Don't Lose Your Marbles

Planning a birthday party at Jollibee? I'd like to share a breakdown of the costs involved when we were planning a party for my niece. ================= Prices updated as of November 27, 2019 Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Jollibee so if you have any other questions, please inquire from the branch nearest you. Details : 2 hours only ; additional Php 500 per 30 minutes in excess of 2 hours Timeslots available: 10am-12nn, 1-3 pm, 4-6 pm, 7-9 pm Must deposit a minimum of Php 3000 to reserve booking then remaining balance on the day of the party Must avail minimum of Php 5000 food purchase (either from party food packages or mix & match solo items) What's included in the party package? Party Fee: Php 1500 (without loot bags) 30 name tags 30 balloons on sticks 15 assorted game prizes 15 party hats 15 invitation cards 15 tray liners 5 boxes of crayons 1 message board for birthday greetings Joll...

See my previous post on Xend here. After my bad experience with Xend's customer service, it was a surprise that another courier showed a more proactive customer service. I was expecting an item to be delivered by UPS last September 15 (even with the impending landfall of super typhoon Ompong) based on the tracking on the website.  I waited the whole day since the tracking showed it was out for delivery. Nightfall came but the delivery truck never showed. Ok. Maybe they cancelled it because of the weather. Fine. That night, the tracking showed that item was not delivered due to an incomplete address. Seriously?!!! So I signed up for a UPS account and put in my complete address again. On Monday morning, I filed a support ticket at the UPS site to ask why they claim it's an incomplete address when my shipping address is complete.  A few hours later, someone from UPS replied and asked for details. Later that afternoon, they delivered my package. I asked the ...

Update: If you're having problems with your shipments at Xend, scroll down at the bottom of the post for some contact info. ------------------------------------------ I've been using Xend for a long time and have always been satisfied with their service, even with the  few missed pickups and super delayed tracking on their website.  The convenience of having items picked up at home at a cheaper rate compared to commercial couriers with cut-off hours (hello LBC!) made using their service tolerable. My recent shipment and dealing with their unhelpful and useless customer service was the last straw.  I shipped an electronic item worth 10k within my same city and used a paper waybill.  The rider who picked it up said he does pickups for Xend and another courier and did not give me an official receipt (and even claims they don't give official receipts nowadays). Waited 24 hours for tracking to appear but the tracking number nev...

If you own a Seagate drive and want to send it in for warranty replacement via Return Merchant Authorization (RMA), you'll need to check first if it still has a valid Seagate warranty here . For the country, you need to choose the one where you intend to send and receive the replacement drive. If you bought it abroad and want to claim warranty in the country you're in, choose your current location. If you bought your drive from a local PH store (you kept the receipt, didn't you?), you'll need to contact the store where you bought it from. -------------  BLOG POST  UPDATES  ------------- Update as of January 2021: If your drive was purchased abroad and still under warranty, but you're getting the "Regional Warranty Restriction" (or something similar), click on the " Contact Us" page  and a Seagate rep will contact you. You can then ask them if they can transfer the warranty to your current region.  [Source; from TipidPC forum] Update as of...

I decided to repaint the electric wall fan (grills) in my room a few months ago to give it a bit of character and I think it turned out well.  I kept the black plastic rim as it is and painted the grills a copper color.  Forgot to take photos while I was doing the project though. This is an easy project you could do in one afternoon.  Just make sure you've cleaned the grills well and free of dirt, dust and grime.  It's preferable to do it outdoors, away from doors & windows, and pets and use a mask to avoid inhaling the paint mist & vapor. Materials: 1 can gray primer spray paint 2 cans copper spray paint (you could probably use only 1, but I ended up using 2 for a separate project) 1 can clear acrylic gloss spray paint The only downside to copper grills is that the dust becomes more noticeable compared to when they were black (when I could go on 6 months or more not cleaning the fan haha).

If your passport is expiring within a year, book your appointment now.  Available dates are usually 2-3 months in advance.  If you have the luxury of time and persistence, you can check available dates within the current month depending on whether there have been cancellations. If you don't have immediate travel plans within the next 6 months, schedule your passport renewal by January 2018 when the 10-year passport validity takes effect. You can rebook/reschedule your appointment up to 3 times.  My initial appointment was set at August in SM Manila and was able to reschedule it 3 times [July 5 SM Manila, June 28 DFA Aseana then June 22 at DFA Aseana].  If you did not cancel your appointment and failed to appear on that date, you will be barred from rescheduling for 30 days. If you are an OFW, proceed to Robinson's Galleria satellite office or at DFA Aseana and present original and certified copy of your contract and notarized document from the embassy. If yo...

This is NOT a sponsored post.  If it were, then maybe I wouldn't have to wait for over an hour at my UnionBank branch just to apply (even if all pertinent information has already been filled up online) only to have my account put "on hold" until I could submit additional documents.   I applied for this new debit card from the UnionBank and Cebu Pacific tie-up that lets you earn GetGo points (Cebu Pacific's version of flight awards/points or "miles") for every time you use the card.  Since I always fly via Cebu Pacific on budget/promo fares to destinations less than 4 hours away, I figured I could use it. The debit card has the highest peso to point ratio at Php 88:1 point compared to the similar GetGo credit card (Php 30:1). FAQ : Card Cost: Php 500 per year (annual fee) No maintaining balance BancNet ATM access Use with Paypal (also for Paypal withdrawals) For purchases online and offline (swipe & sign) By far, it's the most e...