snippets of info : EPEC

Snippets of info i would like to share...
Dahil naniniwala akong magkikita-kita din tyo sa finals... :)


if you have decided to take a chance and go to Singapore to get a job, you might want to apply for an Employment Pass Eligibility Certificate (EPEC). (unless you got a job offer while you're still in the Philippines and your would-be employer already got you an employment pass, then there's no need for an EPEC.)

Why get an EPEC?

The typical length of a social visit pass to singapore is 14 days, 30 days if you're charming enough to the immigration officers. since 14 or 30 days is usually not enough to land a job, you'll be needing an EPEC. an EPEC entitles it's holder a up to 12months of stay in SG. You should apply for an EPEC while you are STILL in the Philippines. Applications are done online.

The EPEC is issued on a one-time basis and is non-renewable. You may apply for
EPEC if you hold acceptable tertiary/professional qualifications. You should
apply only when you are ready to come to Singapore.

Here's a step-by-step procedure...

1. Apply for an EPEC online. Follow the instructions, and select New Application.

2. Fill-up the required information.

3. Remember the reference number that will be given to you. You will use this, together with your passport number to check the status of your application. (If you're the type that worries alot... :) )

4. Wait for an email from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), confirming your application. This email also contains your reference number. This is sent the same day you submitted your info to the MOM website.

5. Prepare scanned copies of your recent passport-size picture, passport particulars page, college diploma, or transcript of records, or other documents that would prove you're qualified to work. MOM will later email you to upload them.

6. In my case, after 3 days, MOM emailed me to request scanned copies of the items specified in step5. I uploaded a 2x2 picture, passport particulars page, college diploma, and transcript of records. You must upload the documents within 7 days upon receipt of the request email. otherwise, the EPEC application will be rejected.

7. In my case, after a day, MOM informed me via email that my EPEC application was approved.

8. Wait for the physical copy of the EPEC approval via snail mail. Waiting time is dependent on the efficiency of the Philippine postal system... so good luck na lang! hehehe...
Based on the timestamps on the mail i received, MOM sent the mail 5 days after they sent the approval email. It reached the Valenzuela post office after 8 days. And it was sent to our home after a week.

NOTE: EPEC is not recognized by the Philippine immigration. DO NOT SHOW your EPEC to Philippine immigration officers. it is only relevant once you reach Singaporean shores.
Also note, getting an EPEC does not instantly give you a 1-year social visit pass. Once you arrive in Singapore, you still have to go to Immigrations and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) to apply for a Long Term Social Visit Pass (LTSVP). The EPEC is only a proof to ICA that you are qualified for an LTSVP even though you don't have a local sponsor (an employer or a relative that is a PR or Singaporean).


more snippets of info to come... :)

credit card scammer?

warning to all credit card holders...

just this afternoon i received a call from a certain "Mr. De Leon of Makati City Warrants Section" saying that metrobank allegedly filed a case against me for breech of contract regarding my metrobank mastercard. to which i responded with a "huh?". he asked for my credit card number so that he can "verify" the case. hhmmnn...let me see... some random dude over the phone probably pretending to be some person wants to get my credit card number... yeah, like i'd give it! what a moron! so i didn't give him my credit card number and said i would have to call metrobank directly to confirm. i asked for his number so i can call him back.

too bad for "mr. de leon" because he has not done his homework well. first, my metrobank credit card is visa, not mastercard. second, metrobank does not know the number through which he contacted me. third, i don't have an outstanding balance with my metrobank credit card. fourth, my metrobank credit card was not issued by makati city. fifth, "breech of contract" is not one of the cases credit card companies file against it's users, but RA 8484. (thanks to my dad's lawyer for this info... :) )

just to be sure, i called metrobank to confirm this "case", and i was told that no such case was filled, and assured me that they have no reason to file one. I also asked if there are other cards / loans under my name, baka kase mamaya eh may gumagamit na pla ng pangalan ko. wala naman daw. I reported this incident to metrobank, just incase other people would get this same call.

i have no idea how this dude got my home number and name. and how in the world he knew that i have a metrobank credit card. i tried to call the number he left me, but guess what... it can't be contacted!

so far he hasn't called yet. but just in case he does... talking with him will definitely be fun...

snippets of info : Airlines

Snippets of info i would like to share...
Dahil naniniwala akong magkikita-kita din tyo sa finals... :)
(or kung trip nyong magbakasyon... *wink* *wink*)

4 Airlines with regular flights to Singapore:
(ordered from "cheap-ass" to "OMG-i-have-no-intention-of-buying-the-plane!?!")
1. Tiger Airways
2. Cebu Pacific
3. Philippine Airlines
4. Singapore Airlines
(not so sure if there are other airlines out there...)

1 and 2 are also called "budget airlines". airfares are relatively cheap, however prepare yourself for philippine immigration "interrogation". I've read/heard several stories of people not being able to make it to SG because they seemed "suspicious-looking" to the immigration officers. Pro kung bakasyon lang talaga ang habol mo, at kung wala ka namang tinatago, then go lang. malaking tipid din kung dito... :)

if you want to save yourself from the trouble, take 3 or 4. Immigration officers assigned to these airlines are allegedly "kinder" than those in budget airlines. Airfare however is nearly twice as expensive as 1 and 2 airlines.

If your taking PAL, also note that the length of stay also determines how much your airfare is. If the duration of stay is less than or equal to 8 days, you save more than 1 thousand pesos.
ex:
length of stay is 08 days = price of ticket is 14,072.00 (roundtrip)
length of stay is 14 days = price of ticket is 15,888.00 (roundtrip)

no idea why they have this scheme. just call PAL hotline for more info... hehehe :)

also, try surveying prices in travel agencies. according to the PAL hotline dude i talked to, agencies usually have cheaper deals...

more snippets to follow... :)

now this is insane...

14 Spy Squirrels In Iranian Custody

spy squirrels???
they should have used tarsiers...
i bet they'd be better spies!



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ps... thanks to donna for the link :)

slow blog day

it's a slow blog day today...
almost all the blogs i'm subscribed to have no new entries. what the hell am i supposed to do now??? haaaay...
matulog na nga lang...

breathe... breathe... breathe...

As I am a person who likes to plan things, I'm not particularly fond of people who don't keep their end of the bargain... i have a schedule to keep you know... baaaah...
it's back to the drawing boards again!

breathe... breathe... breathe...
count to 10 and breathe...

Rich Dad, Poor Dad

I got a copy yesterday and planned to start reading just the first few chapters since it was pretty late (around 9pm), but somehow I ended up finishing the book in one sitting… puyat galore… I seriously could not get myself to put it down.

The book has the same advice I’ve heard a few times, pay yourself first, buy assets, not liabilities, make money work for you, etc…etc… but it’s only after reading the book that those concepts actually sunk in my thick skull. Ika nga ng merit rating sheet namin dati, “Naa sya point!” hehehe…

Suddenly the DSLR and electric guitar I was drooling over does not look so good in my eyes right now. I’m also having second thoughts on that Master’s Degree I was hoping to get… talk about overnight paradigm shift… I really need to think hard smart about this.

Reading the book made me think about my own dad. I was raised by a father like “rich dad”. He was able to own a nice house in the suburbs, sent all 5 children to college, and at the peak of his business, had 4 branches and was supplying 70% of the trucking companies in Metro Manila with recapped tires which was produced by his own recapping plant. All of this he did without a college degree, and without a truck load of money as capital. “Abilidad ang tawag dyan”, he used to say. But the irony of it all is that my “rich dad” gave me “poor dad” advices like “get good grades, finish school, and get a secured job”. Perhaps he didn’t want us to go through the hardships he went through, or maybe its just plain old Filipino culture.

And now I’m off to find ways to make money, and then making the money work for me… but first, how the hell do I do that??? Hehehe… think, think, think….

Religion 101 : Buddhism

Medyo natagalan ako dito...
madaming resources... at medyo natagalan sa initial testing phase... hehehe.. :)

Disclaimer: Contents written here are based on my opinion and excerpts from various research materials (websites, audio books, ebooks). Contents should not be taken as a concrete resource in knowing Buddhism. Ika nga ni Buddha, "I encourage you to test the teaching rather than accept it as true" For more info, just google Buddhism :)
Apologies na din sa mga taga-ibang religion kung ma-o-offend man kayo sa mga sasabihin ko, as i've said, opinion ko lang naman yan... kaya peace tyo hah... :) kung may madadagdag kyong information to enlighten me, then by all means, feel free to post your comment.

I will start first with my misconceptions before I started reading about buddhism. I think marami-rami ding tao ang may kaparehong maling akala...

My Misconceptions:
1. Buddha (a.k.a. Siddhartha Gautama) is their god.
No, for Buddhists, Buddha is their great teacher, not God. In fact, Buddhism is a religion that centers around man, not God. Buddha, by the way, means "one that is awaken". So technically, all of us have the potential to be Buddha.

2. Buddhists worship Buddha
They pay respect to their great teacher, not worship. It’s more of gratitude for sharing his teachings. As i've said, Buddha is not God.

3. Buddhism = being poor
Blame the movies for this misconception! Hindi naman sinasabi ng buddhism na wag ka ng magka-ambisyon or kapirasong orange na tela lang ang isuot mo, magpakalbo ka, at dapat mukha kang malnourished. Ika nga sa kanila, one should take the middle path, di OA sa pagpapakahirap, di din OA sa pagpapakasasa… in short, moderation.

Teachings in a nutshell:
Meron daw na 4 Noble Truths:
1. Life, although sometimes beautiful, is filled with suffering. It’s not pessimistic, but realistic.
2. The source of suffering is desire.
3. Suffering can be overcome, and happiness can be achieved.
4. The Noble 8-fold path is the path that leads to the end of suffering.

In other words, getting what you want does not guarantee happiness. Rather than constantly struggling to get what you want, try to modify your wanting. Wanting
deprives us of contentment and happiness.

The Noble 8-fold path:
1. Right View
2. Right Intention
3. Right Speech
4. Right Action
5. Right Livelihood
6. Right Effort
7. Right Mindfulness
8. Right Concentration

1-2 pertains to having wisdom
- It means to acknowledge the 4 noble truths and to have the commitment to ethical and mental self-improvement.

3-5 is about ethical conduct:
- One must live life in harmony with EVERY creature. Aside from not stealing, have a generous heart. One's livelihood must not cause harm to any creature. One must not indulge in alcohol / drugs, since Buddhism is about being in control of your mind and body.

6-8 is about our personal mental development
- One of the ways towards enlightenment is to be self-aware, to have focus and control, wherein all mental faculties are unified and directed to one particular object at a time.


My Pro's and Con's:
Pro's:
1. Going to the temple is not required, kahit sa bahay lang pwede na!
- pang tamad! :)

2. It's a very peaceful religion
- nakarinig ka na ba ng suicide bomber na sumigaw ng "for buddha!"... kidding aside, please see this excerpt: (sorry di ko na maalala yung website na pinagkunan ko nyan... dami na kse...)

Real Buddhism is very tolerant and not concerned with labels like 'Christian',
'Moslem', 'Hindu' or 'Buddhist'; that is why there have never been any wars
fought in the name of Buddhism. That is why Buddhists do not preach and try to
convert, only explain if an explanation is sought.

3. It's a religion that uses the head.
- although may mga anecdotes and "flowery" stories, most of the teachings are very well grounded. ika nga, walang "now it's bread, later it's something else, wala ng tanong-tanong, basta ganun!..." (no offense meant dear christians :) )

Buddha himself asked his followers to test the teaching rather than accept his
word as true. Buddhism depends more on understanding than faith.

4. It's a very "accepting" religion
ngayon lang ako nakarinig ng religion na ok lang ang gays and lesbians, live-in, at pre-marital sex. basta ang importante lang, pure ang intention, consensual, at hindi nagcau-cause ng harm.


Con's:
1. The religion centers on man, not God.
- kaya nga sabi ng iba, mas accurate daw na tawaging "way of life / philosophy" ang buddhism, kaysa religion, kse nga it's based on understanding, not faith. kya parang gusto ko syang ihalo sa ibang religion, preferably a monotheistic religion. mono, meaning ISA lang talga... ayaw ko nung "isa pero tatlo" di ba nakakaloka? ...

2. I find some Buddha statues scary…
- actually, pati mga santo, barbie dolls, or life-like dools / images for that matter... blame it on chuckie!

3. I am incapable of sitting still and having a full meditation…
I’ve tried and I’ve tried, but to no avail… in fairness, dati less than 1 minute, give up na ako, ngayon umaabot na ako ng 2 minutes! (nagmalaki pa e noh?!) Masyado lang talga siguro akong neurotic... yung feeling ko dapat may mas "tangible" akong ginagawa kesa naka-upo. One day at a time ika nga... still the mind and be self-aware!

as of now, testing phase pa din ako...

"always act with a compassionate heart" ---> parang ang hirap!

bakit di ko ito ginawa dati???

ngayong wala akong magawa sa buhay ko, aside from "research"(a.k.a. aimlessly browsing random websites), naisip kong patulan ang mga audio at ebooks na nakatambak sa pc ko. at dito ko muling nasilayan ang "Getting Things Done" ni David Allen (c/o of Dennis). Isa lang ang masasabi ko, bakit hindi ko ito ginawa dati??? akalain mong may mapupulot pla sa mga sinasabi ni dencio??? hehehe... joke lang cio! ngayon ko lang na-appreciate ng mabuti yung mga pinagsasabi mo about it. ngayon gets ko na why you're really raving about the book. :) marami akong "oo nga noh!" moments...

At dahil nga sa kawalan ng magawa.... masdan ang nagawa ko...

ang problema ko na lang ay wala akong matinong protective covering...
kakahanap ng kung anu-anong pang cover, may naisip akong magandang lalagyan, at swerte naman at saktong-sakto sya!

yun nga lang.... passport ko naman ngayon ang nawalan ng tahanan... hehehe...
makabili nga ng bagong passport cover... akalain mong kasya pala dun ang 3x5 index card! swak na swak!

wala lang... naaliw lang ako...

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kapag ang tao walang magawa....
mag-iimbento't mag-iimbeto ng gawagawin...

rainy days...

make me so laaaaazy....
ZzzzzzzzZzzzzzzzz.....

ang cute-cute

from http://www.funnyordie.com.
Warning: Contains slight violence, but the baby's really cute!!!

I AM THE LAW!

going...going...gone...

OMG...

4 more...
then another 3...

i hope they do something about it...

bye bye...

bye bye gloi...
make ingat!

Atheism

In the spirit of fairness, i will also look into this kind of belief...

Atheism is the absence of belief in any Gods or spiritual beings. The word Atheism comes from "a", meaning without, and "theism" meaning belief in god or gods.

Atheists say that human beings can devise suitable moral codes to live by without the aid of Gods or scriptures. There are several reasons why these people don't believe in God, mostly because there are no evidences to prove God's existence.

Some atheists are also critical of religions. For them, religion imposes irrational rules of good and bad behavior, divides people, and is a cause of conflict and war, doesn't give equal treatment to women and gay people, and thus offends basic human rights, and stops people thinking in a rational and objective way.

I'm a logic driven person. Given this argument, Atheism may be the choice for me. But no. I believe in God. I believe that there is a higher power out there looking out for me and everyone else in the world. Cheezy, but it's true. It's one of those things I really can't explain, but know for a fact.

-----Side Note Begin-----
One might think this is an oxymoron... but did you know that there is such a thing as "Christian Atheism"? They say that they do believe in God - but not in a fairy tale way. He exists, but only in your head. For them, God is a projection of the human mind.
-----Side Note End-----

He exists I tell you! He's everywhere! Not just im my head... how do I know?... I just do. And that's more than enough reason for me to believe... and now i will stop screaming... :)

Religion Hopping 101

I found a good website which I can use as starting point in my "religion hopping adventures".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/

The discussion of the religions are concise and well-structured, so this is really a good springboard.

Hopefully I'll find more indepth resources later, or better yet, actually talk to people who are in a particular religion...

usapang religion...

i've always wondered what my life would be if i grew up in a non-catholic household...

i mean, my family is tenaciously devout... every room has a designated "santo" (image), we have "pabasa" every holy week, we used to pray the rosary everyday at 6pm when i was younger (this tradition brokedown when everybody was suddenly busy even to have dinner together....), mass every sunday... all that catholic-whachamacallits.... name it, we've probably done it (or doing it still).

-------side story start-------
there was this one time, when i was a little kid, my mom was "forcing" me to dress up for sunday mass. i asked her what's the point of going to mass. (yes, the early beginnings of a religious anarchist...hehehe) Her answer was that jesus would be angry if we didn't, which i think confused me more at that time.
-------side story end-------

i was educated in catholic schools from kinder to college... which i think made matters worse. more questions were derived from the answers received... some questions were simply given shrugs and answers like "it's a mystery..." or "it's God's will" or "it's the church's tradition" yadayadayada...
don't get me wrong, i believe in God, but i really can't quite put my trust in the Catholic religion...

it was in college when i talked to someone about my situation. she said that it's good to question one's religion, but it shouldn't stop there. it is one's responsibility to find the answers. nothing's wrong with exploring other religions, she said she did it once before, and realized that the Catholicism is the religion for her. she said it gave her a greater appreciation of her beliefs. somehow i believe her because she really seems happy and at peace with her choice...
i wanted to do what she did... to go on this "religious journey" aka "religion-hopping" as she fondly calls it, but somehow, other things in my life got in the way, school, then work, then other things... i went on with my life, while my soul was miserably rotting away...

now i have this time to for myself, i figured i should be giving more time to the best (and quite neglected) part of me...

let the journey begin...

what i need right now...

I Need Love
by Sixpence None The Richer

i left my conscience like a crying child
locked the door behind me put the pain on file
broken like a window i see my blindness now

i need love
not some sentimental prison
i need God
not the political church
i need fire
to melt this frozen sea inside me
i need love

driving into town tired and depressed
like a flare the streetlight bursts an s.o.s.
peace comes to my rescue and i don't know what it means
i need love

true

"It is better to be hated for what one is,
than to be loved for what one isn't"
- Andre Gide, Writer

asteeeeeg!!!!

my jaw dropped...