Ayala Recyclables Fair: September schedule

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Ayala Foundation, Inc.
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Passport Renewal Tips

Tips for renewing your passport

So it's been five years or more and your passport has expired. Did you know that the DFA building has moved from Roxas/Libertad to Paranaque near MOA? Specifically here:
DFA Consular Office: ASEANA Business Park, Bradco Avenue corner Macapagal Boulevard, Paranaque City (Map)

Here's my account of how I renewed my passport a few days ago interspersed with some tips so you'll have a better experience.

All appointments have to be made online, you know that right? It's pretty simple actually. At first I made an appointment for 5 pm thinking I would be able to leave just an hour before official office hours end and not have to take a leave but it turns out that would automatically mean I wanted a RUSH application (10 working days instead of 20 but costing P1,200 instead of P900). So I had to cancel that appointment and get an earlier one. TIP 0. Probably the best time to set an appointment is the first slot in the day, if you have the choice. Getting there might be more of a hassle but this way, you're not caught in the backlog as I was and you'll probably get done more quickly as everyone is still fresh.

TIP 1. Do not forget to PHOTOCOPY all your requirements before going.

Getting there from the north is pretty simple. Take the MRT to Taft (the advantage of scheduling in the odd hours is that the train is not jampacked) and ride a jeep down the street going to DFA. They charge P10 although it's not that far. I would've preferred to take a bus (ph-commute.com says a bus marked "MIA-611 Tambo" passes by the DFA) but I didn't have the time to wait for one. Cross the street to the DFA building and do not line up at the first gate you see with a queue. Ask where applicants should line up because the first gate seems to be for those picking up their passports or who have other business.

TIP 2. If you're already a bit late for your appointment (as I was---you should be at the DFA 30 mintues before your schedule time), go straight to the guard and show your application form. It will have your appointment time printed on top and he'll let you in if you're late.

You'll be seated at the end of your batch. There were blocks of seats with a card showing me that those with 2:30 appointments still hadn't been served and it was already 3:30! It was almost 4:30 when were were finally made to line up to get in and have our documents checked.

TIP 3. Bring something to read, perhaps a magazine, nothing too engrossing because you will keep moving forward as the people file in. And bring a fan. It's breezy and there's a water-cooled fan but your seat may not be in the coolest area. Water is also something you might want to have handy.

So we got in and as usual, kept sitting down then moving forward a few seats at a time as people in front finally got to the counters. Then after getting your docs checked, you go out, look for another door and go up the escalator and line up to pay. TIP 4. There are usually 2-3 counters open but it may not be obvious from the back. Go forward and look for the shortest line. Immediately after paying, go to the guy who hands out numbers for the last stage of getting your photo, signature and thumbprints taken. You may now take the time to look for a good seat in front of a fan where you have a view of the board which shows you which cubicle is handling which number. Cool down and apply your make-up so you don't look as scary as I did. Take out your reading material and wait your turn.

My signature certainly has degenerated and writing with a plastic pen on a plastic surface didn't help. Cheap as I am I opted to have my passport delivered for P120 just so I wouldn't have to take another half-day leave. They take your receipt when you apply for delivery.

The whole thing took around 3 hours and getting back was a bit of a nightmare since I had an appointment to catch and the jeep I rode went around and around Manila, avoiding the traffic and passing by the schools for the deaf and for the blind then to the LRT before finally stopping near the MRT station.It's a good thing Taft is the last station so I was able to get a seat even at that time.There are more jeeps going to MOA than to the MRT and there's supposedly a shuttle from MOA to the MRT. I don't  know if taking these two rides would have meant a faster trip.

TIP 5. If you're bringing a companion, have the person wait at MOA. He won't be able to come in with you and there's nowhere to wait outside except maybe at the McDonald's across the street.

This new system has been in place for more than a year and although there are no more fixers waiting outside to mislead applicants, the whole process certainly could move forward more quickly than it's doing now. I don't recall having to spend three hours applying for my passport the last time. We're not even getting passports with biometrics, just machine readable ones. I wonder if the Philippines is the last country in the world to have handwritten passport details? Well, no more of those.

We'll see how things go in 2016.

Boredom

I've been seeing a lot of articles lately about boredom. I was 6 when I first learned the word while watching a cartoon show. A kid was lying back with his head in his hands doing nothing and talking to his pet. He says "I'm bored". A lightbulb went off in my head---that word is exactly how I'm feeling! I got really excited and when I tried it out by telling my mom I was bored, she snapped at me. I remember feeling bewildered and wondering what was wrong with saying one was bored. Maybe she took it as criticism of her parenting, haha.

I don't tolerate boredom too well. Fortunately, there are a lot of things I like to do, even by myself so I don't easily get bored.

The Unfortunate Christopher Lao

So law student Chris Lao drives his car through flood waters and is caught on national TV. The resulting interview doesn't gain him any friends. We probably laughed along with the crowd when we heard what happened or saw the video on TV.

But come to think of it, who of us hasn't done something monumentally dumb one time or another? Good thing there were no TV cameras then or online/social networking to spread the news to the whole world. Yet it still could happen to us one day. And if it does, what then?

In my case I hope I'd have to grace to admit I made a mistake and not try to put the blame on others (even if there may be some blame). And I'd hope people would put the Golden Rule into practice and not hold it over my head.

Lastly, I hope Mr. Lao has the fortitude not to let this affect him too much as he studies for the bar exams.

Ube Sansrival

I've long wondered about Cafe Ysabel's sansrival sold at the supermarket.
One day I found someone to share the container with (there used to be a smaller rectangular microwaveable container size but I don't see those anymore---just the 750 mL ones) and tried the ube version. It comes in original (buttercream), mocha, chocolate and ube variants.

For frozen sansrival, I guess it's forgivable that it's chewy and not crunchy but the meringue came in thick, spongy layers and not the thin crunchy layers I prefer. Also, there was just too much buttercream for me. The ube flavor was not distinct. The best thing about it was the abundance of crushed cashews.

I might try the mocha or chocolate flavors but only if they come in the smaller containers.

You can see how thick the meringue was in the photo below. Sorry for the quality--crummy cellphone camera.