Group Buying Sites that I DONT TRUST

Megadeals.ph

Who would forget the online discount ad that made them infamous, the KFC ad which was so deceiving I actually purchased four vouchers! (or baka na-excite lang ako masyado sa discount na nakita ko. Lesson learned, read 100x terms and conditions before clicking the "Buy" button)

Anyhow, being an example of a deceiving group buying site, Megadeals does it again with this ad:

Did not even mentioned (well its in the terms and condition pa) that these products are Singapore replicas! Need I mention more, here's a screenshot of a customer already confused about the deal, who directed her question to Off the Racks via Facebook:

Need I mention more? You be the judge. Again, before getting too excited about group buying site deals, we bargain hunters must read terms and conditions 100 times for our own money's safety.

Dealspot.ph
I can't bear what Dealspot.ph "bright minds" has done to make it look like they are concerned with the recent Typhoon Sending victims. See for yourself:

They made it a marketing campaign to be able to reach their desired page likes in Facebook. The nerve. Mga opportunista. It sends chills down my spine that they have the guts to send enewsletters to their subscribers bearing pictures of victims (as seen above) and yet also have the courage to ask that we like their facebook page before they donate a certain amount of money to a certain foundation. Shame on them. 

After several days (maybe karma struck them) they finally realized what they are bargaining for is stupid they sent another newsletter bearing these words:

 I hope they also included a screen shot of the check they donated because I honestly dont trust dealspot.ph!

Aside from this, their offerings are all items that you can buy from Divisoria/Baclaran and are sold from Online Shops. Once they posted a product allegedly on a 40% (or something) but when I checked the online seller, they are actually selling it at a much cheaper price! so why bother purchasing it from dealspot.ph and why not buy directly from the online sellers (I think Im pertaining to Twilight Forever).


Lastly, I unsubscribed to their enewsletters (since I hate their product offerings) but still I was able to receive another mail from them! what a crappy website.

Will you trust these websites?

You can read/subscribe to all group buying sites/online deals by checking this blog post and see for yourself who makes into your NOT TRUSTED GROUP BUYING SITE list.

my new home we've been building for the past two years!

yes I was shocked to realize (after reading this post from my old blog) that my dad bought our house in Citta Italia not last month, not last year but last two years! specifically last July 30, 2009! More than two years have passed and well I can say, I haven't moved in still to my perfect dream house.. I am really excited for that day to come.

Why Citta Italia?
Well, I did not liked what Las Pinas has become... although it was made more convenient because of transportation, the people living there were from various backgrounds (some have unpleasant BGs) and I dont feel that much safe anymore in Las Pinas.

Aside from the fact that Jed also resides in Citta, hehehe, I loved crowd there.. Mostly young and energetic, less chismosas because the houses are not near each other and most houses are owned by OFWs/Seaman. I am proud to say that my Daddy is one of the few who is a local businessperson and yet afforded a house in Citta Italia (Crown Asia). So if you like to be dubbed as mayaman, better choose to live in a Crown Asia community. Kung low profile lang, pwede na Camella or Profriends.

My Dream House
I can't thank the LORD more enough that he has given me through my dad a house at the age of 24. I don't even have a high paying job and it saved me the time and effort to save up for a house!

Everything was made according to my specifications.. I am thankful to my Dad that he allowed me to choose everything from the tiles, to the furnitures, to the mattresses and curtains to the plants and landscaping! Don't think that we are uber rich, maybe this is the reason why it took us more than two years to build this house. Siyempre pag may budget lang.

Here is the original look of the house:

from that look to this

bright and sunny orange! bwahahah! i hate the color but it spells happiness so keri narin!

All construction and installation were done by my dad's construction arm. If you are interested of having your home renovated at an affordable rate, you can contact me at #0906 589 28 62 (Diane Gervacio).

As for the exteriors:

We can customize gates, windows and all other metal requirements for your homes (since my dad has an industrial manufacturing and fabricating firm!)

Here are the unfinished interiors of our home:

Kitchen with black granite counter top and flat stove with exhaust

Light olive green and yellow, a very relaxing view that makes my boyfriend, Jed, inspired to cook ASAP!

walkway towards the dirty kitchen

I have yet to take photos of our living room :)

the furnitures are inspired by Kenneth Cobonpue's masterpieces: Abaca pieces against modern installations like flat screen tvs and other metal inspired decorations

Recently we had the garden landscaped and though simple, it emanates a very relaxing, zen feel to the house

landscaping done by Ms. Mely Chua of Wayside Garden - 09178322061

very accommodating, has numerous discounts and freebies (like indoor plants, water jars, stones)

I still wanted an indoor glass wall fountain but it costs MUCH! (according to my research)

Ready to Use vs. Custom Made

Some rooms had built-in dressers and cabinets but I bought my cabinet from Puregold Price Club. Almost same quality as that sold in SM Our Home but definitely much affordable. I also bought my display cabinet and Flatscreen TV rack from Puregold.

But let me warn you, in my pursuit of saving, I had my bed custom made by a local furniture shop in Cavite named Lady Remy's (near SM Bacoor). There's nothing wrong in buying beds from local manufacturers since bed prices in SM or Blims are really expensive, but Lady Remy's have the worst quality of work, no craftsmanship, the paint of my bed have bubbles! When they delivered it (late for 3 weeks as agreed upon) they were not even careful of carrying it upstairs so my yellow walls have brown paint marks on it because of they men who brought the bed to my room. To compensate for the hassle they have brought upon me, they told me that they'll provide a free side table but again to my dismay, they never contacted me back after delivery. My 21,000 is not worth the hassle they gave me.

Thank GOD I can just make use of fabolous bed mattresses and comforters, just like what I did. I bought animal print mattress for my room and a fuchsia (tama ba spelling) comforter from SM!

and that ends my short story on my project in the making.

Simbang Gabi @ Ayala Triangle + Symphony of Lights

I was really contemplating how will I push myself to get up in bed tomorrow, early in the morning, to attend the first of nine mornings of Simbang Gabi. Fortunately, Ate Boni, my dance mate from EMCI asked me to attend the anticipated mass in Ayala Triangle.

I tagged Ni (another dance mate) to join us and forgot she was Christian until it was homily portion. haha! Will get to the story later.

One of the most amazing thing happened to me, after about three years working in Makati, its my first time to witness the "Symphony of Lights" in Ayala Triangle. They played Christmas songs while the the Christmas Lights hanging from the trees danced to the tune of it.

It was magical. I took a video of it but since I have no time uploading, here are some beautiful YouTube links to watch:

Link 1    Link2    Link3

Here is the official poster with the sponsors for the Symphony of Lights.

Hearing Mass with a Christian
I just laughed off when Ni started shaking his head out of disagreement with the priest while he was saying the homily. It was a certain father Gerry/Gerald who after a five-minute homily about how Santa Clause stole the limelight from Jesus Christ and how US commercialism brought about Santa, he gave us a ten minute plug (with powerpoint presentation) of his books about Christmas.

I was a bit shameful about this for Ni but good thing she was just laughing about it and was totally cool with us dragging her to the mass.

Nevertheless, I started the first night for Simbang Gabi!
And I am completely happy about it. I wish to complete the nine mornings and wish for a better 2012 for me and my family.

How about you? Are you targeting on completing the mass? What will you wish for then?

D is for Dandelion (me love it!)

I love the dandelion flower... for the love of it, I even had it tattooed on my left back shoulder area..(sentimental reasons)

The tattoo was done by someone unknown, redone by Mark Batas Rodriguez from Wild Ones Tattoo