Earth Hour Philippines 2010 - How much did I save last night?

It was my first time to participate in this activity since it started in 2007 in Sidney Australia. It was a good thing the Barangay Officials went around to remind everybody of the event, not everyone participated though, or should I say, not everyone cared enough. Well, lots of people still do not know what is happening around even if it is already happening in front of their eyes.

So how much did I save? Not much. With only very few lights and appliances at the house, I would say only about 2 to 3 pesos, maybe less. You too can estimate your savings. Here is how you can do it:

1. Find your appliances' or lights' kW rating on the appliance plate usually located at the back.
2. Add the kW rating of all appliances and lights turned off during the Earth Hour.
3. Multiply to 1 hour and you get total kWh saved.
4. Check your electric bill to estimate the cost per kWh. You may estimate cost/kWh by dividing your bill by the total kWh consumed. You should get around 8 to 9 pesos per kWh or at least near these amounts.
5. Multiply result of number three by what you get in number 4.

Mathematically, your savings should be

• Money Saved = Total kW * Hours Turned Off * Cost Per kWh

And your cost per kWh should be

• Cost Per kWh = Bill Amount / kWh Consumed

So how much did you save? Probably not enough to justify an hour of darkness, risking mosquito bites outside, and missing Pilipinas Got Talent on TV.

Well, the Earth Hour is not about saving money at all. It is about making a statement to the whole world (including your unaware neighbors) and to the leaders of countries throughout the planet that we as individuals and businesses are willing to contribute in saving the Earth. Cooling the Planet Blog explains Earth Hour in more details. You may also check the Philippine Earth Hour Official Website here.

Lessons from a First Time Home Buyer

Just reserved my first real property about a month ago. It took about 2 years, a dozen of agents and brokers, and a lot of learning before finally landing on that decision. It was a really tough ride with a variety of agents from the start to finish. In the end, I researched things myself and finally got what I wanted.

Here is a list of what I learned:

1. Choose your agent well. Many agents would get you to trippings and show you what they wanted you to buy, but not necessarily what you need or wanted. It would seem difficult but you should try to find an agent who understands that the reason he/she gets commissions from what you buy is because he/she is helping you find you what you want or need. There is no such thing as a free lunch, one has to add in value in return. Evey body works as they say.

2. Buy a scaled map to get a good grasp of the location. Never trust location maps in developer's flyers as they seem to always make landmarks and cities closer to their projects. You may also take advantage of online maps. Two of which have helped me a lot are as follows:

• Wikimapia
• Google Maps

Nevertheless, the hard printed maps available in National Bookstore or at SM's Kultura Filipino still proves handy. By the way, most Metro Manila Maps already includes part of Cavite specially Bacoor and Imus areas. So if you have a Metro Manila Map, you probably do not need to buy another one for the Cavite area.

3. If you are a commuter, choose locations based on accessibility to public transport, not on distance alone. There maybe housing developments that are close to where you work but are only accessible to tricyles. A 500-meter tricycle ride could cost more than a 5-kilometer ride on an air-conditioned bus. In the long run, you will end up unnecessarily spending more on your transportation cost, unless you are planning to get your own transport in few years time.

4. Be honest when it comes to your capacity to pay. Some buyers would manipulate their payslips or certificates of employment just so they can become eligible for a higher loan amount. This is just too risky. Banks and financial institutions check on your payment capacity for your own benefits too. They do not want you to struggle financially later on. Do not feel bad if they tell you you are not eligible for a certain amount of loan. Believe me, it is for your own good.

5. Cheapest is not always best. If you find a property that is not selling, there are probably reasons why it is not selling. Watch out!

6. Learn some financial calculations. Excel is a good tool for this one. However, you can also make use of some loan and amortization calculators from the following sites:

• Pag-ibig Amortization Calculator
• HGC Amortization Calculator

Also, if you have Landbank Internet Banking Account, they also have loan calculation feature inside. You may also check websites of other banks and financial institutions for these features..

6. Always check out for the developer's reputation. Search the internet, join forums, ask questions.

7. Do your own research. As I have mentioned in no. 1 above, the agents are there to help you. Use them as much as they are willing to help. However, it is always to your advantage if you keep yourself open to other sources of information. The internet is an infinite source of information nowadays. All you need to do is tap it.

Anne Curtis Wardrobe Malfunction - Damage Control

Wardrobe malfunction - ano yon? :)

Well, the story goes.... Anne was performing on-stage in Boracay on a sexy bikini when she accidentally exposed one of her breasts... the result? Of course!!! photos and videos suddenly flooded the net the way Ondoy flooded the entire metropolitan...

What should Anne's camp do? Nothing! Why? Simply because there is virtually nothing that could be done about it. Hitting back at those who scattered those photos or videos will only make things worse. Actually, it is very much like running after a snake that bit you... it will only drive the poison to your heart.... So let it go, choose your reactions well and let time do its magical healing powers. You have done nothing wrong so there is no need to explain and hitting back will be completely pointless.

Earthquake in Manila?

They say it was 6.1 but how come I did not feel anything? I'm in the 17th floor!!! Oh, I was having my lunch break during that time so I was probably in the fast food, on my way back to the office, or in the elevator. Nevertheless, if it was 6.1, I should have felt the quake in any of these places. Wait!... can you feel a 6.1 earthquake when you are in an elevator? Hmmm...

Googled the news immediately and found out it was only intensity 3 here in Makati. So I was probably in the street or in the moving elevator when the earthquake occurred. It is hard to feel an intensity 3 earthquake in the ground level, right? By the way, according to ABS-CBN news the center of the quake is located about 100 miles west of Batangas, probably that is where the earthquake is at intensity 6.1.

My Old Blog - My Old Self

I was browsing through my old e-mail accounts and found out I still have this blog that I left out about 2 years ago. I skimmed through the blog posts and couldn't help smiling how young I was when I started this blog. Not so much younger in age, since it was only 2 years ago... but young in terms of maturity.... I felt I am already 10 years older when it was actually only 2 years ago. The first posts look like I was a trying hard profession-saver hoping that people who matters would read my blog and take actions based on it. My honest opinion for now is that it looks like I was only whining and couldn't help smile at it.

I was trying to blame everyone else, the university people who came up with the agricultural engineering course, the older agricultural engineers who could not help me find a glamorous job before, my classmates and jobless agricultural engineering colleague who do not have the same views as me :) ... I was blaming everybody.... in fact, I was angry... not realizing that everything that happened to me were all fruits of my own decisions and actions. Whew! What a life in a two-year journey!!! :)

Now is the time to laugh at yesterday's problems... time to move on... haha!