Simbang Gabi/Misa de Gallo in Bangkok 2014

Misa de Gallo is always a part of Catholics and being away from home, it is best to at least be informed on some things that we can do to fully celebrate and experience the true meaning of Christmas, specially here in Bangkok.

There are Catholic churches here that do the novena masses and for this year, I concetrate in  Mary Help of Christian Church in Krungthep Kreetha. See below the schedule of masses including the Chirstmas Eve celebration. If you can notice, masses are in alternate Thai and English language. No worries though as the homily is shared in two languages, as if it's an English mass, the Homily is in both Thai and English. For those who aren't Thai, an English missalette is provided in Thai mass schedules.  

The masses  start at 7pm, and last until 8 including the evening novenas. There are also singing presentations from various groups towards the end, the picture taking of all  and of course, a simple dinner gathering.  

In case you want to  to attend mass at Mary Help of Christians Church, you can take bus 145 along Lat Phrao Road and say you get off at Krungthep Kreeta, the bus stop is just right past Four Wings Condo then just walk left after getting off. 

If you're from Ramkhamheng, you can take bus 93 and get off right in front of the church as it makes a left turn from Four Wings condo. Or a Saengthaew 93. You can't miss Four Wings, it is of at least three huge buildings. It's kinda three stops from Lamsalee. Or you can check 'Misang Tagalog' on Facebook for more info.

 Finally, I'm sharing some fotos of the past evening masses. I love it there, it is of genuine fellowship.

BBZ10 Replacement

I got a call yesterday informing my BBZ10 was ready for pick-up. I was glad after over a month of not having it and to my surprise, I got a BRAND-NEW replacement of the unit.

Of course, I didn't expect it and I was totally surprised. All I wanted was to have my phone working again. I was told though that in case a problem occurs in the future, I will need to go to a different office somewhere Rama 4. I took a photo of the information just in case, someone else might need this.

I'm  definitely happy and satisfied with BlackBerry's service. Perhaps I'm lucky my mobile was under its warranty when it stopped working and with an appropriate response to it plus of me having it not just back, but a brand-new one is great.

One thing I'm concerned now though is I badly need a new FLIP SHELL as my existing white is broken. It is pricey and there's no way I can buy it here in Thailand. I have been wallking around IT shops looking for BlackBerry Shell or cover and there was nothing. It is my wish to get a new Flip Shell either Red or Black. Need it badly to protect my phone.

For now, my happy days will set only on taking selfies. I'll wait when that new Flip Shell comes some time...any time.

BlackBerry Service Center in Bangkok

It took days for me to find this out, I had a problem with my BBZ10 last week. It just stopped working. I couldn't do anything after as it didn't recognize its usb and couldn't be charge either. And to think, my phone wasn't dropped or even got wet, it just died suddenly. I have read forums about the same problem and seems there wasn't a solution to it as everything just collapsed. With the usb and battery on the fritz, sure nothing can be done. I suspect though that the updates might have something to do with it.

I went to Terminal 21 as I remember there was a BB shop in there near the movie theathers but to my surpise, it was gone. I was glad a very nice man who has a stall next to the area informed me where to get my unit checked. Of course, as long as the phone is still under warranty and was purchased in Thailand. I've also learnt that there's no need for any document warranty as the service center will just scan the unit and find out when the unit was bought. So basically, just go to the authourized service center and bring the unit.

BlackBerry Authorized Service Center under warranty.

The BB authorised center is called SIS, it is located at the fourth floor of Fortune Tower, fronting Central Rama 9. It is accessible by MRT and get off at Rama 9 station. I went there yesterday and they got my unit. I was told I can get it back after a month as the unit will be sent to Malaysia for checking.  That means a month of no phone; however, Fortune Tower is an IT hub, it's easy to get another unit in the area. I got a new one yesterday that I can use in the meantime. To those who have BB problems and is still under warranty, no need to worry, just go to SIS.

Arrgghh, what's in it today?

OMG, this day isn't a good one, at least later in the morning. I was glad doing my laundry, whites specifically and hanged my clothes dry on the balcony. Maybe I did it a bit quick but in a second I just lost my balance and landed to a steelbar near my shoe rack! To my horror, my face was rubbed into it resulting to an annoying bruise. For now, I'm using vaseline thinking it will keep the bruise from scaring as I am worried about it. Anyone else have thoughts to share how to treat this? My only concern is to prevent scarring. Thanks.

Go on

 

I take a cab to work everyday. And every morning, I always learn both different and the same thing. I dislike it when drivers stay in one lane, at least that cab driver I am with during the trip. It can save a lot of time when one driver knows how to maximize the trip and use his “sense” to get the travel going.  I’m not saying recklessly quick, I mean smart fast to get where the trip is heading safely. Sometimes I wonder why is it so difficult for one to change gear when obviously a lane is not moving at all and the other is empty. I honestly don’t mind the meter or the fare that I will have to pay but the time spent on the road for me is quite essential.

To relate to life, I think it’s no different in how we deal with things. Generally, if one is in a certain place and doesn’t make a move it means the person isn’t moving - common sense wise. That’s a general  knowledge yet I’m not sure how many of us are completely aware about that. Maybe it’s complacency or maybe it is just being "naturally" scared of something new, as we all know as being scared of the unknown but guess it depends on what do we want to achieve at certain times.  Probably, it is when we are in bliss and we just intend to relish where we are regardless how long does it take to last. We surmise  there's no point of changing neither moving to something indefinite as there's a possibility of  getting  ends that could be a bit likely and  less desired than the status quo.

The first question would be is, “what do we want?” at least for the time being.  Second, "do we have a goal and are we into achieving it?"  When we have a goal, we won't find it helpful to be stuck in one place, it's not fine to just sit down and just be happy for the moment that can be multiplied by hundreds. It should be fine if we are happy. It makes sense it  is a human instinct to just stay wherever we are when we are glad, no one wants to get rid or be away from the situation but I believe we all know that nothing lasts - none. The challenge of living is the continuous movements and that means both in ups and downs. When we're happy that doesn’t mean the state shouldn’t change neither if one is in  a difficult situation, one should  just stay there. As the calendar changes and the clock ticks, we, too should keep moving as well, regardless of the outcome, as again, nothing is permanent. As heard, nothing stays and nothing endures except change. 

As the taxi ride, the goal is to get to work,  the option to swift lane makes the fulfillment  differently faster.

Just another day

April is here and as the other months we all expect that it happens - time does.  Whether we like it or not, moment progresses as our lives go on, only we are all in control of the latter  not minding us exercising the power in full. There's a slight difference this time though as I'll be visiting home and yeah, in this season.  The temperature is getting higher in the past days, I guess....not even days but in recent years however, it's been quite a time since I've been home on lent the  reason why I've scheduled the trip this time.  I'm not regretting or anything just counting on  before the trip.

Yes, I'm exited as I'll get the chance to fulfill my obligations as a Catholic which I haven't really done for quite a while.  On the other side, I'm anticipating the  pain of being outdoors due to the weather. I've read though that our body relies on being used to a thing or situation. Since I've been  used to stay indoors, I'm aware that the first days will definitely be agonizing. On the contrary,  I'm awaiting for the visit to be both pleasant and memorable.


It should be fulfilling as I can do the things I've wanted to do and yeah, it  feels good to do the same things I used to do after ages.  Apart from religious rituals, I'm looking forward to go "beachin'". There's no other time better than summer plus I'm going to have fun with my family and very close friends.

There's nothing more I can think of, I only feel a thing at this point in time and that I'm excited. :)

Adjustment Cramps

I've thought of writing after ages. We're not reporting to work this week due to protest, though we work at home for lessons, I have to spend time waiting for my videos to upload which give me the chance to write. I had full plates in the past years, of both personal and work. I had to start over in many ways and in fact, just recently, I've bought a new laptop and a smart phone that remind me of the pain of learning and adjusting to something new. In an instant, I thought of regardless of one wanting a new phase, or disliking it at all, inconveniences are still in the mixture.  It was funny though how I dealt with these gadgets that at some point I thought of myself being a bit "stupid". Reading manuals was used to be my thing, but nowadays, I think searching for youtube vids is better. Only to think that in the end, specially with smartphone that tutorials are actually in the phone hahaha. :D

Anyway, my touch-screen fancy has hit me right in the face, as of course the trend is handy and perhaps more comfortable but of having different brands are confusing at times. My work computer is not touch-screen, my personal one is and so my mobile. Though both my personal gadgets are touch-screen however they don't have similar commands so I get confused at times. Perhaps because I've just bought them, I might need more time to master playing with both. I'm actually in the stage of adjustment which we all find a bit of tedious.

These are no different to life, I think. Having a new chapter isn't easy though we know it's for the better. I just set to mind that there's no point hanging out with past as there are more things to look forward to in the future. The only difference between past and future is that, we are completely aware of what the past is while the future is still set to experience. I really believe the latter is more interesting and that I have all the reasons to be excited about. Just one sure thing to make it work is to plan and set goals. In case, it won't work, there is always a second chance and the option to go on or just leave things away.

As for the gadgets, no, I can't can't just let go, there should be solutions around and whatever part doesn't work should properly function. On the other hand, I've just changed my mind - they're not the same after all. :)