Hahaha

Humidifier or Young Living Diffuser?

Actually I already ordered a Xiaomi humidifer lol. I already have a small essential oils diffuser but it doesn't really help improve the moisture levels in the room. Ever since the quarantine started we've been using the AC for longer hours and my throat really suffers specially in the morning. It's always sore and dry, and I always get sniffles when I wake up. I thought I just needed a humidifier, so we'll see.

I'm also curious with Young Living oils because I hear they're super effective! Someday, we'll know!

Basil plant

I want to start planting basil. Need to take advantage of our empty sunrise facing balcony, and also try my hand at gardening, baka sakaling I have a green thumb din like my dad lol.

Do you also find yourself spending more with quarantine? I know I do!

My quick and easy loan application experience: CIMB PH 0% Fixed Loan Term

CIMB PH is offering 0% fixed term loan of up to ₱50,000 to select customers. Here are a couple of things I like about this promo:

✓ Fully digital loan application

✓ Approval takes less than a week

✓ 0% interest rate for a fixed 12 months

✓ Cheaper than most loan programs from big banks

✓ Loan amount is disbursed to your CIMB account which you can transfer to GCash or withdraw directly via CIMB debit card (with 0 atm fees - tried and tested)

For more info:

https://www.cimbbank.com.ph/en/promotions/campaign/0-percent-fixed-loan-term.html

In this promo, for a loan of ₱50,000 you will be disbursed a net of ₱47,125. Your monthly installment for 1 year is ₱4,166.67 per month.

Here's how other banks compare, taken from iMoney PH Personal Loan Calcualtor

Principal loan amount: ₱50,000

Loan tenure: 12 months

Seeeee? With other banks you'd be paying ₱500 more each month! But of course, this is just a promo. 

CIMB's regular personal loan rate for 50k at 12months is:

Still cheaper.

Alright, now on to my application experience

June 10, 2020 - Applied for a ₱50k loan through the CIMB mobile app

The application flow in the app is pretty straightforward. You'll be asked to enter your personal and work details, attach your recent payslip, provide some ID details, and sign electronically. 

After submitting your application and getting pre-approved, every time you open the app you will be greeted by the current status of your application.I don't know who really qualifies for a loan but ever since the promo period started I've been receiving SMS notifications about the promo. According the Verified GCash Users group on Facebook, there's no required amount on your CIMB account to qualify. Even those with zero balance with CIMB, as long as they have an account, can apply. 

To manage your expectations, here are  sample computations:

For a ₱30,000 loan amount you will pay ₱2,500/month for 1 year

✦ But you will only be disbursed ₱28,275

✦ The deductions come in the form of 5% processing fee (₱1,500) and Documentary Tax Stamps (₱1.50 for every ₱200 amount of loan - that's ₱225)

✦ Total deductions - ₱1,725

For ₱50,000 loan amount you will pay ₱4, 166.67/month for 1 year

✦ But you will only be disbursed ₱47,125

✦ The deductions come in the form of 5% processing fee (₱2,500) and Documentary Tax Stamps (₱1.50 for every ₱200 amount of loan - that's 375)

✦ Total deductions - ₱2,875

So you're not really getting the full loan amount since there are fees deducted upfront. In case you're thinking of abusing this promo lol. Also, who in their right minds would offer 0% interest rate with no processing fees?

June 15, 2020 - Approved and disbursed net loan proceeds

I was notified via email that my loan application has been approved.

Email contains the loan contract, breakdown of fees, ammortization schedule, and so on. Loan amount (less deductions) has also been disbursed to my CIMB FastPlus account.

Due date is set to the 1st of every month

Aside from the abovementioned fees, the following fees are also worth noting:

✦ Loan repayment fees - waived 

✦ Early settlement fee* - 4% of the total unbilled loan  Free

✦ Late payment fee - 5% of unpaid installment due or Php300 (whichever is higher)

* - to be clarified because while it says 4% in the email, it says FREE in my attached contract. It's important for me to know if I can finish my loan in advance without incurring fees. Other banks charge you for loan contract pre-termination so hopefully it's really free!

ETA: I just confirmed that the early settlement fee is FREE because I just paid the whole loan amount and I wasn't charged for it. Yey!

Finally

Overall I'm pretty pleased with the experience. Everything was fast, smooth, and easy. 

Have you tried applying for a loan with CIMB? How was your experience?

Busting Stress Has Become A Requirement, Not A Luxury

Source: Pexels

Oh boy, 2020 has been a doozy so far, huh? And it looks like there’s no sign of it slowing down. For many, this can be somewhat of an unfortunate realization, but despite the difficulties we’re all going through, or how close you may be to certain issues, self-care has never been a more essential priority. Like any terrible moment, this silver lining has the potential to at least bring one ray of light to the encroaching darkness. This silver lining is the ability to functionally preserve ourselves and care for our families with kindness. It seems that busting stress has become a requirement, not a luxury. This can keep our mental health balanced and our motivations clear. It can help us avoid falling into despair or letting challenges get the better of us. This sounds like a primarily defensive form of self-care, but it’s also a means in which to grant ourselves some breathing room, and ultimately to grow.

But what habits and practices can help you bust stress in this way? With the following advice, we’d love to discuss that with you. Here's some good information about how to get help with stress-busting habits you can try:

Finding A Positive Habit

You can reduce your stress through one-off measures that often have great impact. For instance, visiting a spa and enjoying a massage are known to be some of the best ways to feel peace. But it’s unlikely you can fit one of those in each day, nor would you want to if you could. But a small positive habit we can practice anywhere, such as with the Tai Chi For Health Institute or practicing transcendental meditation can have growing and lost-lasting effects. What’s even more important is how low-cost or free these practices can be to integrate with your life.

Removing Unnecessary Stressors

Sometimes it’s not about limiting stress, but removing yourself from unnecessary stressful situations entirely. Does this mean you have to hide from the world? No. But it could be that you decline meeting up with a toxic parent after bringing your child to school, because all they seem to do is complain and gossip about others. Maybe you are tired of feeling so worn out all the time, so instead of working out so hard you focus on achieving a near-perfect sleep schedule, with the right time and monetary investment (such as memory foam mattresses) that you need for that great night’s sleep. This effort, and factors like this, can help you avoid encountering unnecessary stress in daily life.

Never Bottle It Up

Bottling up stress can seem important depending on how you usually approach these situations. Of course, breaking down in the office multiple times a day is unlikely to be a good strategy, nor is complaining about every little issue you encounter. But if something is truly weighing on you, it’s important to find the time to speak to those you trust, and allow yourself to speak your truth. This way, solutions can be found, and those around you will understand. This can also help you avoid falling into subconscious resentment.

With this advice, busting stress will become a hobby, not a simple luxury.

So so so lazy

New social media cover photo! Thanks a bunch Canva, these cute abstract blobs are super trendy right now no? Haha

As usual, here's some randomness in my life.

✱ Whenever I play Clash Royale I always tell myself not to give a fuck every time I lose because it's just a game. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, specially when I'm on a losing streak. There's only so much failure I can handle and losing 5x in a row really kills my zen yaknow?!

✱ Speaking of mobile games, these are the apps I have in rotation: Clash Royale, Ball Blast, Cooking Madness, and Coin Master.

✱ And speaking of Coin Master. I can't believe I'm playing this right now. I used to be bombarded with their ads. And every time I watch them I can't help wonder where they got the budget to have JLo, Terry Crews, and even Kris Jenner appear in their promos! Could be deepfakes though but who knows?

✱ Alright. It's already GCQ. I don't really know what's changed. I stopped caring about guidelines since MECQ started. We all know the basics anyway, the most important thing is to keep yourself isolated as much as you can. We're still practicing social distancing, wearing masks at all times, proper handwashing, and we're still not coming back to work at the office. Which is good. Only difference is that Jeckie and I are shopping together now. I can't find any definite answer as to whether the one per household rule is still being enforced, but no one has ever checked our quarantine pass in the last three weeks, checkpoints are not checking, and no one has stopped the two of us from entering an establishment together. Entrances are loosening up. It feels like people are less fearful of the virus now. I guess we've adapted and now know how to protect ourselves when going outside.

✱ Still eyeing the iPad Mini and Apple Pencil but official stores have not restocked yet. I'm checking everywhere for updates. Power Mac, Beyond the Box, iStudio, Switch, nada. I've also asked around Anson's, Abenson, Octagon, Silicon Valley, ElectroWorld, to no avail. All they have are iPhones. No tablets, at least not the tablets we want. The only stores I know that have stock are online sellers and tiangge owners. But I find it too risky. Hopefully Power Mac restocks soon, cos we've purchased cases for them already and they're arriving soon haha! Also, I'm so excited to Procreate. The app, of course. 😉 Excited na ko i-joke to sa mga nanay ko hahahaha

✱ Damn it's always Wednesday and I haven't done anything productive for work. Uuuuurgghhh.

✱ Hmm, what else. Oh right, I have duplicate Facebook accounts too. Can't say they're my fake accounts though because who am I to assume I have troll posers? My name is pretty common on Facebook, and I'm not about to report a potentially innocent account you know? Like how do you really know? On the grounds of having the same name and a firstname.lastname.number format in their username? That's crazy right? Facebook automatically suggests those usernames, it's very easy for someone to agree to having a random username because maybe they just chose to get one then just went with the suggestion? Anyway. I'm leaning more towards the possibility that my Facebook twins are legit or just simply uber private accounts with hidden everything, cos you can do that right? Idk.

I do feel a bit worried though so I'm kindof backreading all the posts where I might have said something about this government that may sound incriminating. Well, there's none.

✱ I hope I'd have more subscribers on Youtube, but frankly I have the most boring content and just like this blog I hate promoting myself on Facebook like hey guys please follow my channel pretty please, help me on the road to 1k subs! Hahaha I'm kinda done with that. Nahihiya ako eh, I'm afraid of rejection. And my boss seeing my social media activity lol. I hardly even show my face in my channel, even when making reviews. And I'm well aware that thumbnails with faces are favored more by newsfeed algorithms.

✱ Anyway, please subscribe to my Youtube channel: The Blahger LOOOOL I'd be happy with just 100 subs, I just really need that custom URL hahaha.

Ciao.

I'm tired of complaining

Things haven't been so great lately. I'm getting stressed from complaining about a lot of things!

✖ Our refund from Victory Liner still hasn't been processed yet and it's been more than two months! They're full of excuses. Genesis was able to refund within two weeks during ECQ, I can't imagine what their problem may be.
✖ Our PMO takes too long to issue receipts. Our May billing statement still shows our April dues as unpaid, and I said I can't pay this until you send me an updated statement clearing our April dues. But heck, it's almost due date and I can't miss it urgh.
✖ Lazada is also taking too long to send my Apple invoice, which means I can't register my warranty urgh.

✖ Estancia still refusing access to non-Pasig residents and I miss Unimart!

I've been nothing but patient and understanding this season but I can't keep on being like this when it's been over two months and there's no sign of improvement everywhere.

On the plus side, my monitor got delivered two days ago.

Remember I was supposed to pick this up from the office but guess what, blog jinked it so I wasn't able to drop by Friday last week haha. Our building suddenly has to be closed off due to a confirmed COVID-19 case. Whew.

I was surprised at how big my monitor was. I couldn't remember the size of my desk anymore. I used to work on two monitors but wow this single equipment has taken over most of my desk space, damn. I really miss my office desk.

I love working on a big setup. My laptop now works as a CPU, it's tucked behind the monitor doing all the processing. I've set it up such that even if the lid is closed, the laptop won't sleep. 

Now, my only complain is that I couldn't get the right color settings for the monitor aaaand I can't use the webcam anymore.

I thought I'd be motivated to actually code but I still feel lazy asf. Must have something to do with the bed beside me urgh. I'm so full of excuses lately ano po. I got a full sized wireless keyboard and a monitor, and now I want to get new glasses, and a proper headset. Jusko when will my setup be enough.

Anyway. I'll just quit giving fucks about things I have no control over, which is everything I've complained about so far. I've nudged people enough to take action, now I'm just gonna let them do their jobs and hopefully they deliver before my patience tank gets depleted (again). 

✓ I mean, Victory Liner is already well aware of our complaints. 
✓ There's no point nagging our PMO, I'll just continue paying our dues diligently.

✓ I'll continue to wait for my invoice from Lazada. After all, I trust Apple enough so I hope I don't get any issues with my new airpods.

✓ I don't care about Estancia anymore. We have Megamall, and it has Healthy Options. 

Will you look at that. I already feel more peaceful. I just had to detach myself from things I thought I deserved, but was okay to let go naman pala. 

[Review] Xiaomi MIIIW Wireless Keyboard and Mouse Combo

Xiaomi MIIIW Wireless Keybaord and Mouse Combo is a full wireless keyboard that's great for everyday use. It's simple and elegant, works with both PC and Mac, water resistant, and also very affordable. 

Here's a quick review of the . As usual, we'll go with the following order:

✓ Specs and features

✓ Price and availability

✓ What I like

✓ What I didn't like

But before that, here's an unboxing and first impressions video I uploaded on Youtube.

Alright. I chanced upon the Xiaomi Wireless Combo while browsing for wireless keyboards on Shopee and Lazada. I wanted a full and wireless keyboard to improve my work from home setup and I think I scored a good product with Xiaomi.

Specs and features

Mouse:

• 1000dpi optical sensor
• 2.4GHz wireless receiver
• Anti-slip texture
• Plug and use, no additional drivers needed

Keyboard:

• IPX4 waterproof
• Sensitive button for PC/Mac switching
• 4° or 8° keyboard typing angle
• Full sized keyboard layout (104 keys + PC/Mac switch key)

Price and availability

Got this one from Shopee for ₱1,250 (discounts and vouchers included) so if you're interested, here's the link: https://shopee.ph/product/133211801/6533975360

What I like

There's really not much to say about keyboards in general. My requirements are simple: full sized, wireless, and affordable and this product is just about perfect. It's simple and elegant, I like how the edges are tapered round and that there's not a lot of empty space around it. It's not thin but it doesn't look bulky, and it looks really neat and it looks great on my desk.

What I didn't like

The mouse. It's good enough, it clicks and scrolls well but for some it could be hard to click. That said, it could be better. It's also too big for me. Well, I have small hands and I have my own Logitech mini-mouse that I intend to continue using simply because it's smaller.

Also, the sound of the keyboard. I sounds click-clacky and like a plastic mechanical keyboard, you know? I mean it's no big deal but I just noticed how it sounds different from the usual keyboards. You may hear the typing sounds on the Youtube video above, towards the end. On second thought, I actually thought it sounds cool hehe.

Overall I really like this product. I may even bring this with me once I go back to the office. 

Oral Health & Hygiene Tips for All the Family

It’s important that your whole family looks after their oral health and hygiene. It’s one of those things that’s very easy to overlook, but that shouldn’t be the case. It’s about more than white teeth and nice-smelling breath. Oral health is serious and establishing good habits in your kids from an early age is really important. Here’s how you can start improving your approach and getting it right today.

Source: Pixabay

Get Into the Habit of Flossing

A big part of staying healthy and looking after yourself properly is getting into good habits. That’s definitely true when it comes to good oral health and hygiene, and it’s even more true when it comes to kids. That’s why you should get your kids into the habit of flossing a couple of times a day. It’ll ensure they keep up the habit for a long time to come.

Use Fluoride

Using fluoride, and the right amount of it, is really important when it comes to maintaining healthy and clean teeth. The easiest and best way to do this is to simply choose the right toothpaste product that’s capable of offering the fluoride your teeth need. It’s something you can talk to your dentist about if you’re not sure about it.

Find a Family Dentist You Can Trust

It’s vital that you have a family dentist in place that the whole family feels like it can trust. Places like Bowral Street Dental Practice offer top services and you should get to know a service before you commit to it. That way, you’ll always feel in safe hands when you head to them for check-ups and other routine procedures. It’s essential you have confidence in the dentist you choose.

Make a Dental Care Calendar

A dental calendar can be useful if you’re a busy family that often misses appointments and forgets to organize check-ups and things like that. We all know how busy and chaotic family life can be at times and having a dental calendar will at least ensure that you have those reminders in front of you of what you need to do and when. It’s harder to forget that way.

Brush Your Teeth Together When Your Kids Are Young

When you have kids that are still very young, it makes sense to brush your teeth together as a family. When you do this, it helps to normalize the process for your kids and they’ll want to imitate you. It’ll also become a game and something that’s fun, and that’s the perfect way to establish good habits that should hopefully last a lifetime. That’s just what you want.

Each of these oral health and hygiene tips is really important and everyone should be looking to get these right if they want their families to have good dental health going forward. Don’t cut corners or ignore the basics because that’ll only lead to more problems later. Put the ideas above into practice as soon as possible.