Beware When Riding Taxis in Metro Manila

When riding taxis in Metro Manila, tell the driver to drive carefully, or else he is putting your life in danger.

We should had told this to that reckless taxi driver who put our lives in danger yesterday.  We almost got hurt when the reckless taxi driver we hired,  hit another taxi cab that came from a blind intersection on our way to my sister-in law's home in Manila.

His taxi cab bumped the hood of the other taxi. Good thing he was able to step on the brakes. We suffered only minor bumps due to the impact;  my husband at the head, and me at the left foot. 

Thanks to our guardian angels, we were saved.

But the two reckless taxi drivers, with both their car's hoods destroyed, lost hours of earning, and had to pay their operators for the cars'  damages. Most of the taxi drivers in Metro Manila do not own the taxi cab, they were required by the operators to hand in a fixed portion of the day's earnings, called "boundary." 

After deducting that "boundary," say, it was fixed at $50 for 10 hours shift, the remaining portion will go to the driver. So they rush to get more passengers to earn more.

Or they would "cheat" and charge the passenger higher than the usual fare, though the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board had mandated fare amounts,  to protect commuters from unscrupulous drivers. 

So when hiring a taxi, forewarn the driver to drive carefully because they are responsible for your safety.

Other safety tips:

> take a photo of the taxi's plate number and name using your cellphone camera, or just note it in a paper. It usually printed at the door panel . If you can, include the face of the driver, for future reference.

> send that photo (through SMS) to a friend or relative. Or just send a text message to a friend or relative that you are in that particular taxi, include the name of the taxi and plate number.

These tips will be of help, and the driver would be forewarned that you are smart enough to ward off his evil plans.

But not all taxi drivers are careless  and bad, there are still those that adhere to professionalism and good customer service. 

Online Writers Today are Quite Lucky Vs. Writers Decades Ago

Online writers, more so, freelance home-based writers today are very fortunate enough to work in  the comforts of  home with the use of latest technology.

Thanks to the internet, to the Wifi (wireless fidelity), to the mobile internet USB's, and to the gadgets like personal computers, laptops, tablets, ipad, android phones, that we use today to send posts to our favorite writing sites, or to clients who get our writing services.

Anytime that an idea pops up in our heads, we just sit in our favorite corner or place in the house and encode the article, submit it to the site or to your client. We can write for many sites, usually content sites, where we earn residual income. Though the income is quite small, it is less tedious, just like you are writing for fun, and earn at the end of the month, or once you met the specified cashout.

Gone are the days when a writer had to type voluminous text on paper, using typewriters, have it checked or edited manually using liquid erasers or plain rubber erasers to make clean copies. Or have a garbage can nearby to throw in used papers, when the writer could no longer remedy the errors using erasers. Such a lot of paper wasted. (Or when editors annoyed with the poor copy, throws in your article there!)

When the copy/article was finished, the writer have to submit it to the publication
or  client asking for the writeup, have it mailed using snail mail. It will reach the destination about a week, if it is for local submission. The writer has to pay the post stamp, enclose a SASE or a self addressed stamped envelope, where the editor/requester will mail back the copy for editing/revisions, or if it is totally rejected! (What a heartache!).

Good thing the fax machine came into use years later, in 1980's in the Philippines, where typewritten articles were sent to the requester or editor through it. The fax machine (short for facsimile machine) is like a printer attached to a telephone. If the copy is received, you will get a confirmation receipt, or you should call the recipient through the telephone for confirmation. This is also to assure that the copy received from the other end was clear. The writer has to re-fax it again if it is garbled or unclear.

This is just easier if you are not running after deadlines. But if you are a field news reporter, doing your article in a not so nice press office somewhere, it is such a big headache! The next day, you will find out that your editor just used four lines, or a paragraph from your report, which was just incorporated in a bigger story of the same topic.

These are just some of instances when we could say that online writers now are so "blessed!"

(Thanks for the visit. Next time, I will share with you some of my experiences as a news field reporter.

Constructing My Blogsite, a Hit or Miss Experience for a Non-Techie

This is really a funny, annoying, but fulfilling experience.

A non-techie like me, who only knows basic computer use, save for using wordpress, and a few programs, trying to build a presentable blogsite for the first time.

I made it, after reading some tutorials on how to build a blogsite. Thanks to the numerous tutorials in the internet, and even here on Google, where a newbie will just have to follow the prompts. The Facebook Group, "Ask Filipino Bloggers," was really a big help. The administrator there is so helpful to immediately answer queries regarding putting up a blogsite. He also advised us to register for an Adsense account to monetize the blogs.

Special thanks too to my online friend, writer_csm,(Connie S. Miraviteblogs) for encouraging me to put up this one, so I could earn well from my writings.

This is such a fulfilling experience, where I could write all what I want to write, of course within the bounds or rules set by Adsense, and the basic rules that all online writers know.

Having your own blogsite gives you freedom to write, to express your thoughts, to post anytime you want. It is like building your home, your refuge, a place where you could go back and cherish the moments you had, as you got it printed on the pages of your blog.

In the meantime, I am still improving this favorite project, till it gets the presentable look as days go by, as I learn how to make it more professionally-designed one.

Thanks for reading. Good day to all of you!


My photo of a gumamela flower (Hibiscus). I used my Samsung cellphone camera.

From simplewoman to acelawrites

It was September last year when I joined a revenue sharing site, my first taste of online writing.

Though I had years of experience as offline writer, I found it enjoyable and easy, because I could write my thoughts, without attribution to sources, just like when writing a news story. Of course, you do not have to credit anybody when the words were from your mind, from your ideas and thoughts. That is a beautiful expression of yourself, a venue for your passion for writing; the joys of online writing!

And so I used the pseudonym "simplewoman" in that site. But after a few months, I searched the internet for the name simplewoman, and I was surprised to had seen the name Simple Woman, who also has a blog. So I asked the site owner if I could possibly change my username because readers might think I (simplewoman) is the same person as Simple Woman. We are different persons.

To rectify my "error," I used "acelawrites" as my pen name. Though I use the same
photo am using for simplewoman and acelawrites, so my online friends would know I am the same person.

The lesson here is to check first if somebody out there uses the same pseudonym to avoid confusion. Writers value name recall because we earn from visits from friends or other people who know our pseudonym.

Could You Eat Your Food and Use it as Grooming Aid?

Could You Eat Your Food and Use it as Grooming Aid?

Have you eaten avocado? Scientific name:Persea americana. 

It is a very nutritious fruit, with so many health benefits. Nutritionists say it lowers bad cholesterol level, reduces blood sugar level, good antioxidant, a good source of fiber, among others.

It contains glutathione that is why many use it as part of their beauty regimen. It can  be used for facial treatment. Just mash the meat into a smoothie form, and then apply directly onto the face. Leave it for 30 minutes then rinse with water. You could feel the suppleness of your skin, due to the essential oils in it.

You can use it also as hair treatment. Just apply the smoothie into your scalp, massage it well, cover with shower cap just like when you are having a hot oil treatment. Rinse after 30 minutes, and see the soft, shiny hair. You can do this twice a week for good results.

Avocado could also be used as body scrub to smoothen skin. Just apply and rub liberally on areas you want to treat.

Have fun eating avocado,be healthy and beautiful at the same time!




My photo of a Ti Plant.

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Hurray! Created My First Blogsite!

After some self- tutorial, I finally made this blog site for my writings.

This would be my personalized site where I could share my passion for writing on varied niches, whether it be on parenthood, about pets, plants, gardening, entrepreneurship, health, and so many aspects of life, even my life and work as a journalist many years ago.

Hope you will enjoy reading my posts.

Nice to meet all of you here.