Philippines


Last March 16, 2008 we visited Rocknold’s alma mater, Sisters of Mary School in Talisay City, Cebu.. The school is already known as SOM Girls town… When Rocknolds was still in his high school, boys & girls were still together but they have separate buildings… Now, they already have their own boystwon, located @ Minglanilla… We also visited there before…

It was their 2008 Homecoming event, unfortunately we arrived late, around 5pm and the gate is already close… No more fellow alumnis.. some were still there but they’re outside the school and ready to get off…

Rocknolds tried to talked to the guard on duty and luckily he permitted us to get in… and we strolled around the place…

Their school has many basketball courts.. 2 gyms, 1 pool, it’s like a dorm, they have their own bedrooms by group, they have kitche, prayer room, gardens, by 6pm, everyone stopped on what their doing and prayed the Angelus… you can hear the girls praying aloud… and after the prayer, some girls ran to their own respective rooms to have their dinner :)

I took some pic outside the gate w/ their banner and showing the website where Rocknolds did his best to make that site possible… A very kind husband I have.. He’s the best!

You can visit their website: www.sms-cebu.org

Then after roaming around the campus, we went home.. Thanks Matt2x for the ride…

http://www.lto.gov.ph/index.htmlWe got our New Non Professional Driver’s license today…

For three days processing, it’s quite very long…

but anyway its worth it just like the visa.. hehe

On the first day: Monday, March 24, 2008

Me & Rocknolds went to LTO Cebu, near South terminal office. It’s around 11am already. We went to window 1 directly to ask the requirements for the new non prof license. Then we have to gather all the requirements first before submitting it to Window 1.

Here’s the requirements needed for non-prof:

Non-Professional License

Qualifications :
1. Must be at least seventeen (17) years old.
2. Must be physically and mentally fit to operate a motor vehicle
3. Must not be a drug user or alcoholic
4. Must be able to read and write in Filipino or English
5. Must be clean, neat and presentable
Requirements :
1. Duly accomplished Application for Driver’s License.
2. Valid Student Permit (at least one (1) month old)
3. Medical Certificate (from an LTO accredited or Government Physician) or valid AFP/PNP organic personnel ID
4. Negative Drug Test result (from DOH accredited drug testing center)
5. Taxpayer’s Identification Number (TIN).
6. Must have passed the written and practical examination.
Fees and Charges : Application Fee Php. 25.00
Computer Fee 52.80
TOTAL 77.80 License Fee Php. 180.00
Computer Fee 52.80
TOTAL 232.80
Additional Requirements For Filipino/Foreigner with Valid or Expired Foreign License
1. Foreign License
- Original and photocopy of license
- Translation from Embassy/Consular Office (if license is not written in English)
2. Original valid Visa/Passport with photocopy (Foreigners)
Note: A foreign driver’s license is not acceptable for conversion into Philippine driver’s license if:
- The foreign license is not written in the English language; or
- The country of origin of the driver’s license has no embassy in the Philippines

Drug Test: We had this drug test exam just beside the LTO office.. It costs 250 each and we just filled up the form and had our urine tested… We’re amazed! The result was just a minute after we submitted the cup w/ our urine it it! woah! Was it really our specimen tested? our other urine? hehe of course the result was negative.. :)

Medical Exam: Went directly to the clinic and the doctor just asked our SP (Student’s permit) and took down our names and very surprising.. She didn’t even asked our height, weight and eye test.. but she already wrote something on the paper… very accurate for my height & weight.. I wonder how she did it correctly w/ just looking @ me.. hehe :D Regarding the eye exam, i expected she will let me read the eye test but she told me if i already read it.. hehe I just answered her Yes.. then the eye exam is OK! paid 100 pesos each…

TIN #: If you have an ID w/ your TIN on it, just photocopied it together w/ your application…

We submitted our requirements in the afternoon around 3pm… We’re kinda late because we went to BTC (Banilad Town Center) to meet our former landlord in our apt to collect our deposit. @ LTO: after an hour, their system crashed! and we’re told if we could wait until it will work.. it’s almost 4pm already and we decided to continue the processing the next day… there it goes, Philippine government… so slow.. and no IT to fix their PC! hehe haayyzz.. :(

Second day: Tuesday March 25, 2008

We arrived in LTO 1:00 in the afternoon. Went directly to Window 4 to have our picture taken.. and tada! Done! after that we proceed to Window 3 Cashier.. We were called by one of the staff if we have to change our address and we told her yes, and they will charge 30pesos for that… we thought she will asked for an affidavit but good thing we just have to pay a lil bucks for it.. while we’re waiting, so many incidents happened that afternoon.. most of them were funny… it just shows how their system messed up and some people didn’t even know their BIRTH YEAR! woah! We overheard their conversations because when you talked to the staff, they will reply w/ the mic on and their speakers were very loud that you can hear it even when you’re outside their office… just like this kind of question “Unsay imo dong?”, “Kinsa man d ay ka?”, “Unsay tinuod birthday nimo? Sa among system kay 1981 sa imong birth certificate kay 1980 sa imong application karon kay 1982?!” hahaha… the crowd really laughed @ this! hehe poor guy, didn’t know when was his real birth year… and he just said that just follow my birthcertificate.. good answer .. :) So much for that…

We had our names called and we paid 93 pesos each.. and we’re told to have our lecture & written exam the next day again! 9:00 in the morning.. woah! We have to go back again… whew!!

Last day: March 26, 2008

We had our lecture 9 am in the morning… @ First we had this reviewer w/ answers on it… and by 9:45am we had lecture by Ruel Ruiz… and 10 am we had our exam…

With ADLES, no two tests are alike since the computer randomly selects questions from a bank of questions and prints out the unique exam. Once the applicant completes the test, the answer sheet is fed into the scanner. The answers are then captured from the document using the Optical Mark Reader (OMR) software. A link with the LTO-IT System’s database automatically posts the score to the applicant’s driving record. For non-professional license, an applicant must score at least 30 out of the 40 multiple-choice questions. On the other hand, an applicant must score at least 45 out of 60 questions and 18 out of 25 questions for professional license and conductor’s permit, respectively. Applicants who fail the exam must wait for 1 month to retest.

Our Test Results: I scored 37/40 and Rocknolds scored 34/40!!!

We passed! hehe that was almost lunch time and we were scheduled for our practical exam in the afternoon… then we were asked if we have a car coz we’re going to use our car for the practical exam… and we told Erwin yes we have.. and we asked papa to go w/ us to LTO in the afternoon.. then we drove from the Citom Entrance to the LTO Exit way.. and that’s it! We’re passed again for the practical exam… and we waited for an hour@ the Window 3 again to pay and got our New Non Professional Driver’s License about 15 minutes after we paid… gotcha! We had it already w/ no conditions on it and Restriction 12 :) And of course we both look good in the Pix! haha :D That was one of the transactions in the government without fixer… LTO been strict nowadays but as what we’ve noticed, still there’s some who paid to make it more easier for them… tsk tsk tsk… kurakot pa rin ang Pinas! :(

by 3:30pm we went to the post office to get my package… then we had some transactions after that and back Home… :) Whew! What a day!

We spent our holy week in Catmondaan, Catmon Cebu… It is located in the north of Cebu… It is where my grandfather grew up.. We had a rest house there just along the sea shore… I had so many good memories there..

When I was still young, we (my lola maming, mama & yaya) used to go there every weekend… I love the beach since I was young, and until now, i still love it..

I love the sea breeze in the morning.. the cold wind blowing your hair…

the sound of the waves just infront of the house… the moonlit on the sea during the night

especially the stars where I can see a lot of stars there compared here in the city…

It’s really different if you grew up in the city and spend the most of your days here… You will really love the nature… It makes me more relaxing and i find it romantic too…

When I was young, I said to myself that someday, I will bring my husband and our kids in the place… And now, tada!

We were there! It came true.. :) I already did pictured it out before… I’m happy that I visited the place again and spent the time w/ my family there before we leave… and I hope we can visit the place again soon…

We went there last Thursday @ 1pm then arrived @3pm… It’s a 2 hrs drive by car/bus… depends on the speed of course.. you can get there a half an hour if you drive fast…

We had Lechon for lunch last Friday, March 21, 2008.. It’s a good Friday remember? But still we ate a lot and its like we’ll not gonna eat lechon again for a long time.. hehe I hope we can still find some lechon in Oz.. hehe I doubt it..

I pity Denry, he doesn’t eat lechon… He’s not used to it… He just ate the “Atay” and Century Tuna Hot & Spicy.. one of our fave canned goods here… hehe Aside from my family (Papa, Mama, Bro) Matt2x & Denry was w/ us and of course w/ Marnie and Joey..

We had inuman Thursday night, Just a couple of Beers and sumsuman… Tempura… hehe We had the talks and discussion about the book “The Secret” again… it’s a nice discussion we had.. but it ended up because Matt2x accidentally threw the flashlight outside the terrace and fell into the sea! woah! it’s already past 12midnight and its high tide… Matt2x quickly went down to get the flashlight! hehe it was funny, he was almost naked when he went to get it.. When he got the flash light we were amused, why was the flash light was still working when it fell into the water.. It’s not a waterproof thing… and its a cheap one… but a good quality.. hehe

That’s it.. Matt, went back to us catching his breathe coz he drank a lot of water in the sea… He was hit by the big waves that took him out of control… poor matt2x.. hehe what an experienced he had…

Anyway, we still had a nice talked that night.. and made up woke up late the next day.. Then we went back to the City @ 6pm Friday night… I didn’t had a swim coz i was so tired and we just had a nice stroll along the sea shore…