My picture was stolen by Kawaling Pinoy Recipes

I must have liked Kawaling Pinoy Recipes Facebook account a long time ago, I don't really remember. But I keep seeing its posts on my newsfeed.

And then one time, I saw one familiar photo.

Naisip ko agad, ay kamukha ng picture ko. I let it pass.

And then after some time, I saw it again. Hmmm, kamukha nga talaga. I have taken millions of photos already (seriously) pero alam ko pa rin naman kung ano ang pinagkukuha ko. But again, I disregarded my feeling. Naisip ko malamang kamukha lang talaga. Hindi lang naman ako ang gumagawa ng ganung puto using a rice cooker as steamer at gumagamit ng ganung colorful silicon molder.

Tapos nakita ko uli sa newsfeed ko. Ang kulit talaga, nagpapapansin sa akin.

That's when I decided to check my IG and this blog post. Hala, picture ko nga!

I actually felt bad. Pakiramdam ko talaga ninakaw ang picture ko. Fine, hindi naman maganda ang picture na yan, hindi rin maganda ang pagkagawa ko sa puto as I have mentioned on the blog, but still it is mine.

Here's what Kawaling Pinoy Recipes says about its account:

Kawaling Pinoy Recipes

Kawaling Pinoy Recipes™ is a collection of delicious and easy to prepare Filipino recipes compiled from various sources around the web.

Sa pag-browse ko sa FB, ayun naconfirm ko na tagpi-tagping pictures nga ang pinaglalagay nila sa mga posts nila. Compilation daw? Kahit compilation, dapat properly documented at cited ang source. Ang nangyari eh pulot na lang ng pulot ng picture sa internet kaloka.

Oh well, pabayaan na nga. Sana lang talaga magka-decency ang mga tao na rumespeto sa mga bagay na hindi kanila. Asa pa.

So freaking slow!

One of the my new year's resolutions is to blog often. I intend to do that (even if it's hard to write when you're on vacation), but there's a huge hindrance -- our very slow internet connection! Waaaah!

We've had DSL internet connection since time immemorial. It's what made my LDR with Ford worked (we were on LDR from May 2003 to November 2013). As far as I can remember, ok naman ang internet namin dati.

But instead of further improvement, our internet situation now is getting worse. Sabi ko nga, pabagal nang pabagal ang internet namin kada uwi ko. I feel so hopeless, ano pa bang ibang options ang available? Puro bad feedbacks din naman sa ibang internet service providers and naririnig at nababasa ko.

Ang hirap hirap mag-adjust sa ganito kapag nasanay ka na sa super bilis na internet. Well at least for me, this is only temporary. I'll have fast internet again in April. I just feel sad though for the people living here, bakit ba kailangan magtiis sa ganito? Kahit ang nanay ko nahihirapan akong kausapin sa Facetime kasi paputol-putol ang koneksyon hay.

I really wish na matuloy ang pagpasok ng ibang telecom players sa Pinas (kaso wag naman sanang mga chekwa) so we could have faster and cheaper internet. We Filipinos deserve that.

Kaya yun, please bear with me. Don't worry, plan ko namang igapang ang pagba-blog kaya stay tuned ha.

The fear is real

It may seem shallow, but one of my greatest fears right now is 'losing' my Instagram account.

You see, my cousin's IG account recently got hacked and she couldn't retrieve it anymore. What if it happens to me?! Good for her, all her IG posts are linked on Facebook. Yung sa akin, konting pics lang ang shine-share ko sa FB.

I started instagramming in May 2013. Medyo late na nga kasi late na ako nag-Iphone. But since then, I have put everything (as in my life!) in IG. Mas gusto ko kasi ang Instagram kesa FB because I love taking pictures. I love posting too kaso ayaw ko namang maging overexposed ako to everyone, including former students/colleagues, insignificant people, enemies (lol!), etc. Instagram is perfect for me kasi I get to document my everyday nang konti lang ang nakakaalam.

I really can't imagine losing my IG. I sure have copies of all my pictures posted there pero syempre iba yung nakapost kasi may captions, dates, likes, at comments. Lalo na sa mga #NathanJamesLevin posts ko, na documentation ng buhay ng anak ko.

Up to now, I still don't know how to back up my IG. I tried 'Instaport' but it seems to be not working. I don't want to link din naman all my posts to FB kasi nga hindi ko ma-private ang IG album dun. I tried linking it to Flickr pero di naman din gumagana.

To be honest, I am tempted to screenshot all my posts na lang (including the comments) kaso I have 5,645 pics as of today, makaya ko kaya? ang hirap pa naman mag-start from the bottom. Tsk.

That's one thing with free social media accounts, wala kang control talaga. I wish makahanap ako ng solution soon. Basta sa ngayon, mananalangin muna ako na sana walang masamang mangyari sa account ko. =(

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NOTE: I've experienced losing all my posts in Multiply dati (I was quite a popular hello kitty collector/blogger then) kaya alam ko ang feeling nang 'mawalan.' Kaya nga may trauma ako. Hope it doesn't happen again.

Remote meet-up with my girls

I "left" my four girls when I immigrated here in Canada. We've been together since college and I've become so dependent on them for the most part of my adult life. Yes, we are the 'Sex and the City' girls-like, in its truest sense. We would always meet-up, dine, and talk about life, love, and relationships. They are my sisters from different mothers. I truly miss them.

We are now in our mid-30s and things have changed. Two of us have gotten married, one became a single mom, and the other two are still enjoying their single life. Raxie and I went abroad (she's been working in Kuala Lumpur since 2007) while the rest are in Pinas. Different fates, I tell you, but we've remained loyal to each other. We may have become occupied with our respective daily toils but the friendship and the 'time for the girls' will always be there.

Last September 20, S014 - Saturday at 9pm, (September 21, 2014 - Sunday at 11am in the Philippines and Malaysia) we all agreed to an online meet-up. Because I am pregnant, they adjusted on my available time. The Pinas girls went to Buffet 101 in Libis for lunch while me and Raxie were at home. We used Hangouts as our medium.

The remote meet-up was so fun! I haven't talked to the three Pinay girls in 'web cam' for a very long time so I missed seeing them 'in action.' They are not very techie eh haha, we would only just communicate through our Facebook group. It is only Raxie who I often talk to in Facetime.

Lalin and Mitch

Atty. Mels

Queen Raxie

My girls

Picture courtesy of Raxie

I hope we could do this more often. As adults, we have more responsibilities now so scheduling a common free time could be a bit of a challenge. But if there's a will, there's a way right?

I love you, my girls! Cheers to a lasting friendship!

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Oops, before I forget, I would like to congratulate my Parang Mels and her husband Wahid because she told us two days ago that she is pregnant again! Haha, we were shocked! She's just given birth to her second son last November 30, 2013 eh. Oh well, a baby is always a blessing! Yebaah, kuya na rin si Chicklet! =)