[2023] My Driver’s License Renewal Experience at LTO Estancia

Yey! Finally got my 10-year valid driver’s license in plastic card! That’s freaking rare given that there’s a shortage of cards around and some people are only given a printout of their DLs so yeah I’m pretty lucky!

Here’s how it went…

Branch: LTO Estancia
Day: Friday
Time in: 12:30PM
Time out: 1:30PM

The actual processing actually only took 30 mins, but I arrived at a time when the clinic is on lunch break so I had to wait until 1pm for them to re-open. I made sure to be first in line. Yup, there’s an LTO accredited clinic right beside the office – Think Wise.

LTO office has no lunch breaks. They’re open Monday-Friday 9am-3pm.

LTO Estancia is located at 4F East Wing. It’s kindof hidden as it’s all the way at the end. when you reach Healthway there’s a narrow hallway beside it that leads to LTO so make sure to follow the signs. You can also ask around, that’s what I did.

What to prepare:

• Your own ballpen (the clinic sells one for 10p each)
• Driver’s License
• Pass the CDE Online Validation Exam (no need to print the certificate)

Register at LTMS (https://portal.lto.gov.ph/) and access the exam by going to E-LEARNING > CDE Online Validation Exam

You can take the exam as many times as you need until you pass (80%). You can take the course but I didn’t, I just went ahead with the questionnaire. Most of the items are motorcycle related so I couldn’t relate haha.

Again you don’t need to print the certification, they will get it from the system. You can take it on your phone or wherever, there’s also a computer in the office for those who want to create an account and take the exam. The staff are really nice and helpful, even those at the clinic.

• For Revision of Records (Address) – photocopy of Proof of Billing

I had to change my address as well so I had to provide a proof of billing. You can have it printed at the clinic for 10 pesos per page. But I had mine printed at Alert Driving School (just beside LTO) cos I was afraid the clinic would overcharge after reading they sold their ballpens for 60 pesos each last year lol. I spotted a printer by the counter so I asked if they could print and they did, 10 pesos din naman pala hahaha.

Fees

Medical – 600
License fee – 585
Revision of records – 100

Total – 1285

I must say the medical fee is a bit hefty, but in fairness the doctor looks real and he did an actual visual acuity test HAHAHA. And I believe it cos it revealed my eye problems lol. They also had a working weighing scale and a height meter. Can you believe this clinic? The status quo for LTO accredited clinics is run-down offices ran by a staff that collects 300 and hands you a signed piece of paper. They didn’t have to raise the bar.

The clinic is clean, it’s cold, the staff are helpful and organized, and the doctor seems real 🤣. How refreshing.

You know the bar is so low with government services so this one’s shocking hahaha.

To be fair, it could be a Pasig thing. I had several transactions with LTO Ynares and all of them were pleasant. My husband has paid traffic fines a couple times in their jurisdiction (kamote kasi) and on both counts it didn’t take him 2 hours to finish. So there.

And that’s it! Pretty pleased with the experience. Plastic card, 10-year validity, 30 mins processing time, and nice and helpful staff. Good job LTO Estancia! Please keep it up! 👍

Today

A bunch of things I need to do today before I get swamped with meetings

Work related:

• Ask someone from tier 3 how to validate the SQL query I’m gonna run.
• Ask one of my stakeholders for any process document they might have so I could better understand the flow of the process they want automated.
• Fucking work on the script for this one project that’s been sitting in my local for months. The goal is to at least be able to publish it in orchestrator this week. Or today if I have any bit of shame.

That’s really all I want to be able to do or at least start doing today. On a much bigger scale I also need to fix my projects’ Confluence pages and organize the documentations over there.

Personal stuff:

• Pay our utilities. Our shocking utilities. We just moved in two months ago so this month’s bill shows our real consumption. It’s definitely bigger, but our elec rate also increased by ₱2/kwh so let’s see hehe
• Pay 2 credit cards
• Book an accommodation for my birthday. Been eyeing a bunch of Airbnbs at Tagaytay and I want to be able to secure something today or this week so I’d have something to look forward to ♥. If ever, it’s gonna be Koomi’s first long drive so we want to see how that goes!
• Renew my driver’s license

🙂

Today: When was the first time you really felt like a grown up (if ever)?

 Daily writing prompt

When was the first time you really felt like a grown up (if ever)?

View all responses

That would be when I applied for a checking account. I had to get one because we were gonna rent a parking space that required PDCs. When I finally got hold of my first checkbook I felt the rush of adulthood wave past me. Like I earned a level up badge in life. I didn’t feel this way when I moved out to live with my husband, not when we were starting to pay our own rent, our own car, not when we started paying our own bills, not when I got a credit card.

But a checkbook somehow made me feel like a legit grown up haha. I can’t explain it but maybe because it looks cool whenever I see my mom fill out checks? HAHA

Other times I feel like an adult is when I start tinkering with home repairs like installing a faucet, fixing a bidet, changing a receptacle, unclogging a p-trap. Stuff I would normally ask my dad for help hehe. But that’s regular grown up stuff I have to learn inevitably lol.

So yeah it’s a owning a checkbook for me!

[WordPress] Adding Google Fonts to block editor/full site editor

When I moved my blog from free WordPress.com to self-hosted WordPress and reinstalled the same theme, I noticed that the font selection was different when I tried to edit my site via the Full Site Editor. 

WordPress free had a lot of fonts whereas my own site only had one or two even though I installed the same theme.

I looked around for solutions but most of the plugins use the Customizer instead of the Block Editor and I didn’t want to use that. I simply want Google Fonts to appear in the Font dropdown of the Full Site Editor whenever I want to edit my theme.

Plugin: Fonts Plugin

After much Googling I finally found the solution that works for me…

Jetpack Google Fonts

Everything you need to know about it is here. But basically, to make it work…

1. Install Jetpack plugin
2. Install Gutenberg plugin
3. Go to your Jetpack Features page
   [yoursite.com]/wp-admin/admin.php?page=jetpack_modules]
4. Enable Google Fonts

Once that’s setup, open your Site Editor >> Click on Styles >> Typography >> Manage Fonts (Aa icon) >> Install Fonts

Once you get access to Google Fonts, search for the font and select the variants you want.

After Installation it should appear on the list of fonts in your block editor. Just the way you want it!

I mean ideally I would want a lot of fonts readily available so I could play around with it but this solution is good enough for me. It also helps to just select the fonts you want to use to save on loading time and avoid analysis paralysis! 😊

Hope this helps!

Today: If you had a million dollars to give away, who would you give it to?

 Daily writing prompt

If you had a million dollars to give away, who would you give it to?

View all responses

Wow. Converted to PHP that’s 57M. If I really had to give it away I would give it to my husband so it comes back to me lol. Well, that was my husband’s answer. I actually never thought of that.

Personally though if I were to give it away without plotting to get it back I would give it to KBCF to fund the church building project. It’s my previous home church. I’m not active anymore, but there aren’t a lot of organizations I trust.

I grew up in a Christian household. As a kid me and my family would attend Word of Hope. Then when we moved I joined a different church, Victory Novaliches, while my parents stayed with WOH. I was active at Victory. I taught kids as a Sunday School teacher, I was with a cell group. I thought my faith was flourishing. Until I was reminded to make disciples. I couldn’t do it. I was too scared to reach out. Every time it crossed my mind I start second guessing my faith. If I was a real Christian why is it so hard for me to evangelize?

When I got married I moved to a new church, KBCF, where my husband attended. Although it was smaller, it felt warmer. It didn’t take long for me to get familiar with the attendees. Its size made the pastors and elders more approachable. So approachable I wouldn’t dare doze off as the audience is merely yards away from the pulpit lol. And because I couldn’t sleep, I listened more. And because I listened more, I learned more.

I would say my Christian life grew with KBFC. It encouraged me to study the Bible, make fellowship, and ask questions. It brought enlightenment to the glamorized Christian worldview of prosperity and abundance. They’re not afraid to get real. Which is probably why I grew. Grew out of it, not of the church, but of my faith. I realized I’m too comfortable to be called a Christian.

Soup brain

 My brain is fucking soup right now. I want to go home.

Today: What is your favorite hobby or pastime?

 Daily writing prompt

What is your favorite hobby or pastime?

View all responses

It changes over the years. Depends on what I’m currently obsessing about. Normally I would say drawing, reading, or writing. But I’ve never drawn anything in so long. I’ve never finished a book in months. And I’m only beginning to write religiously again because I have a new site and I just finished tinkering with the layout. Which makes me excited to write content haha.

So yeah, for now it’s writing.

But if I’m not writing I’m probably watching kdramas on Netflix, playing Royal Match, cleaning the house with Rainy Jazz in the background, or simply procrastinating on work. The last being what I do for the most part.