A Conversation on Life's Realizations

Last week I had a meaningful conversation with someone close to me.
For privacy, I won't put anything that would identify them since this blog is tied to my personal account.
We mostly shared about insights in life.
While some of them you've probably heard of already.  Well, it's just nice to be reminded once in a while when everything in the world deceives and betrays you.

The need to be accepted even if...
Sometimes we find ourselves having the desire to belong to something for different reasons.
Having a social community is often times healthy.
But what if the need is so great that you find yourself influenced by others' stereotypes and compromise your real self just to maintain the peace and still belong?
Forcing yourself to hang out even though deep inside you feel it's a waste of time, money and tolerating the belittlement they make you feel as well as criticism about their daily lives.
Fearing what they speak of you, giving your time to feed that paranoia.

Being strong with your own identity
As soon as you ask yourself, "What's the point?" then your mind starts to shift differently and be open to realizations.


Upon hearing these sharings, I suddenly began to recall this Bible verse I've read before.
Proverbs 4:23 "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."
-It simply means to be careful of influences to your mind as it determines your course of action.


The door for change
If you want change in your life, you need to do something.
Stay in the covers and no one can see your worth.

The need for a positive haven
The outside world is harsh.  We all have heard about the positive thinking hype.
But it can be difficult when you're facing the world alone.
It's best to find other positive people who share your goals to empower you.
Your mood can make you like or dislike something.

Success
Success begins with yourself, you have to want it to take action.

Struggles and Dilemmas
You're not alone in your struggles, most people won't show the bad things in their life and keep up a good front.

When life brings you down, what are the life changing realizations you've had?

Still Love Your Perfect Dad

Qualities of a perfect dad. What are they?
In TV and movies, they often show dads who are supportive, patient, kind, and loving towards their children's development and safety.

But there's also the popular scenario where parents are or going through divorce, kids walking out when each of them tries to see someone else to move on with their lives, the nagging, the screaming, the hurting and everyone wants to quit, just like that.

But in truth, how many dads are actually good role models?

My love for Dad
One day, God revealed to me that I still hold all the bitterness I have for my dad in a test of faith.

It happened on a normal Sunday while on the way to the Church.

One of the behaviors of my dad was to either instantly switch the conversation topic or pretend he didn't hear anything by looking around then commenting something else even when you're addressing him.

Slightly upset but not wanting to cause an argument, I slammed the door a little forceful than usual and still ended up what I was trying to avoid. Rofl.
Pissed, he screamed and left us with the crowd wondering and watching.

Walking towards church,I ended up furious, murmuring curses and venting my anger to my mom.

Can you imagine how ironic it was? Going to church carrying anger when Christianity teaches:

"Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as yourself."


"But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell. (Matthew 5:22 NLT)"

I have been reading the book of Matthew lately as long advised by my friend and group leader. That last verse was a direct slap to my face.

I felt so much like a hypocrite and ashamed of attending Church. Thought of almost giving up of continuing any religion altogether.

But, I had no choice, for I invited my cousin to join me that Sunday.

I jokingly thought to myself, did God plant an insurance to keep me going? I never thought of inviting my cousin until the day before.

God's spoke?
We had a family gathering afterwards for it was a day before Chinese New Year and an advanced celebration of my aunt's birthday.
Afterwards, me and my family headed to Greenbelt to catch some movies.

It was during this time I heard a compelling voice within me that said, "This is the perfect time to apologize"
I felt I couldn't resist, so I swallowed my pride, and told my dad I'm sorry, and before I said anything further, he just asked, "Where do you want to eat"
Part of me wanted to laugh and part of me just got reminded of his annoying behavior.

But this time, it didn't matter so much and figured, it's probably his way of expressing "it's alright I still love you."

The history
When I was younger, I had so much hatred for my dad. I didn't want to see his face so much that when he arrived home, I would close my room door to avoid seeing him.

I had even visualized seeing him stabbed to death by someone and in a coffin.

You must be horrified to see such hatred.

And I am horrified to find out how horrible I am to come up with such thoughts.

As a child, I was sometimes beaten by the belt, leaving marks until the next day or two. My classmates even asked what they were and I didn't know what to answer. I still remember how tired I felt after such incident.

Sometimes while in the car, he threatened me to get off and leave me on the streets.

The most unforgettable experience was being dragged in or out of the room, yanking my hair which left me crying all night.

These happened as early as 4 to 5 years old and I still remember them til this day.

a broken image
As I grew older, I came to know certain realities and wondered how my mom ever coped with such a person.

His favorite
My dad loves alcohol. He loves it so much that quite often he comes home drunk. It was even more amazing how he still manages to get home.

His best friends
Television and food are his best friends. He could be a couch potato all day. Think Homer Simpson.  Yes even the outfit as well.  (just the bottom one).  Watching The Simpsons was always a delight.  I even remember being scolded by my mom for still watching cartoons when she expects me to watch informative shows until one day, she found it relevant with her life and watched together with us from there on. rofl

No time
Dad prioritized going out with his friends first than family. Doesn't get involved much on knowing who we are and what we do.

Negative and critical
My dad's mindset is unique.  He always nagged me over and over to strive for honors.  That in itself may sound good, but he would always compare us with other kids saying, "Look at person A, 1st honor, Person B, 2nd honor, you don't have honor."
I guess this type of negative motivation can be a challenge for some people to prove them wrong but not for me during that time.
Why?

1. I hated the fact that he expects me to listen to him when he doesn't really get involved with what I do.
2. He just dictates and doesn't show any of the attitudes he advises making him a hypocrite.

One night, I really got pissed off and replied back, "Why do you keep on comparing, do you want me to compare you to the other dads in this neighborhood?"
and he replied "Di bo papa lo" (You don't have a dad anymore).  It was his usual line to end the argument and passing the blame to me as if it were my fault to cause this whole thing.

Defeated and stubborn attitude
Everyday he would comment about how the world is hard, how business is bad, and other things that convinces him to not do anything anymore or even try.  The more you convince him, the more he'll find reasons and excuses.

The Dad effect
As a result, I constantly worry what I should do in life after school.  I became quite withdrawn and isolated myself from most people.  Having a foundation of negative thinking will certainly result to depression and I've struggled with it constantly.  I'd arrive home from school crying, thinking of painless ways just to end my life. But I wasn't ready to face the outcome of the pain back then.

Before this turns into an all drama and vent post, you may be wondering what's my purpose for enumerating the past when I should be moving on with my own life?

Because, I just want to share that he's still a perfect dad.

Wait.. are you serious? perfect?

God's perfect time to save me.
In time of my greatest despair, I was fortunate to have a very good friend who invited me to a weekly group gathering, studying the bible and sincerely praying for each other.  It gave me hope in life and the start of my healing process.

So what have I learned?
I'm grateful to God that despite these hurts, I am protected by His grace.

Because of my dad's negative and critical mindset, I learned to keep in mind the words I use so that I won't insult or discourage anyone for I know how sucky it can be.

I also saw and experienced how a defeated mindset can paralyze you, stopping you from ever growing.

It's not a good feeling to be always compared with other people. Focus on discovering and celebrating your own unique strength and abilities.

Instead of viewing unspent time to you as neglect, enjoy it as having free time to yourself.

Patience and looking beyond anger - when dealing with an angry person, be calm, be quiet. If you must respond, speak gently. Anger is a temporary and abnormal state of mind. Hold your ground and say to yourself not to take it personally. What matters is what the person does afterwards for it will reveal his true character. The solution.

Above all else, always rely on God. He is the best father you could ever have. We can't comprehend how His method makes sense but rest on His faithful heart and timing that it's for our best.

It's also in God's hands to transform people. You can only pray for them and control your own heart.

There are no perfect things nor people, but you can choose to grow a perfect heart to deal with everyday life.

And lastly, each one is a work in progress. Just remember to push 'up'

I can't say I'm completely strong now for I can still feel very insecure at times. But I hold on to this:

"And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. (Ezekiel 36:26 NLT)"

Dad today
Has my dad changed?
Gradually, he's a work in progress.

What is your idea of a perfect dad?

Next Fall - by Repertory Philipines

What would you believe?

There are people who believe in God and people who simply don't.  But what happens when a devoted Christian man, goes into a relationship with another man of no religion?


The love story of Luke and Adam
The story revolves around noticing and questioning Christian behaviors with each other while still in a very intimate relationship.  (kissing scenes included)

Memorable and most interesting discussions in the play were:

• Adam questions Luke as to how he could be a devoted Christian and be gay if being gay was a sin?  Luke simply answered that everyone is saved through faith and accepting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  But his sin is only part of being human.

• Adam is bothered that Luke prays after having sex with him.
• Existence of God, Hell and Science, who wins?
• How people can be saved?
• How Luke's last moments made Adam believe (but on what? it leaves an open ending.  watch it and tell us what you think)

It's not entirely centered on Christian faith but also the real struggles these people face in life.

Funny, entertaining, and insightful, Next Fall creatively tells this story of awareness.

The talented cast and director

Next Fall runs from Jan 13 - Feb 5 2012 at Onstage Greenbelt.

Visit www.repertory.ph for show times and tickets

Many thanks to Joy for this chance.

The Quicksand Trance and the Just in time Rescue Branch

A much delayed post.

Over the last few weeks, I felt I stepped into an emotional quicksand.
It wasn't something new. I guess each and everyone have their own moments of weakness and it's probably one of those days of the month that makes it worse.

So what do you do? Phone a friend? Ask Facebook? Or 50 searches and 50 answers in Google?

And when you do try to talk about it, quite often, a "what happened" phrase readily greets you.
Of course!

Not that it's wrong or anything. But there are times when you just suddenly feel "everything doesn't make sense anymore"
At least to you that is.

- you question your own existence
- you don't really know what you want anymore or grew tired of not getting to what you want for you're already unsure of what you want in the first place.

I hate to admit, it's quite pathetic to hit that thought in your life. Especially when you're in your late twenties.

I lay so defeated in tears
I was tired hitting this point all over again
I questioned my being and feeling disappointed with myself

As a result, I felt so burned out with every activity whether it was work or play. Like a zombie on autopilot, performing what I need to do, acting like nothing's wrong while my soul tries to tear my heart apart.

I eventually gave up reading the bible and listening to spiritual podcasts daily for I felt that continuing with it was pointless if I could fall back to this state again
I avoided my spiritual group meetings and Sunday service.
I didn't want to let anyone talk to me further about God or anymore scriptures.
I didn't make excuses either and told them bluntly that I'm spiritually burnt out.

Redemption- How God made a way

After a few weeks and one innocent Sunday, we had a family gathering together with my cousins and relatives. It was a grand lunch buffet at Circles restaurant, Shangri-la, Makati.
It was possibly the best lunch buffet I've ever had and I truly enjoyed the experience.

salmon and oysters were delightfully fresh

foie gras!

Not really expecting to go anywhere after the feast since I'm so burnt out, the conversation somehow shifted to my cousins goal to fulfill life balance and how she was looking for the right spiritual community to grow in.

I simply mentioned the church I used to go to which is Victory, Greenhills and she became quite excited about it saying that her friends are also recommending her to join.

Seeing her curious and enthusiastic, I now find myself accompanying them to show what Victory Church is all about.

They were in for a surprise!
It wasn't any typical Catholic church where people read in monotonous tones and sang the same old solemn songs.

Everything was so much alive and beaming with energy. From the band, to the singers, the lights and the pastor's voice.

It was a new and life changing experience for them to know that such a lively church exists.

The topic for that day was Healing - how to claim God's promises for abundant health in your life.

I thought it was just going to be a simple listen-only service. Little did I know we were going to discover how to become healers as Jesus intended it to be.
How?
By pairing everyone and guiding us step by step to perform healing on each other.

The promise
Jesus has died for our sins and redeemed us of all kinds of sickness.

Jesus used the power of the Holy Spirit to heal believers who seek Him in faith

We as believers can also heal others in Jesus name.

The healing process
Jesus commanded healing.
He didn't say lengthy prayers that seemed like pleading or begging.

Since there were three of us, I let my cousins pair themselves and I paired up with a new acquaintance named 'Sally'

Each person will reveal to the other what sort if sickness or ailment they are currently facing. And each person will command healing to each other.

The prayer
Lay your hands over the area where healing is needed
With conviction and faith, say out
"In Jesus name, (your sickness), I rebuke you. Amen"

As simple as that.

After the activity, A lot of people claimed to feel better and were sharing their experiences with the pastor. I became concerned if my cousins would find this practice very odd since it was their first time attending a Christian service. But instead, they also claimed to have felt better and feel some sort if healing.

For myself, I requested my slight neck pain and emotional pain to be healed.

My neck did feel better. I felt a soft electrifying sensation in my neck and the pain subsided.

As for my emotional pain, I can't really say it has healed me completely (yet) but i came to realize that I must not completely give up seeking God's word and that life burn out I've been feeling for the past few weeks have somehow faded.
Well, at least enough to keep me going and believing again.

And Sally, my healing acquaintance whispered to me,
"whatever you are going through
God now sets you free
For He wants to fill and heal your heart"

Thoughts After
I've never encountered such deep application of prayer and faith in Victory Church. It was that one rare service I could have missed if not for my cousin's burning curiosity.

After sharing this story to my friend, she revealed to me that
"God really loves and cares for you
He wants you to be free from bondages you are in.
He wants you to experience life to the full.
Even though you forget about God. He finds a way to pursue you because hat is how much He loves you."

For emotional pain-
"When we want to uproot deep emotional pain, we can't do it ourselves. It takes time and we need to rely on God's grace and strength to fight the battle."

"I'm amazed how God worked on your life that day."

"Christ already won the battle for you. Trust Him completely"

"Surround yourself with people who bring you up"

This ends my quicksand trance and continuation of my journey with faith and love.

I am saved.

I know it's not easy and it's a process.

Are you able to relate to feeling stuck like a quicksand trance? How did you overcome it?

My Fasting and Quiet Time Diary

Growing up a Catholic, fasting wasn't something new to me but to this date, I've never really practiced it nor found the point for it.  I still remember the days our religion teacher was teaching us ways how to fast, but never really explaining what it was for.

This year, I'm undertaking something new to me, encouraged by Victory , a Christian Church I regularly participate just last year.  Every start of the year, they practice a 7-day fasting and prayer, spending quiet time focusing on scripture, reflection and setting faith goals for the year.

After all these years, why now?
I came to a tipping point in life where I wanted to seek divine guidance in my life's direction.  Have you ever asked yourself if the life you're living right now is the way that it should be despite when your life looks and seems okay?  Or maybe, the thinking, Surely, there must be more to life than the usual cycle.

It seemed like the best time to take a short break, emptying myself from being myself

My journey begins...I will document each day but publish it when the final day comes :)


Day 1: 
I started making a list of faith goals and prayers for myself, family, friends, relatives, and also a list I'm grateful for the past years.  I actually felt guilt in the process and realized I could have been selfish at times.
Fasting sounds so easy I thought, I failed Day 1 by half and hope to make it up for Day 2.

Message:  Seek the true word.

Day 2: 
I felt more lost and confused, or rather restless, and impatient after writing down my faith goals.  I also felt regret undertaking this practice and thought maybe I should just quit the idea.
I got depressed, I got bored and thought maybe I'm doing it wrong since it's making me more upset.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to relax and re-read the day's reading.

Message: Accepting Christ is having a new heart, losing our mood for sin.


Day 3: 
Sensing I'm about to call it quits, the title read, "Keep the Faith".  I thought about not publishing this post anymore for my attempt sounded really pathetic.
I realize I give up easily when I do things myself and thought, it's probably better to have someone to involve with in the process.
I rarely ask for help and that's probably my biggest problem as part of life is being a blessing to others and let others be a blessing to you.
I realize there's also danger when you don't express it somehow for you become self absorbed with all your concerns and fail to care for the people around you.
Asking for help is also an act of humbling down yourself.
I failed Day 3 and thought I should probably give up by now and stop trying but then I thought, it's too far to turn back now.

Message: True enough, the message for the day also asked if you are relying on your own effort to achieve your goals and not involving God.

Day 4:
This phrase certainly caught my attention from another book:
"It could be a behavior you've acquired for self-defense, like compulsive overeating or habitual withdrawal from people."
Interestingly, these two behaviors are mentioned together.
I began to reflect, self defense from.. what exactly?

Message: Pray for deliverance from what's holding you back to reveal your true and wonderful self.

Day 5
I lost focus today and became impatient.  Felt burned out from focusing on reading more, my mind went blank.  I slept late, I became restless.
But somehow, I recalled this verse today from Isaiah 55:2
"Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare"

...and got reminded on the dangers of indulging too much on 'worldly' desires.

Message: Are you too self indulgent? What are the things that you are indulgent and addicted on that's taking your time and energy away from God?

Day 6
Feelings of extreme stupidity and embarrassment sinked in for even attempting this whole thing.  I thought today is the day I drop this whole practice and move on.
But somehow, a recent dream began to surface and encouraged me to fulfill it.
Also, I received the greatest answer that struck me as to why I tried in the first place, through a CCF podcast.

Message: Each of us has something that longs for God.  We think that pursuing the things and ideas we want will make us happy.  But later on, once we get everything, we would always feel that some things are still missing.  We feel a vacuum in our hearts and our soul becomes restless.  We end up feeling empty and ask ourselves, "is that all there is to life?"
The proof that we have a God is the restlessness of the human soul.
The emptiness is real.
What would most people do to address the emptiness?
Live in quiet desperation - getting involved with more hobbies, parties, all kinds of activities but refuse to look within.  Living with no real joy and no real peace.
We were designed by God and for God.
James 4:8 "Draw near to God and he will draw near to you"

"It's not wrong to pursue things and ideas, but don't forget to pursue the most important thing, intimacy with God, before it is too late."

Prayer and Fasting - What's really the big idea?
Fasting reveals the things that controls us.  God does not speak louder when we fast, we begin to hear better.

Galatians 5:26
"Let us not become desirous of empty glory, provoking one another, envying one another"

Day 7
I read the last scriptures, listened to a few podcasts and felt a bit disheartened.
It reminded me of the mistakes I made and how ashamed I felt.  I sort of gave up.
I realize I don't deal with fear too well.  Often times, I just run away instead of being open.

Message: Patient endurance.  Secrets are a burden.

Realizations throughout the experience
God wants us to enjoy His love for us.  If a father can give the best for his son, what more a living God?
Because of free will, we have a choice whether to claim His promises and perfect plan for us.

We are not saved by our own works, but our faith and obedience in God

To live in Christ is to love your neighbor as you would love yourself.

Personal thoughts:
Not really proud.  Half the time I distracted myself in other things.  Might not have dealt with things right.  But I should ask for forgiveness and not be too hard.
Let go of the fears and just get it out there.
There's hope in being renewed.

Have you had breakthroughs after your fasting and prayer experience?

SM Supermall's Yellow Tag Fraud

It's not hard to notice SM Supermalls' aggressiveness holding sale events: Weekend 3-day sales, holiday sales, father's day, mother's day, or any other family day sale and other public holiday sales.  The year's calendar is packed with their sale events.
SM is one of the biggest mall operators in the country.  Just a few days ago I'm appalled by one of their sale strategies that makes them BIG and thought I'd jump into the pool of people discovering 'SM's Yellow Tag Fraud'

I was amazed to find other people who had posted their similar experiences and decided to add mine to the collection.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010 from The Random Me Blog

"I couldn't stand seeing the yellow tag not aligned with the white tag behind--it disturbs my psychological make-up. So I tried removing the yellow tag and guess what I saw! The price on the white tag, which is the same as the yellow tag!!! Both are in 199.75 php!!! I was really startled! I really felt cheated, but what can I do? I couldn't just refund it."

April 7, 2011, from inside my head Blog

Look closely at the 'Before' Price indicated on the yellow tag compared to the white tag

From my personal experience: Sale item at Watson's Store (They don't use yellow tags but they marked it as sale...)

Price Displayed: 179.00

Is that an old price of 159.75??

Fashion Pulis Blog actually got a response from Mark Andrew Scher Sr. Assistant Vice President - Operations SM Department Store Customer Service.  Upon reading the reply, it sounds nothing else than pre-made corporate bullshit as it is still happening today.

So dear shoppers, Here at SM, We've got every fraud for you!

Have you had similar experiences?

Mandarin Language App - Chinese Phonetics by JP Studios

Chinese Language is probably the hardest language to learn.  Just learning how to write Chinese involves memorizing each unique character and you can't cheat your way out by spelling it for there's no simple way to do so.
Aside from the artistic and complicated writing style, pronunciation is also tricky for there are words that you'd assume sound the same but when you change the tone, the meaning is entirely different.

Back in preschool, we were taught Chinese pronunciation using the traditional alphabet and writing system.  You had to know how to read the alphabets so that you'll be able to pronounce it properly.  It was only during my college years that I have been exposed to 'pin-yin' the English counterpart of Chinese alphabets during my study trip to Beijing.

Today, there are many ways to learn Chinese everywhere you go.  For iPhone and iPad users, you can have access to hundreds of podcast lessons and apps ranging from conversation to writing lessons.  If you want to master the art of Chinese pronunciation, one of the most comprehensive apps you can get is "Chinese Phonetics" by JP Studio.

How does Chinese Phonetics work?
Just like what the page says, Chinese Phonetics is a useful pronunciation coach for anyone who wants to master Chinese Mandarin pronunciation.  It features a click-and-hear interface, each sound pronounced by a a Chinese professional.  Here's a preview of the features available and lessons

Pronunciation guides in traditional Chinese alphabet and 'pinyin'

Proper pronunciation tones

Practice section to compare your own pronunciation.

To get your copy, visit JP Studio's website or get it directly from iTunes 

Group Buying - When Deals Go Wrong

Group buying sites are sure to stay with all the significantly lower bargains they offer but with a catch!
You have to buy now then decide later to use the vouchers within the allowable time period.
Some may wonder if the deals are so real for the prices are 40-70% off the market price.  While most of the deals are good and valid, there had been fraud stories as well.

Among the top group buying sites in the Philippines is Cash Cash Pinoy.  I came across this forwarded message in Facebook sharing their fraud experience with Landsair Travel and Tours' Journey to Banaue Rice Terraces Promo:

Let me tell you all about what happened. I saw this Banaue 3d/2n tour package. It was claiming an amazing 60% off for the tour, originally priced 21k, you get it for only 9k per pax.  Sounds good right? The promo includes private van transfers, daily breakfast, accommodation at the 3 star Banaue hotel, and tour. So before I purchased the vouchers, I called up Landsair and was able to speak to Malou de Los Santos, she said that in order for the van to be exclusive for the group we got to have 6 pax in the group. And departure time from Manila would be early morning which would be safer unlike buses which depart at night. Departure time from Banaue would depend on passengers according to Malou. However, only my mother and aunt wanted to go. So I clarified with them and they said that it was okay since other tourists will be joining the group as well. So I got the vouchers and reserved for November 30. That was about 2 weeks earlier.

It was nearing November 30, and the cash cash Pinoy deal had only 2 vouchers sold, which were the ones I purchased. So I called up Landsair again and they informed me that if there weren't enough people to join the tour the money would be refunded. That was okay for me then. On November 26, I called up the same agent (she was always the one I spoke to since I had her cellphone number), she said that the tour will push through for November 30. However, since my mom and aunt were already senior citizens, it was "safer" if they travel via "private" bus, complete with reclinable seats and restrooms. I even clarified if it was private, and she reassured me, mentioning that they have rearranged pick up in Espana to provide convenience for my relatives. Upon sending me the itinerary it was noted that the bus will be Florida bus, and meet up will be at the bus terminal on November 29, 9 PM, departure at 1030 PM. Departure from banaue on the last day would be 6 PM (which were contrary to what she first mentioned but I didn't press much on this topic). So then I called her up and politely inquired regarding the so called "private" bus, she said that it's technically private because only tourists going straight to Banaue will be getting on the bus. And a guide will be going with my relatives from manila all the way until the trip ends, and if they were to go via private van there wouldn't be any guide. Anyway, I didn't argue further because I knew that even though the buses for sure will be cheaper in terms of transportation cost, it would be better for my mom and aunt since the bus has restrooms inside. So I agreed and just asked if she could throw in free lunch and dinner instead. She informed me that it was not possible cause they have already thrown in the Sagada tour for free (which upon research was really included in all Banaue local tours). Upon several negotiations,she agreed for 1 "single plated dinner" which I settled for.
On the day of departure, Malou sent me a new itinerary indicating Ohayami bus instead of Florida. I clarified again and she said that both have restrooms inside. It's basically the same, just different bus companies. That wasn't a big deal for me then. But then, when my mom arrived at the bus terminal, they found out that Ohayami buses (costing 450/ pax) do not have restrooms inside!!! And Florida buses (600/ pax) aren't licensed to travel to Banaue anymore. This freaked my mom and aunt, so I again called up Malou and complained how come she reassured me that the buses were the same, and even told me not to worry because they will check on my relatives from time to time. And you know what? She said she was just informed by another travel agency who really manages the Banaue tour, and all information she told me were second hand information from Mr. Albert Gonzaga, whom I should direct my complaints to!!! Then I informed her that the promo involved her travel agency, therefore me speaking to the other travel agent was out of the question since we were the ones negotiating the whole time. She shouldn't have given me information she was not sure about. I even mentioned that how come I paid 18k for public transpo which costs only 1800 2 way for 2pax!!! Well, as usual she said there was nothing she can do since she just forwarded everything to another travel agency and the tour could not be cancelled anymore since everything has been set. So I didn't argue further since I knew she wouldn't really do anything about it anymore. But then that night, I received two text messages from Malou intentionally mis- sending the message " ma'am paki bura cellphone number ko sa lahat ng ads natin thanks", I didn't probe deeper into this anymore. It just made me say to myself, she had the nerve to get mad after what her travel agency and so called service did to me.
So when my mom met the supposed guide at the bus terminal, they were informed that they were just instructed to meet my mom and give them directions and vouchers for the trip. I was able to speak to the guide and she informed me that the tour would cost about 9k for 2 pax. Knowing that, I knew that the promo was not really a promo after all! But then there was nothing I can do since i've already paid for it. I thought, I'll just wait for the outcome of the tour itself, and if it didn't work out okay, I would then forward a complaint.
And you know what??? Contrary to their Banaue hotel accommodation (costing about 43 usd per room in agoda) promo, my mom was asked to stay in People's lodge which costs 6h per room for 2 pax!!! Imagine that. So you guys tell me, was it unreasonable for me to get fuming mad for what happened?
So the next time this discount site offers another promo, pls. Make sure you're really getting a good deal out of it. And if You happen to want to purchase another Landsair agency promo, pls make sure that all their informations are correct... I don't expect any compensations or refunds. What's done is done. This is just to inform everyone of what happened so it hopefully doesn't happen again.

I wasn't able to get a screenshot of the deal, but here are traces of the deal left in Google.

 This reminded me of another deal that went wrong from Metro Deal's Ugly Birds Cake that circulated last month:  (Story by Jeff Ngo)

Dear Fashion PULIS,
My mother got this deal a few weeks ago on line in time for my brother's birthday.

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From the ordering to the reserving of the cake, it turned out to be a major disappointment. The cake company was so hard to contact and the staff won't even reply to our texts messages. It was even worse when we picked up the cake. It was so ugly and it looked so different from the photo that was advertised online.

Photo of the actual cake

My 11-year-old brother, who is a big crybaby , was really upset when he saw his cake. We also ordered the cake pops which were sticking to the plastic. The sticks came off and we had to place them on top of another cake. I tried one and it tasted like uncooked cake dough. I hope this serves as a warning to the people who also got this deal. Please be more cautious in availing promos because pictures can really be deceiving.
 Thank you very much FP! God bless.
 Yours truly, Jen Ngo

Have you had any bad experiences with daily deals?  What's your story?