Renewing My Non-Professional Driver’s License

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A week before the Lenten Holidays, I need to renew my diver’s license in order to avoid the penalty for late renewal. Ang bilis ng panahon, naka-three years na pala since my last renewal.

I had my previous transaction in LTO-Sta. Maria, Bulacan Branch. Unfortunately, they are encountering “fatal disk error” as posted on the window of the first step of processing where transactions for driver’s license (student permit and renewal) is not available. So I had to proceed to the nearest branch, Guiguinto, Bulacan.

As early as 9 am, there is already a long line for both renewals of driver’s license and application of student permit. Kahit mahaba ang pila, there are enough seats to accommodate drivers.

Upon entering the compound, a man already assisted me to have a medical test inside the compound as one of the main requirements (no drug test already). There are two  clinics for inside the compound.

Then, the same procedure is followed – submission of the application for evaluation, photo and signature capture, payment, and releasing of license.

According to the information sheets posted inside the compound, the renewal of a non-professional license will take about 120 minutes while professional driver’s license will be longer by 60 minutes due to the a driver's seminar.

But, there is already a disclaimer that renewal could take more or less 5 hour due to huge numbers of drivers and may take even longer depending on the performance of the computer system.

This means that from the supposed to be 2 hours, an additional 3 more hours to finish the entire process!

I finished the first three (3) steps for 2 hours and waited for the releasing station for about 4 hours. I was in the LTO for more or less six hours 

After 6 hours of waiting, I haven’t got the driver’s license card. The OR is stamped indicating that it can be used as temporary driver’s license for at most 1 year. I was also advised to go back to the branch after 6 months to get the new card.

With my recent experience in my driver's license renewal, here are some things I noticed and I think the agency needs to focus for improvement.

Medical

It is good that there is already medical clinics in the compound to give more convenience on the drivers. However, upon entering the clinic, no examination has been conducted to me. There are already forms properly filled-up and just put my name on the certificate and paid 250 pesos. No checking on my eyesight, weight, and hearing was conducted.

Lunch breaks

It is good that most government offices, like LTO, observe NO NOONTIME BREAK to continue the transaction and serve better. However, they lack the manpower to sustain the said policy.

I observed that one by one, the person in each station is missing and taking lunch breaks, understandable because they are also humans. But to properly fulfill the said policy, there should be at least two persons handling each terminal so there will be an alternate turn in taking their lunch breaks. I noticed that during the break, the person in charge of releasing is doing the photo and signature capture and payment.

Audio system

Though there are audio systems used to call the names of the drivers one of the station, the releasing, is not clear. I don’t know if the voice of the LTO officer or the audio itself has the problem. I can't hear my name when I was called to get my temporary driver’s license.

Ventilation

One thing that is good in this is that there are wall fans and air coolers installed all over the place which gives comfort to the drivers especially that day, the weather is very hot.

Aside from the ventilation, there are also TV screens to watch to reduce boredom while waiting for your turn.

I hope these observations will be used as tool for continual improvement to serve better.

Have you renewed your license lately?

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My Birthday 2016

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March is one of the special months for me because it is my birthday month. Here’s how I celebrated my special day last Saturday.

Instead of having a celebration at home, I had it in our office since we still have works on Saturdays.

Mommy and I get up from the bed as early as 3:30 am to cook tuna-carbonara, buko pandan, and fish fillet. I chose these para maiba naman from pancit and spaghetti.

Tuna Carbonara (Source: Momaye's Diary)

After working in the kitchen, time to prepare for work naman. We also asked Matthew to get up early because we brought him at work and planned to drop by the mall afterwards.

After working in the kitchen, time to prepare for work naman.

As I got upstairs, the door is closed and locked. Matthew used to lock the door every time he is upstairs so I asked him to open. And to my Surprise, a box of shoes, a simple card and small cake with lit candle awaits for me. With matching acapella of the birthday song na parang accompanied by a woodwind instruments.

Source: Instagram

Though I know that I will be having a new pair of shoes, I was still surprised because I thought that it will not be on that day. Wala naman kasi akong nakitang kahit anong trace of Zalora or Lazada delivery.

Shoes and Greeting Card (Source: Instagram)

How did I know that Mommy and Matthew are cooking for some surprise?

First, Mommy kept on asking me what shoes is better. She sends me different photos but claims to use in on her post about Zalora. She also asked me what is my size. From there, I already had a hint.

Second, Matthew keeps on having slips of his tongue mentioning my shoes and cakes where Mommy trying stops him.

Though I already sense something, I just ignored it para hindi masira ang trip. LOL.

At work, my QA Inspectors gave me this cake with dedication.

Source: Momaye's Diary

Source: Momaye's Diary

Since our weekly meeting ends earlier, Mommy, Matthew, and I had our lunch at Chowking. No pictures this time.

That's how I simply celebrate my birthday.

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Red Ribbon Makes Their Ensaimadas Bigger and Cheesier

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As much as possible, we avoid buying junk foods for Matthew's snack. Good thing that even we have some packs of chips at home, Matthew prefer having bread with homemade spreads and baked goodies.

He often requested us to buy hopia, spanish roll, or ensaimada. For ensaimadas, bigger and cheesier is definitely better.

Here is a press release of Red Ribbon introducing their bigger and cheesier ensaimada:

Red Ribbon Introduces Its Bigger Ensaimada That Boosts in Cheesy Goodness

Pasig City - March 14, 2016 - We Filipinos love to snack.  Whether it’s before lunch or after, we always make it a point to make time to indulge in our need and love for snacks.  While most snackers will say that they give in to the munchies because of real hunger, many admit that snack time is the perfect moment to take a break from work or school, and just socialize over a favorite pastry or bread. 

And no one can argue that of all the many snack options kids and adults love, the classic ensaimada is still a popular choice today.  However, not all ensaimadas are created equal.

There’s the usual ensaimada and then, there’s the Red Ribbon Ensaimada.  Red Ribbon’s staple pastry has long been a mainstay in our lunchboxes for the young and the young-at-heart.  Whether it’s enjoyed as a snack or as a dessert, people cannot resist this all-time pastry favorite.

Now, Red Ribbon has just succeeded in making something already so good, so much better.  The new Red Ribbon Ensaimada is now bigger and bursts with cheesy goodness that no one can resist.

Red Ribbon’s Ensaimada still packs the same goodness Pinoys have always expected and come to love. It still has that same soft, melt-in-your-mouth pastry, well-balanced sweetness and the right cheesy goodness that is so affordably priced at P25.00 only. 

“We are always thinking of ways to improve our offerings in response to what our customers want,” said Ned Bandojo, Head of Marketing of Red Ribbon. “The cheesy ensaimada promises to deliver what our customers have long come to expect from us and more.  We want to give them more reasons to enjoy the company of family and friends and to make everyday moments more special through our quality products.”

With Red Ribbon’s bigger ensaimada, snack time is sure to be more enjoyable, memorable and delicious.

Red Ribbon’s Ensaimadas are available in all Red Ribbon stores nationwide.

Does your kid/s love breads too?

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Cellphone Clip Lens

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I got a new set of accessories for my phone – The Clip Lens.

The package contains fisheye, wide angle and macro lenses. It also includes small pouch for storage and lens covers.

The lens is easy to assemble, just screw and clip on your phone and you are on your way to taking shots.

In using the wide angle lens, it will not directly fit the clip and needs to attach the macro lens first and screw the wide angle lens. The wide angle lens makes the coverage of the ordinary camera wider.

Take without clip lens

Taken with wide angle lens

The fisheye lens adds a much wider angle that resulted in a visual distortion making the image either wide panoramic or hemispherical.

Taken using fisheye lens

The Macro lenses can actually capture small things. However, you need to place the camera the closer to the subject to have a nice focus. You also need to have a steady hand, needs a tripod if you want, because the focus easily disturbed with a slight move of the camera.

Taken without clip lens

With clip lens

Here are two more photos taken using macro lens.

Center of Euphorbia flower

A fly on a rose leaf

Though the resolution stays the same, you can still see the differences between using the clip lens and built-in camera.

If you want to have the same gadget, don’t hesitate to send a message or visit Momaye’s Shoppe.

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McDonald's 4th National Breakfast Day

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Last Monday, McDonalds Celebrates the 4th National Breakfast Day wherein 1000 free McMuffins were given away by each branch (400 branches) around the Philippines. Unfortunately, we haven’t got the chance to get our free McMuffin. Malelate na kasi kami sa trabaho due to traffic.

Anyways, here are some highlights of the said event thru McDonald’s Press Release.

For the fourth year in a row, McDonald's National Breakfast Day delighted Filipinos across the country with free McMuffin sandwiches.

This year, the spotlight is still on the McMuffin – an iconic breakfast product that is loved all over the world.

McDonald’s Philippines gave Filipinos across the country its ‘best Monday ever’ during National Breakfast Day, when free McMuffin sandwiches were given from 6AM-7AM. 

At 6AM, customers flock to participating McDonald’s stores, ready to receive their delicious breakfast treat.

Different celebrity endorsers and National Breakfast Day Ambassadors joined the McDonald’s Crew in giving away free McMuffins. Spotted in different branches were Alden Richards, Maine Mendoza, Xian Lim, Enrique Gil, and others.

(From L-R) McDonald’s President and Chief Executive Officer Kenneth S. Yang, McDonald’s endorsers Maine Mendoza and Alden Richards, and McDonald’s Chief Happiness Officer, Ronald McDonald

McDonald’s ambassador Xian Lim with the crew of McDonald’s ABS-CBN

McDonald’s endorser Enrique Gil with Ronald McDonald at McDonald’s Almanza in Las Pinas

Janine Gutierrez with the crew of McDonald’s Granada in Quezon City 

TV5 talents Alwyn Uytingco, Vin Abrenica, and Shaira Mae Dela Cruz with the McDonald’s Reliance crew

Bianca Umali and Miguel Tanfelix at McDonald’s Quezon Avenue, Quezon City

McDonald’s President and Chief Executive Officer Kenneth S. Yang (center) distributed free McMuffin sandwiches to customers.  Together with him are McDonald’s endorsers Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza.

Bianca Gonzales-Intal 

Last year, McDonald’s spread the morning cheer to some individuals who are cannot enjoy the free McMuffin. These are the ones that need to be in their work as early as 4 am like MRT tellers and crews, street vendors, teachers and drivers.

McDonald’s do the same thing. 100 free McMuffins were given to groups or organization that are unable to have a good breakfast because of their work. This year, they surprise a group of fishermen while sailing and waiting for their catch. Unknowingly, McDonald’s crews sail earlier than they are to give them with a good breakfast. See the video below on how the group of fishermen enjoyed the National Breakfast Day.

Did you join this year’s National Breakfast Day?

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