PayPal

PayPal is a web-based system that securely and conveniently allows payments and money transfers online. Though it already became available in the Philippines 2-3 years ago, it is not yet widely used in the country. On my part, I signed up for PayPal because the fees are lesser whenever I transfer funds from my online job. Also, Paul has been bugging me to get one because he needs to have a PayPal account whenever he does his online shopping. For the longest time, I have been putting this off because reading from various sources online, the process seems to be a bit more complicated. I finally had the time to set up an account last month and guess what? It is not that difficult at all!

This entry is for my friends who wish to have their own PayPal account and would want to have a step-by-step guide on how to do it. I hope this helps.

1. Signup for an account at PayPal. For the account type option, choose Personal PayPal unless you'll use this account for buying and selling online (Premiere PayPal) or you are enrolling a company/group name (PayPal Business). Whatever option you may choose, this can be upgraded anyway.

2. Enroll a card to be linked to your PayPal. Here in the Philippines, the only choice is Unionbank's EON card. Your PayPal will be NOT be verified unless there's a card linked to it. Just fill up all the necessary requirements on PayPal and leave your account unverified until you can secure an EON card.

3. Get an EON card. You may open from any Unionbank branches or apply online (which they say will take two weeks). Personally, I think it's much faster to just go to the bank and apply for one. In my case, I went to Unionbank on a Friday. The bank teller advised that I should be able to get my card after 5 banking days but luckily, Wednesday the following week or 3 banking days after, my card was already available for pick up. 

Upon claiming my card, I paid P350 for the annual fee and deposited P150 to cover the $1.95 PayPal Expanded Use (EXPUSE) fee. This EXPUSE fee will be refunded back later on. 

Wait about 24 hours to get the card activated.

3. Enroll in Unionbank's EON Cyber Account banking facility once your card is activated. Your cyber account will be activated within 48 hours after your enrollment.

4. If your cyber account is already activated, log in to PayPal and link/add your bank account. After filling out your card details, PayPal will require an EXPUSE number in order to proceed. 

5. Login to your Unionbank Cyber Account and view your transaction history. It should reflect the $1.95 EXPUSE fee which was debited to your account. In the transaction description, look for the 4-digit number which corresponds to the EXPUSE number required in PayPal.

6. Go back to PayPal and enter the EXPUSE number. Confirm your card and you're good to go. You now have a verified PayPal account!

It's pretty easy actually. The only "hassle" I can think of is going to Unionbank twice (opening an account and claiming the card) but everything else can be done online and by far went smoothly. 

As for withdrawing funds using your EON card, choose Withdraw funds to your bank account because of the lesser cost. See below.

Just enter your account number found at the bottom of your name (front of the card). This is a common mistake among card holders because they often choose the Withdraw funds to your card option thinking this is the only way. I'm afraid not. I tried it myself and the bank account option works.

So there you have it. In less than two weeks, I was able to get my PayPal account verified. I hope yours too. If you have questions, just let me know and I'd be glad to help.

Have a good week ahead!

Christian World

In six weeks time, Reese will be welcomed to the Christian world. Hooray! Everyone's excited and Mommy is already busy scouting and booking suppliers for this event. It's all coming back... parang wedding preparations lang ang feeling! LOL.

So far, here's a shortlist on the things we've already accomplished:

1. Church reservation - Location-wise, we were choosing between Holy Family and Padre Pio Chapel since they are inside Eastwood. However, we found out that they do not hold special rites like weddings and baptisms, just the daily and Sunday masses. We proceeded to our second option then: Christ the King church in Green Meadows. 

Reading from different forums, Christ the King is always preferred by mommies because their parish office is not that strict with regards to the submission of documents and seminar for godparents. I've learned that some churches require that you submit a so-called "permission paper" from your original parish when you want to have your child baptized in another parish. I don't know how that works but that's the usual clamor I read from the forums. Hassle! In our case, I only submitted a photocopy of our marriage certificate and Reese's birth certificate and we're booked! As for the godparents' seminar, they don't require that anymore. Thank God. I suddenly recalled my own experience when I became a godmother to my niece in Makati. It was unbelievable. Together with the other godparents, we were literally locked in a room 30 minutes prior to the baptism schedule for the seminar; complete with checking of attendance and classroom discussion! Heck, we're not even allowed to go out else our name will be taken off the list. Are they for real?! 

Anyways, going back, for Reese's baptism we chose the special rate/service wherein she will be baptized solo and inside their airconditioned baptistry chapel. Here are some pics I secretly took (sssh!) when I did an ocular inspection this morning:

Perfect!

2. Reception - No doubt, the place has to be in Eastwood. Originally, we were on an afternoon schedule so the food has to be for merienda. There are a lot of restaurants in the area but only a few have areas suitable for functions. Our choices were narrowed down to Il Pirata or The Old Spaghetti House along C5. Pizza and pasta. Shanghai Bistro was our first choice but dimsum or Yang Chow fried rice at three in the afternoon may not seem to be a good idea. Good thing, our baptism schedule was moved to 11:30 in the morning. Lunch will immediately follow and so Shanghai Bistro's perfect! I already booked the venue. Paul and I will just have to choose the set menu to be served. Food tasting here we cooome!!

3. Photographer - We're still deciding between Focal Point Photography or Ging Lorenzo.

4. Party favors & godparents gifts - I won't spoil so details of these will kept secret =D.

5. Invites - My good friend Cathee will take care of this as her gift to us. Thank you so much Bunchie!

6. Cake - Still waiting for the supplier's reply. To be practical, I want Reese's cake to be like this:

Based on the supplier's website, the cake is made of 24 pcs large and XL diapers, 1pc bath towel, 2 pcs hand towel, 1 pc face towel, 1 pc Hello Kitty training cup, 1 pc Hello Kitty toy, 1 pc feeding bowl, 1 pair pajamas and 1 pc toddler bib. Cute! I don't have to worry anymore how to consume, divide or who gets to take home the cake. 

Cakes are basically for aesthetic effects only yet they cost a lot. That's why on our wedding, our cake is made of our giveaways which are cupcakes placed in a candle holder. 

I instructed the baker to layer the cupcakes resembling one big cake. It saved us the cost of ordering a 3(or probably 4)-tiered cake at the same time, all of our guests were able to partake a taste of this pastry. After consuming the cupcake, they can use the candle holder as a token from us. Brilliant and practical right? *clap clap*.

7. Baby gown - Reese's gown will have to wait until about 2-3 weeks before her baptism. She's growing up so fast! Last week when we went to the doctor, her pediatrician is surprised that barely at 3 months, her weight and length is that of a 5-month old baby already.

Some of her clothes won't fit anymore. Hence, I'm not basing on the sizes indicated on the tag. Those bearing "For 0-3 months" hardly fits her now hihi. She's still on the borderline though so we're not a bit worried about her body frame. It's even good news because that only meant that she's a healthy baby (just like Daddy?).

For now, I'm still doing our guest list and getting in touch with suppliers. Reese is getting bigger everyday (age and size!) so it's just but timely to already christen her to the Christian world.

Goodluck Baby Reese! 

Love you much, 

Mommy

Recent Happenings

* We are doing minor revisions at home. It's about time that Paul and I start investing in quality furniture and fixtures. Before Reese, our home furnishings are plainly good enough for two. Now we need a spacious sofa, bigger refrigerator, extra TV, additional utensils, and other stuff we didn't consider buying before. I guess it's also time to let go of old possessions. Quality over quantity. Drama queen as I am, I tried to ignore any feelings of personal attachment or sentimental value as I was freeing room and closet space. I'm doing this for a good cause anyway. For personal stuff like clothes, towels, and linens, we donated it to the victims of the recent typhoon. I even included a piece of comforter and some throw pillows. May it give warmth to those sleeping at the evacuation centers... 

photo courtesy of http://www.daylife.com/photo/0fS062F37TeHp

* After a big blow from Ondoy, another typhoon, Pepeng, hit the Philippines. This time it affected the northern part of the archipelago bringing an abominable number of death count due to landslide and flood.

Last Friday, Redd and I went to Pasig City Hall and we're shocked to see that they are still submerged in knee-deep floodwater! Take note that two weeks have already passed since Typhoon Ondoy.

Pasig City Hall

If Pepeng made its downfall in Metro Manila (as predicted beforehand), I couldn't imagine what will happen. Affected areas in the metro are still recuperating from the damage brought by Ondoy. Dealing with another typhoon in a span of less than a week would be too much. Thank God Pepeng changed its course! Though I really feel sorry for our affected brothers and sisters in Northern Luzon =(.

Now on to some good news...

* Reese is already 2 months old and getting heavier! We took her to the doctor last week for her monthly immunization. Barely at eight weeks, her pediatrician noted that her weight and length is comparable to that of a four-month old baby. Wow.

in her car seat on the way to Medical City

8-week old infant trapped in a body of a 4-month old baby

Yesterday was Reese's first trip to the mall. We brought her to Bonifacio High Street so she can enjoy the fresh air and new sights. It was a happy Sunday family day ♥.

Watching Reese "grow up", I can truly say that indeed time flies so fast... With what's happening lately, no one really knows what the future may bring. We'll just have to live each day as a gift, cherish every moment, and enjoy life's simple pleasures. 

The bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot.  -Michael Althsuler

God bless us all!

Typhoon Ondoy

It was the heaviest rainfall after 40 years in Metro Manila. In 10 hours, Ondoy brought rain said to be equivalent to a month's amount of downpour. Flood reached up to 8 feet deep, cars were swimming, death count is rising. Rich or poor, hundreds of families were greatly affected.

Saturday, at the height of the typhoon, I woke up to this sight from our living room window.

water level is rising, people on the roof evacuating

Around 5 pm, we received a call from our building guard that we need to move our car out because water is going towards our basement parking. I was overwhelmed with panic and fear. When we arrived at the basement (by stairs because the elevators were no longer working), water is slowly creeping in. We rushed to get our car outside only to find out that Eastwood's already flooded!

Paul parked the car at the mall while I walked home (alone!) braving the almost knee-deep flood in our area. We have to secure Reese's things and other emergency stuff just in case the typhoon gets worse. Thankfully, the only inconvenience we've experienced is the water outage in our building. Watching the news where people lost their properties, homes, and loved ones is so depressing. 

(photos grabbed from my cousin's Facebook account)

For days, our building elevators were not functioning and so our helpers were going back and forth, by the stairs, inorder to stock enough water supply. Lucky for us, we are on the 5th floor. Imagine how agonizing it is if you live on higher floors (our building is up to the 30th floor)! Another lucky thing, Rikki lives just one building away from us. Aside from our water supply, we can always drop by his place for our "comfort room needs". Those things I really appreciate. Thank you Lord. 

On my part, water outage is better as compared to having no electricity because we have a baby at home. It would be uncomfortable for Reese without a fan or aircon on standby. Also, we use electric sterilizer for her feeding bottles. Never mind if we only shower every other day or we're taking several flights of stairs just to get water. Reese's needs are far more important. We have electricity, phone lines, cable, and internet anyway. Yay!

My prayer goes out to the typhoon victims that the Lord will comfort and give them strength in this time of distress. If there were any consolation about this calamity, I'm glad it happened on a weekend and at daytime. Schools will be having a hard time gathering all kids if there were classes. Parents will be worried but at the same time stranded in their respective offices. And if this happened at night time, preparations won't be enough because families were sleeping. The Lord is indeed good.

Comings and Goings

What kept me busy these past two weeks:

Sept. 9 - Mom and Dad's arrival from Bacolod.

Sept. 11 - My Lola came over to visit Reese.

Sept. 13 - Family lunch at home with Paul's titas.

Sept. 14 - Went to HP Service Center in Makati to have my Tito's laptop fixed.

Sept. 16 - Movie date (In My Life =D) with Mom, Paul, Rikki, and Redd.

Sept. 17 - My brother Jojo (who's now working in Cebu) arrived.

Sept. 18 - Two of my titas from Bacolod visited and spent the weekend with us. (Together with another Tita plus Mom & Dad, they all went to Divisoria upon arrival while me and Jojo went to Greenhills).

Sept. 19 - Mom's bday. We went malling in the afternoon then in the evening, proceeded to Klownz to celebrate.

Sept. 20 - Afternoon: took Reese for her "first trip" at my Tita & Tito's place in Alabang. Evening: Viaje family dinner at my Tito's place in Pasig.

Sept. 21 - My titas and Jojo went home.

Sept. 23 - Mom and Dad went home. 

 

Reese's first day out

with Lola

malling

Alabang

Happy Birthday Mommy!

@Klownz

Our schedule was truly hectic: malling, family gatherings, driving around town.. But it was all worth it! I have always been so vocal about how much I value my family that's why nothing beats the happiness I felt whenever they're around ♥. 

Until then!