February 14
The Bear Bitch’s Project
She’s moody and grey, she’s mean and she’s restless.
Flocke
Forget kids, I want a Polar Bear cub!
Isn’t Flocke (Snowflake) the cutest little wuggie-buggie-schmuggie you’ve ever seen? I wonder if bear-napping is a capital offense . . .
The E-Mails of Honesty (or lack thereof)
Every time I’ve been asked that hypothetical question ‘What would you do if you found a wallet full of money?’ I always answered straight away that I would return the wallet. Duh. No brainer, right? Well, that’s obviously easier said than done. When you find yourself in a similar situation, you find that it’s harder than you can ever imagine to be noble.
To make a long story short, I ordered something from an online retailer. They sent me the wrong item so I contacted them and was advised to just return it and they would send me the correct item. I mailed the item back to them the very next day and sure enough, a few days after that, I received the replacement. Then, about a week after I mailed the wrong item back to them, I receive an e-mail telling me that my returned item has been received and that the refund has been issued. What? I was confused but I checked my credit card account and there it was: a credit for $35 from the online retailer. What I didn’t mention at the start of this story was that there was a whole lot of drama involved with this purchase. My sister asked me to buy it for her but I was hesitant so there was a LOT of cross-continent & cross-time zone correspondence flying back and forth; to summarize, the purchase entailed more time and effort than just a few clicks of a mouse.
Honestly, my first reaction when I saw the credit was: “Cool. I’m getting compensated for all the time and effort I put into this crazy order.” But then of course my conscience kicked in so I (quite reluctantly) e-mailed them back to ask why they were crediting me $35. They answered that they were crediting me back for the item that they received; I guess they assumed that it was a return rather than a replacement. Again it crossed my mind to just leave it at that. I figured, look, if their records are that messed up then no one will realize the mistake and besides, $35 is chicken feed to a huge company like ******. I deleted the e-mail and forgot about it.
No, my guilt didn’t eat me up and I didn’t start seeing imaginary accusatory signs everywhere I went. I slept soundly that night and the nights that followed. I honestly did forget all about it. But a few days later, I was cleaning out my e-mail trash and I saw the e-mail again. Just as I was about to delete it permanently a thought popped into my head “Is my soul only worth $35?”. With a huge sigh, I opened the e-mail again and typed out a reply. I explained that it was an exchange rather than a return and that I shouldn’t be credited anything since I already received the replacement item. I sent it before I could change my mind.
“Ms. DeCastro, thank you for contacting us and thank you very much for your honesty. We have made the necessary adjustments to your account.
We are happy to offer you 10% off of your next purchase in appreciation for your honesty.
We greatly appreciate your business.”
The 10% discount will definitely not amount to $35 but you know what, that short e-mail reply I got sure felt better. You really can’t put monetary value on feeling good about yourself and being proud that you did the right thing.
*******
Oddly enough, I got this email that afternoon:
#### Law Chambers
# Floor Mass Mutual Tower
Taman bukit segar 1 Selangor
Kuala Lumpur Malaysia.
Tel: +60########
Mobile: +60########
Dear Kristine DeCastro,
I am #### Lopez, an attorney at law. A deceased client of mine, by name Mr.####### DeCastro, who here in after shall be referred to as my client, died as the result of a heart-related condition on the 11th November 2004. His heart condition was due to the death of all the members of his family in the Gulf Air Flight Crashes in Persian Gulf Near Bahrain Aired August 23, 2000 - 2:50 p.m. ET as reported on: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0008/23/bn.08.html
I have contacted you to assist in distributing the money left behind by my client before it is confiscated or declared unserviceable by the bank when this deposit valued at 15.5million dollars is lodged. This bank has issued me a notice to contact the next of kin, or the account will be confiscated.
My proposition to you is to seek your consent to present you as the next-of-kin and beneficiary of my named client, since you have the same last name, so that the proceeds of this account can be paid to you. Then we can share the amount on a mutually agreed-upon percentage. All legal documents to back up your claim as my client’s next-of-kin will be provided. All I require is your honest cooperation to enable us see the transaction through.
This will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from many breach of the law. If this business proposition offends your moral values, do accept my apology. I must use this opportunity to implore you to exercise the utmost indulgence to keep this matter extraordinary confidential, whatever your decision, while I await your prompt response. Please contact me at once to indicate your interest. I will like you to acknowledge the receipt of this e-mail as soon as possible via email this transaction will be treated private with absolute confidentiality and sincerity. I look forward to your quick reply. Please for security reasons reply
Best regards,
Barrister Lopez Esq.
What the heck??? Okay, call me naïve but I still get shocked at how unbelievably guiltless some people are. I mean, they really don’t have consciences, do they? And the audacity of it all – I was so tempted to reply “Yes, I am morally offended and I hope you loose all his money at the gambling tables and the dead guy haunts you until you go insane and check yourself into an asylum”.
That was one e-mail that I was only too glad to permanently delete.
I seriously hope the guy gets haunted till his dying day.
Couch Potato with Cobwebs
For goodness’ sake, give the writers what they want and end the bloody strike already!!!
I was totally looking forward to new episodes of Heroes, Chuck, and House but at the rate this strike is going, new episodes won’t air until the Fall of 2008 - that’s ages from now!
What can I say? Thank god for "reality" shows like Ghost Hunters and American Idol that don’t really need writers but I definitely can’t live on reality tv forever. This couch potato has no choice but to make do with them until the writers and producers get their act together but c’mon, people! Give me back my Chuck Bartowski!
Actors’ appeal: Speechless (click to watch the videos)
Have a Green Christmas
I decided to go "green" this Christmas and not use a single sheet of wrapping paper or a single gift-tag. I put all my presents in red, reusable Target shopping bags. I decided on the reusable bags because I wanted to be environmentally conscious and - if I’m being completely honest - I was too lazy to properly wrap each an every present, but they turned out to be a lot more useful than I thought; after the festivities, the kids were able to load their new loot into the bags to take home. It looks like I’ve just started a Christmas tradition for myself 
Merry Christmas!
Hi everyone!
I just wanted to post a short note on here to say that I’ll be pretty quiet for the rest of the month. I’m (home, sweet home) in Manila where I don’t have internet access at home. I’m actually at the library of The Manila Polo Club mooching off their Wi-Fi. The last 2 years, when I came home for the holidays, I’d just waltz in, pop open my laptop, and surf away. Unfortunately, this year, they ask for your membership card before granting you access and my mom (understandably) cancelled my membership since I no longer live in this country. Poor mom had to accompany me and is, at this very moment, sitting beside me while i check my mail. Its such a bother so this will most likely be my one and only time to check my-email and update my blog.
I’m debating whether on not to take my laptop to China with us (since the hotel will most definitely have Wi-Fi) but am wondering if the hassle of lugging a frigging heavy MacBook around Hong Kong Disneyland and Shanghai is worth the trouble.
In any case, since this will be my last post for the month and the last post of 2007, I just want to wish every one out there a happy holidays and a great new year!
See you on the other side!
Blast From the Past
Its always a pleasant surprise when friends you haven’t seen in years suddenly pop back into your life.
Last Saturday, all my high school batch mates who live in the Bay Area and I got together for an early Christmas party. I’ve seen most of them on a regular basis since I moved here but one guy in particular, Deny, I haven’t seen since we graduated high school from CSA in 1999. We, along with Marco, Rose, and David, were all in 7J (our 7th grade section) and were a very close class; almost like one, big, 33 person barkada (clique). After graduation, we all went our separate ways: to different universities and different countries, and slowly lost touch with each other. It was really nice to see him again after all these years.
Mini 7J reunion: Rose, Deny, David, me.
A few days later, a message was left for me on this very blog from Jason whom I haven’t seen in 14 years! In 1993, when I was 11, I went to a CISV international summer camp in Sweden called Goose Village. There were delegations from about 11 countries like Norway, Honduras, Argentina, Iceland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Brazil. Jason was from the Pittsburgh delegation. He said that he did a search on Google for "CISV Goose Village" and this blog was the one and only search result. See? I knew some good would come from posting our camp photo on here! He added me onto his Facebook page and from there I found a few more people from camp! I found Joanna, our Junior Counselor from Canada, Elna, our camp director, Jenny and Mia from the Swedish delegation, Lars Martin from the Norwegian delegation, Henky, the Swedish JC, and Mats, our Kitchen staff. I honestly never thought I’d see any of them again and, with exception of Elna who visited me in Manila a few years back, I probably never will, but its still nice to see their photos, learn where they are and what they’re doing, and do a little catching up.
Where’s Waldo?
Panic Time
Growing up in a country where radio stations play Christmas carols on midnight of September 1st and Christmas lights are set up soon after, I’ve always had an ample head start on Christmas shopping. I’d would normally be 90% done by December 1st. But having moved to a country where Halloween and Thanksgiving are the Über holidays which Christmas tailgates, I’ve suddenly found myself way behind schedule. It’s already the 26th of November and I still have half of my Christmas list to accomplish. How did this happen??? Last time I checked it was still the start of November and suddenly - bam! In a blink of an eye, December is literally a spit’s distance away. I spent a good portion of Thanksgiving Weekend (the portion that I didn’t spend watching movies) scouring the World Wide Web for presents and breaking into a cold sweat. The items I want are now either on back-order, sold out, or the website will be unable to deliver before I leave.
In a desperate attempt to cross some people off my list this weekend, I dragged my poor mother to a mall - enticing her with a promise of a cute, happy, Disney movie called ‘Enchanted’ - to brave the after-effects of "Black Friday". The movie was cute but the trip to the mall was anything but. Sure I was able to buy one present, scratch one name off my list, but at what price? I ended up coming home with one present, fancy-schmancy, name-brand shampoo, UV shield oil for my newly dyed hair, an eyelash comb, and a mother in a foul mood. I ended up spending more money on myself AND tortured poor Mommy by dragging her through an over crowded mall.
As I type this blog, seconds tick closer to Christmas and half my list still remains unaccomplished. If the people on the list were adults I’d have an easy way out: donate to a charity in that person’s name (the Band Aid Charitable Trust, or World Wildlife Fund) but most of these are kids who wouldn’t really appreciate the gesture (except Roque who specifically asked for me to adopt a grey wolf in his name). What am I to do???
I wonder if Santa will let me borrow a couple of his elves for a few days.
August Rush
I saw August Rush today. It’s such a cute movie. People either loved it or hated it - I loved it! I’ll even go as far as to say that its the best movie I’ve seen this year. Sure, the ending it a bit predictable, but it definitely doesn’t deserve all the negative reviews some critics gave it. Besides, its a Thanksgiving weekend movie; you should expect it to be heart-warming and give you a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. It would be like going to the theaters on Halloween and getting pissed that all the movies that are showing are either horror or suspense flicks. Duh.
In any case, I don’t care what the critics said. I liked it a lot and would recommend it to anyone in the mood for a holiday movie. Two thumbs up!
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Matteo Loves Me!
Okay, I just had to post this picture. How could I not?
Most of you know that I had a bit of a crush on Matteo Guidicelli (kart racer, model, actor, product endorser, and all around cutie boy) a couple of years back. Well, one of my best friends, Tatin, was somehow able to get him to hold up this sign and pose for this photo.
What can I say? Tatin’s powers of persuasion never cease to amaze me. Now, if she can just get him to agree to father my children, I’m all set. Ha ha ha!
Love ya, Tat! You rock!
