Oil Prices: Then and Now..

The continuous rise in oil prices in the Philippines is alarming. If I'm not mistaken, this is the 7th time this year that oil prices have increased and we're just starting the 2nd quarter. Fuel prices have now almost reached P50/liter or $1.20/liter with the current dollar-peso exchange rate. Comparing that to U.S. fuel prices which is now almost $4/gallon, with 1 gallon = 3.79 liters, our fuel price is at $4.55/gallon. Wow! That means fuel prices in the Philippines (a third world country) is more expensive than in the U.S. (world's largest economy).

That made me want to find out what the oil prices were 5 to 10 years ago. And this is what I found:

U.S. oil prices:

• 10 years ago - approx. $1/gallon
• 5 years ago - approx. $1.6/gallon

Philippine oil prices:

• Before deregulation (1972-1995) - approx. P5.99/liter (gas) and P3.98/liter (diesel)
• Start of deregulation (April 1996) - approx. P9.50/liter (gas) and P7.03/liter (diesel)
• Start of GMA's term (January 2001) - approx. P16.56/liter (gas) and P13.82/liter (diesel)
• Start of last year (January 2007) - approx. P37.33/liter (gas) and P32.62/liter (diesel)

Imagine that, 13 years ago the average fuel prices were just P6/liter. Now it's almost P50/liter. That's an 833% increase. Wow! Eversince the oil was deregulated, oil prices have gone up dramatically. No wonder the poor gets poorer and the rich probably get richer while the middle class is struggling!

Now, don't you wish that the weather in Manila is colder so that we could just ride bicycles instead of drive cars and waste more precious gasolines? Anyway, If you want to know, I got those figures from here and here.

My New Gadget!

Tet and I were at Market Market last night supposedly to buy blank DVDs at CD-R King but we ended up or I ended up buying a Philips portable DVD player. Yey!

It was not planned really. We just happened to pass by the activity center and there were different household appliances on display. I was left to roam around while Tet went to Plains & Prints to shop.

While looking around, I happened to pass by the Philips display area and that was when the 10.2" portable DVD player caught my attention. I came closer to it to simply check it out but the attendant approached me and started to demonstrate it.

I always wanted to buy a portable DVD player but haven't really found the need for it. But lately, since Trisha started to learn how to watch Barney on Video, I wanted to buy her a portable one that we could bring when we travel.

I liked the Philips portable DVD player as soon as I saw it but even moreso when the attendant told me that it comes with a car mount. That means I don't need to buy a multimedia system for the car anymore. Talk about hitting two birds with one stone. Hehe..

But of course, before I could decide to buy anything, I needed to consult my wife first. So I hurriedly went to Plains & Prints where Tet was and excitedly informed her of what I saw. After she bought her dress, we went back to the Philips area so that I could show her what I wanted to buy. Being the supportive wife that she is, she gave me the nod of approval. And so, I am now the proud owner of a Philips portable DVD player (PET1031/98).

You can click on the link above to check out the Specs. As for me, I'm picking up my DVD player tomorrow. Yahoo!

Dude, where's my car?

I took this photo of the parking lot behind Robinson's Summit last Friday morning. I was at the 20th floor.

Don't they look like little matchboxes? It would have probably looked better if the carpark was full. Anyway, can you spot my car in the picture? I'll give you a clue.. it's white!

Summer Olympics is just around the corner

I saw this billboard along EDSA yesterday while on my way to work. It was a gloomy Monday morning and seeing this cheered me up a bit.

I know what you guys are thinking. No, it's not the girl with the bikini on that cheered me up but the 08.08.08 sign above. That's the start of the much awaited and controversial Beijing Olympics. It's only a few months from now and I hope it will be a peaceful Olympics.

Too bad we don't have Solar Sports on SkyCable. =(

April 13: On Your Mark

Tet woke me up at 5AM and I immediately got up. I didn't want to be late again like what happened during the Mizuno run. I took a quick shower, changed and left by 5:35AM. I called Wa and Alvin to inform them that I was on my way to the Fort. I was at the venue by 5:40AM. I went to the registration booth to have our race numbers modified to reflect that we were running the 10K (we initially registered for 5K since the race organizers informed us that the 10K registration was already closed).

The race started on time and we were off by 6AM. I started slow and picked up speed only after the 3K mark. This is probably the first time that I jog/ran the entire 10K, not even stopping or slowing down at the water stations. I brought my own water. After the Mizuno run thing, I wanted to make sure I have my own water. I probably need to buy a hydration belt next time instead of carrying a bottle.

The race course was also different from the normal fort route but it's almost similar to the course during the MH Urbanathlon last year. Anyway, running towards the 4K mark, I saw the baldrunner who was already on his way back. Shortly after, I saw the bullrunner but without her race bib.

When I crossed the finish line, the race clock time was 32:36. It was definitely a wrong time. I couldn't have ran that fast. I'm waiting for the results to come out so that I could check if I improved from my last run. But I am still happy that I didn't need to walk at any point during the run. That's already an improvement for me.

Here are my running buddies Alvin and Wa. This is our second consecutive run. They are participating in the Global run next week but I'll be in Baguio during that time. Too bad! Have a fun run guys!

April 12: Trisha leaves for Baguio

This is a sequel or continuation to my earlier post. We woke up early today because Tet's mom came to fetch her sister Len and Trisha. Len was going to spend a part of her vacation in Baguio and Trisha will be going with them for a week without us.

But before they left for Baguio, we went duty free shopping first (we almost won a brand new Toyota Vios) and ate at Dampa Paranaque (yummy lemon butter shrimp at Alban's). It was Trisha's first time to go anywhere without us. Surprisingly, according to Tet's mom and sister, Trisha did not cry. They said that there were times when she would call/find us but that was it. It's probably because she's already familiar with her Lola, Tito and Titas.

Anyway, when they left, we went for a fitting at Eric Pineda's shop in QC for my sister's wedding. Then bought some fruits at the Suki Market. After that, Tet had a haircut at Fix Salon in Serendra. We then had dinner at Mezzaluna (their US prime rib eye steak is delicious!) before we met up with our friends Tony and Hazel.

Our initial plan was to have coffee but we ended up eating Halo-Halo at Razon's and Pares at Goodah! It's ironic that with the number of coffee shops in Manila, it's so difficult to decide which coffee shop to go to. Hehe.. We went home past 12MN and I slept past 1AM. I still needed to wake up early the next morning for my run.

April 11: Len's Arrival

Len (Tet's sister) is here for a month-long vacation. We were excited to see her because she was gone for quite a long time. She left for Dubai when Tet was just 2 months pregnant. And Trisha is now 17 months old. So it has been 24 months or 2 years since we last saw her.

We left early to fetch her from the NAIA Terminal 1 airport (her ETA was 9:55PM) but her flight was delayed so we had to wait for a few hours. We waited at an area near the airport and since there was nothing else to do, we decided to have a late night snacks at Shakey's. When we finally got her text message that she had arrived, we proceeded to the Arrivals section but got stuck in traffic. It was already past 11PM but there were still so many cars. Arrgh!

When we finally reached the Arrivals, we quickly loaded all her luggages and left the airport. I think we arrived home around 12MN already. We got our 'pasalubongs' (Thanks Len!) and then we slept. The following day was still going to be a busy day...

Chon and Lucy

I was surprised (in a good way) to receive an email today from my closest friends who are now residing in the US. I haven't heard from them for a long time and it was nice to get an email from them.

Thanks Chon and Lucy for the mail! I hope to see you guys soon! God bless!

April Summer!

There are a lot of non-work stuff lined up for us this April namely:

• 11 - Len's coming home for a month-long vacation after 2 years in Dubai.
• 12 - Going to duty free and a fitting appointment with Eric Pineda for my sister's wedding.
• 12 to 17 - Trisha will be staying in Baguio for a week away from us. This is a first. I'll surely miss her.
• 13 - On your mark run at the FORT. Hopefully I'll be able to register.
• 18 to 20 - We will be in Baguio for Cai's graduation and to fetch Trisha.
• 20 - Tet is flying to Singapore for a training. (ok.. so this is work stuff)
• 21 to 24 - Tet will be in Singapore which leaves Trisha and I alone.
• 25 - Martin's Birthday blowout.
• 27 - My sister's wedding.

This is one of the busiest summers for us. All our weekends are almost already booked. I hope we still have time to go to the beach before summer ends.

About SCTEX and other Government Infrastructure Projects

Ever since I learned about the construction of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway or SCTEX, I've been curious about it. Last Holy Week, I discovered that they soft opened it to ease the traffic since a lot of people were going north for the long holiday.

At that time, on our way to Baguio, I didn't know that SCT stood for Subic-Clark-Tarlac so I didn't dare use the highway fearing that we might end up going in the wrong direction. After I came back from Baguio, I googled it and found several information about SCTEX.

Now this is what I know about SCTEX:

• It's a 93.77 kilometer highway which is divided into two sections.
• The Subic-Clark section stretches 50.5 kilometers.
• The Clark-Tarlac section stretches 43.27 kilometers.
• It costs over Php27 billion to construct.
• It's to officially open by mid-April this year.

More information can be found here. But I wasn't able to find the information that I wanted. Since we travel mostly to Baguio, I was trying to find out if I could take the SCTEX so that I could skip the traffic in the Tarlac area. I basically wanted to know where in Tarlac the SCTEX ends.

Anyway, I also heard that SCTEX will be extended up to La Union. I'm not aware of the timing though but if that happens, travel time to Baguio will definitely be faster. 3 hours maybe? Now that's something to look forward to. I hope it pushes through and that no controversies will come out of it.

While searching the net regarding SCTEX, I discovered that there are actually a lot of similar types of projects that the government is undertaking. The ones I found were:

• C-5 expressway project(NLEX-SLEX link)
• SLEX extension project (we all know this)
• Manila-Cavite toll expressway project(R-1 expressway extension)
• Northrail project

I hope all of these government projects finishes because all these infrastructures would really benefit our economy. I'm not a fan of President GMA but kudos to her for these projects. I just hope there won't be corruption involved. I wish!

MH All-Terrain Race 2008

I just got my April copy of Men's Health Philippines and they already have an ad for the 3rd MH All-Terrain Race. It will be on June 15, same venue as last year at Timberland Heights, San Mateo Rizal.

This is one of the races I look forward to every year simply because it's different from other runs which is normally done on road pavements. This one is more challenging because it's on different terrains.

I hope this year men's health gives out singlets instead of T-shirts. Or if they decide to give T-shirts, I hope it's dri-fit type of material similar to the ones given by Mizuno during the Mizuno Run.

Men's Health folks.. I hope you get to read this. hehe..

Meanwhile, there are runs to look forward to in April and May.

PSE Bull Run results

I know this is late but I just came upon the results of the Jan 27 PSE Bull Run from pinoyrunner.com and my official time is 28:22 for 5K. Not bad at all.

I had tried searching the internet for the results days after the run but was not able to find it so I'm really glad to have known my time, not that it matters now. This was my first run for the year so I'm really happy that my time was under 30 minutes. =)

My Never Going Away Back Pain Part 2..

I wrote about my never going away back pain a few weeks ago and after I wrote it I went to see a doctor because I couldn't tolerate the pain anymore. The doctor diagnosed the pain I was feeling as a "Myofascial Pain Syndrome or MPS". WebMD.com described MPS as below:

"Myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) is a fancy way to describe muscle pain. It refers to pain and inflammation in the body's soft tissues.
Myofascial pain is a chronic condition that affects the fascia (connective tissue that covers the muscles). Myofascial pain syndrome may involve either a single muscle or a muscle group. In some cases, the area where a person experiences the pain may not be where the myofascial pain generator is located. Experts believe that the actual site of the injury or the strain prompts the development of a trigger point that, in turn, causes pain in other areas. This situation is known as referred pain." More of this here.

So it's basically a muscle pain that can be triggered by anything from an improper sleep position to improper posture while in front of a computer. Several days after my visit to the doctor, my wife discovered that the culprit for my pain was the latter. My wife experienced the same pain when she worked from home one time which I also later experienced when I worked from home. I've been working from home once a week for months now and I didn't realize that it was what was causing my back pain. The table and chair we're using to put our laptops is not ergonomic at all.

Anyway, the doctor prescribed medications to help ease the pain which I'd say was very effective. She also advised that I undergo several PT (physical therapy) sessions. I'm down to my last PT session before I go see my doctor again. The pain is almost gone now but it'll come back again, as my doctor says, if I don't do something about correcting the incorrect posture.

It's really difficult to do that especially if it has already become a habit. As the saying goes, "you can't teach an old dog new tricks." hehe.... I'm admitting that I'm old but hey, I can still change.

Trisha's Sick!

Trisha has flu and I'm to blame. She got it from me. I feel bad and guilty that I infected her with my cough and colds. It's so difficult seeing her having a hard time because of her cough and colds. And she doesn't like the taste of her medicine so it's difficult for us to make her take her medications because she vomits everytime she takes them. =(

Her immune system is normally strong so this must be one hell of a virus. I hope and pray that she gets well soon because we can't bear to see her crying because she can't tell us if she feels any pain.

She's been sick since late Tuesday afternoon so we'll bring her to see her doctor tomorrow just to make sure that it's just a flu and nothing more serious.

Mizuno Run - Most Memorable Run!

This was one of the races I was looking forward to this year and I'm glad that I could say that "I survived the Mizuno Run!". This was not my first 10K run but this was definitely the most memorable. And for a number of reasons:

1. I almost didn't make it to the race. I was down with cough and colds days before the race and was not really feeling well. Worse was, a day before race day, LBM struck! But God was on my side, my tummy was better by nightfall.


2. We were late for the 10K run. Everyone was already gone by the time we arrived. When we left the starting line, it was already being announced that some of the 10K runners were on their way back. According to Alvin and Wa, we left the starting line 32 minutes after.


3. My ipod shuffle died on me. I had just passed the 3K mark when my ipod lost its power. Drained! I panicked for awhile because I use the ipod to keep my mind from counting how many kilometers more I have left before reaching the finish line. So I had to improvise, instead of listening to music, I just had to admire the view and focus on my running.


4. No water in the water stations! I've read alot of complaints about this in other blogs and I would have to agree with them. Running without water is really difficult especially with the summer heat. Good thing, I decided to bring a bottle of Gatorade with me. I don't normally bring any liquids but this time I had to because I knew I was still kinda sick. I don't think I'd finished the race without my Gatorade.


5. The unusual number of cars on the road. I don't mind having cars on the road as long as they (organizers) ensure that the runners are still safe.


6. Saw some famous runners namely the BullRunner, BaldRunner and Sen. Pia Cayetano. Wa and I was able to have our pictures taken with Sen. Pia Cayetano. Thanks Senator Pia!

7. Cheating! I personally witnessed this. I saw one of the guys handing out ropes give a guy and a girl their ropes even before they reach the 10K turnaround point. Honesty please.


8. When I crossed the finish line, I made sure to check my time. My unofficial time was 1:40:25. This is not my normal time. Please see #2.


9. The BullRunner had a link of the results in her blog. My official time was 1:28:57. I have no idea how they came up with this time. But.. good for me. hehe..

10. The Mizuno shirt was really good but it was a little big for me. They only had one size and it was large.


11. Got even more sick after the run and had to take a 2-day sick leave from work. Bad.. bad.. bad..

I'm still happy that I was able to participate in the first Mizuno run. I hope they do better next time. Run 100%

Our 100th month Anniversary

It's 100 for us!

Tet and I are celebrating our 100th month anniversary today, from the time she said 'yes' and we became a couple. We were supposed to celebrate with dinner and spa but because I am sick for days now, we had to cancel. Too bad! =(

Hon, here's a short message for you:

Happy 100th month anniversary to us! We've really come a long way. I'm so happy we're still together and that our love is stronger than ever. Looking forward to hundreds of months more with you. Let's go out and celebrate when I'm better.

I Love You! *mwah*