penny February 1st, 2010
Okay, so we started telling people now. And by “we” I mean “me”. Well, I think Ajay told a couple of his friends, but I’ve gone a bit crazy with all the closest dearest family and friends I could get a hold of. Let’s have a look at the varied responses to our news:
penny February 1st, 2010
I went to see Dr Cowell again today. Her first words were delivered nonchalantly: “You’re here for your panvax shot?”
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penny January 31st, 2010
More pictures from our wedding in Sydney, courtesy of Ines 
Before the ceremony:
penny January 31st, 2010
I get annoyed very easily these days. I realised it’s time to detoxify my day, so I can identify which things make life worthwhile, and which are not worth paying a second thought (or even a first, if I can manage to train myself well to streamline my thoughts).
Detox. Change habits.
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penny January 28th, 2010
So I wrote to NSW Transport to vent my frustration about my flimsy paper ticket, and they wrote back today:
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I am responding to your feedback logged with Transport Info in regard to the quality of transport paper tickets.
I note that you normally purchase a weekly yellow TravelPass. These passes can be purchased from CityRail stations, Sydney Ferries tickets offices and Sydney Buses TransitShops or ticket agents.
If the ticket becomes faulty or damaged, as long as the expiry date is clearly legible, you can normally use it as a “flash pass” to board your service of choice. If you wish to provide me with your postal address, I would be happy to send you a plastic ticket holder to help protect your ticket.
Alternatively, you may wish to consider purchasing a quarterly or yearly yellow TravelPass. These tickets offer additional discounts and if you purchase one from us, Sydney Buses, you will be issued with a plastic coated magnetic ticket which are more resilient to everyday use.
Please click on the attached link for details on how to order quarterly or yearly TravelPasses -
http://www.sydneybuses.info/tickets/combined-tickets/travelpass.htm
As you may be aware, the Public Transport Ticketing Corporation (PTTC) terminated the Tcard contract with Integrated Ticketing Systems Limited (ITSL) on 23 January, 2008. This cancellation brought a temporary halt to the introduction of a “smart card” ticket payment system. However, the government is committed to providing an integrated ticketing system and State Transit looks forward to being a part of this.
I hope this information is of assistance to you. Thank you for taking the time to bring your comments to our attention.
Yours sincerely,
(name)
STA Customer Relations
penny January 27th, 2010
Such were Penelope’sprojections for how the 4th round onwards would go in the Australian Open (21 January onwards). Let’s see how many I got wrong.
In the 4th Round, my mistakes were 7 players: Haas, Verdasco, Del Potro, Clijsters, Safina, Jankovic and Hantuchova. Instead there are Tsonga, Hewitt, Cilic, Petrova, Wickmayer, Zheng and Na. So in Top 16 in each category, I batted 81.25%. Not bad.
Hence in the Quarterfinal, I only got Federer, Djokovic, Murray, Roddick, Henin and the Williams sisters correct. For the mens’ I got 50%, while in the womens’ I got 37.5%. Horrible.
Now in the top 4, there are Federer, Murray, Cilic and Djokovic (assuming I’m right that he beats Tsonga tonight); Serena Williams, Henin, Zheng and Na. Mens’ 75%, Womens’ 50%.
So all that’s left to guess is the top 2. For the mens’, I previously picked Del Potro, but now to update this I pick Federer and Murray. For the womens’ I originally picked Venus, but with her out I now I pick Serena and Justine.
And who to win? I’ll say Federer and Justine.
penny January 27th, 2010
Perhaps it’s my blabbering about ferries that have got me unlucky today. I put my sheets in the wash, then thought, may as well put in my jumper in. It was a bit chilly one day during the past week, and the one time I use a jumper, I put in my travelpass in its pocket.
And so what remains of my flimsy paper 50 dollar travelpass is a pulp 
penny January 20th, 2010
I’ve always been a commuter. I never got to take a driver’s test in the Philippines, and I’ve gone through
two student permits. I’ve driven a few times with my father, and that’s it. I never felt the need to drive, I was never motivated. But it is somewhat a regret that I have no license to, because it makes me feel juvenile when I have nothing to show when asked. On many occasions, I’ve been looked down upon for not having a license. On one rare occasion, I was told I was adorably peculiar, but nonetheless, ibreceived a lengthy lecture afterwards about driving being a handy skill to have but it’s no good unless you have the license to actually drive. Hehe, point well taken.
Anyhow, not having a license to drive then makes me the eternal commuter. It isn’t without its perks, as my dad says, you have other people to take you were you need to be, and no worries about your own vehicle. Of course, though I agree with these points, I do think that at or point, owning a vehicle will have the benefit of flexibility and convenience. For sure this will be a matter to consider seriously especially when we settle down permanently somewhere.
In my 3.4 years in Sydney, I’ve taken ‘luxury’ in using public transport. Buses within and across suburbs, trains to and from the outskirts of the city, ferries to coast along the large Harbour and the rivercat to and from Parramatta.
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penny December 6th, 2009
I’m uneasy spending time posting this entry, as I just feel like I’m becoming the same as what I abhor. But well, I gotta get it off my chest. And since I am alone at the moment, the blog is the usual place I rant, as most you know by now.
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So smoke alarms are going off everywhere about Tiger’s affairs with various girls. It’s disappointing, sure, I’ve got so much respect for this athlete; as much as I have respect for Manny Pacquiao as a boxer, even if I am no fan of boxing.
But to be honest, what bothers me more is the level of interest shown for their non-sporting affairs. Do I belong to a minority? I bet more know about this ‘recent’ girl coming out than Tiger’s most recent tournament win. It just shows how eager we are to find shadows where success is, because it reassures us that there is no such thing as a perfect life nor a perfect person… and it makes us feel better about ourselves. Keep ‘em grounded, eh? Serves ‘em right for lettin’ the fame to their head?
This kind of thinking is what keeps those showbiz and gossip outfits in business. Part of human nature? Perhaps. Don’t you think such things are part of the reason why societies are fixating to populations of mushbrains? But again, to be honest, this is one of the aspects of humanity which I hope will just die out now. But with the repeated surges of interest in tabloid fodder (and it is just so ubiquitious everywhere!) I doubt this kind of interest will ever go away.
Just my luck.
penny November 30th, 2009
For lack of a fitting title, I decided to just say ‘a glass of hot chocolate’. And with habit, I write with a stream of thought, rather than keeping to a strict structure nor coherence.
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In keeping with Bonifacio Day, I’ll try to keep my entry to the theme. I’ve been browsing posts on facebook and twitter, and there were a number of posts regarding Bonifacio, and how we have forgotten our love of country.
Love of country is all well and good, but I think more importantly we fail to see beyond the metaphor. To love the land, is to love its people. Their culture, and their welfare.
In fleeting moments, like in natural disasters such as the recent Ondoy-Pepeng situations, we call ourselves a nation of heroes. Yet most times we are bickering and pointing fingers at each other, quick to find something or someone to criticise or blame the negative observations and misfortunes. Forgive me for using ‘fleeting’ as an adjective. But I don’t see how being ’saintly’ for a day (or a year) can count towards being a nation of heroes. I can still remember situations where no stranger cared to stop to help, even when it was clear and obvious that they could have.
The point is, I don’t think we genuinely practice this love for our countrymen as a habit. Whenever you throw litter in the street, turn a blind eye when someone needed assistance, expect to be treated like a queen by servants, trying to get away with getting more than what you paid for, expect special treatment for your stature, raise an eyebrow at someone for wearing second-rate clothing… Having such poor respect and discipline despite these being the most fundamental of things that make a society, how can you expect to see change for the better?
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We seem to have evolved from a nation of altruism (had we really been one though? that might be subject to debate), to that of indifference. Altruism involves self-sacrifice for the benefit of the bigger group. Has altruism become the exception than the rule? Indifference has become the norm. Sure, we complain a lot when we see something is wrong. We talk about how it can be fixed. We throw ideas around, discuss alternatives and at times rally to have our voice heard in the streets. We can say all the right things, but unless we get them in practice, nothing will ever change.
We can’t expect anything other than neutral effects if we remain indifferent. In fact, indifference can only have neutral effects AT BEST. Most of the time, we’ll see situations are just getting worse.
So, you say you don’t care about the people? You think it wouldn’t matter if you vote for the ’safe’ and ‘trapo’ candidate, they’re all the same anyway, so why be critical? You can come home from your overseas job to enjoy the spoils with your family coz the political climate isn’t gonna change anyway. You can brag about being Pinoy when some artist or social worker get international attention for winning a globally recognised award. Or when Pacquiao wins another boxing title, you go on and on about being Filipino. Yet in all those times in between, you’re hardly Pinoy. In fact, you’d rather if no one saw you that ‘Pasaporte’ stamped on your passport at the airport, hoping people will think you’re another nationality.
“So what”, right? This remark is the main reason why the country you claim to love remains in the pits.
The upper middle class are supposedly the influential ones (than the marginalised lower class and everyone below them), but I have yet to see anyone caring enough to clamor for real change anymore. More so be an altruistic enough lot to genuinely care for the welfare of their countrymen.
I remember someone telling me that the only hope we have left for our country is for a bloody revolution to start from the bottom. Perhaps this is indeed a fitting day to entertain this thought. Mind you, I say entertain, not consider. For Bonifacio’s sake, whose name might today mean no more as a street name.
In this day and age, change must come from each person. But to disseminate this ideal, the inspiration and initiative might need to come from the top.
Pag-ibig at malasakit para sa isa’t isa, kapwa Pinoy, nasaan na? Pagpapahalaga sa ngalan ng pagka-Pinoy, pagkakapit-bisig para sa kabutihan ng karamihan? Sa huli, tao pa din ang mahalaga, at ang pakikitungo natin sa isa’t isa.
*Gets off soap box.*
janep is Pen-AJ spelled backwards.
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