LICENSE TO DRIVE

Finally got my driver's license after a 33-hour course. Hoe-yeaah!

[This is the part where i'm supposed to scan my license, intensify the colors, and decorate my blog with it.... but, nah... the picture's too embarrassing. Let's just say it looked more like a mug shot more than an ID picture.]

Some friends have been inquiring about driving schools from me.. well, since i just got my license.. Many have had theirs for years now, so i'm the most likely to remember rates and stuff. :)

For others planning to enroll in a driving school in Baguio City, read on...

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I started out driving classes 2 years ago..

Being a first-timer, I chose to study at:


A1 Driving School -- The Premier Driving School in the Philippines.

1st session

          1 hour orientation; presentation of slideshows and definition of b.l.o.w.f.a.t.c.h.
          Purchase a Php400 manual (a printed copy of the slideshow)

2nd session

          Hands on, getting to know the car.

          Instructor: "beginner course?.. you understand tagalog?"

          Reika: "yup, opo"

          Instructor: "what are the first things to consider before driving"

          Reika (the clueless beginner): "errrmmm... mirrors?"
          Instructor: "mirrors, cambio,....."
          Reika: "ano po yun?"

          Instructor (pointing to stickshift): "dapat naka-neutral.. wala ka ba background sa driving?"
          Reika: "i'm a beginner po..."
          Instructor: "friends, relatives, boyfriend, di ka ba nagpapaturo sa kanila, mga may kotse?"
          Reika: "ermm.. di po... that's why i enrolled..."
          Instructor: (continued impatiently)


3rd/4th/5th session
          Hands on driving, parking
          To summarize, the instructor was impatient. Since A1 cars are equipped with double foot brakes, one for the student and one for the instructor, my instructor kept on utilizing his. Really, how is one supposed to learn?

6th-10th session
          I relocated to Manila, wasn't able to attend last few lessons... No refund, non transferrable :(

Rates (2011)

                          MANUAL   AUTOMATIC

  5 HRS                 3,200.00         5,600.00

  7 HRS                 4,400.00         7,800.00

10 HRS                 6,200.00       11,000.00

15 HRS                 9,200.00       16,300.00

20 HRS               12,100.00       21,400.00

30 HRS               17,700.00       31,000.00

Routes included: South Drive, Mansion House, Convention Center

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I worked for 2 years, resigned, enrolled in another driving school this time:

UPS  -- The Ultimate Partner in Safety Driving
Now this was new.. I've never heard of this school until my brother brought me to their office at the 3rd flr La Azotea Bldg.


1st session
          2-hour DETAILED orientation, (5 minutes into the lecture, I knew I made the right choice)
          1-hour hands on driving with an unbelievably patient instructor


2nd-23rd session
          Great driving experience around Baguio/La Trinidad
          
24th-33rd session
          Lowland Driving with another yet unbelievably patient instructor
          Baguio to La Union to Pangasinan and back to Baguio


Rates
                           MANUAL   AUTOMATIC
 5 HRS                  2,200.00         4,000.00
 7 HRS                  3,100.00         5,600.00
10 HRS+1 free      4,400.00         8,000.00
15 HRS                 6,600.00       12,000.00
20 HRS+2 free      8,800.00       16,000.00
30 HRS+3 free    13,200.00       24,000.00


Routes included: South Drive, Mansion House, Leonard Wood, Mines View, Convention Center, Harrison Road, Magsaysay Ave, Suello Village, Greenvalley, Camp 7, Philex Mines, Mt Sto Tomas, La Trinidad, La Union, Pangasinan


UPS courses are transferrable :)
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Other Driving Schools CITY/PINES/BSBT  
                            MANUAL /AUTOMATIC
 ANY # OF HRS             dirt cheap. 

During my classes, I've met cars of these driving schools with cigarette-smoking instructors, multiple students taking turns in driving, car breakdown, and the worst -- an engine smoking under the hood while the instructor struggled to fix it holding his umbrella up.
Sad, but entertaining :)


Best choice, UPS. :)

KRISPY KREME BAGUIO

BAGUIO, I'M HOME! :)

Since 2009, if my schedule would allow me, I'd be here on weekends, from a few hours to luckily, 2 days.

Now, being a bum again, I get to go around and finally see the changes this city has to offer, namely:

SLU bakakeng campus

New UB bldg

Coke stalls @ bonifacio

John Hay developments

Baguio DFA branch

Maldita @ SM 

Jellybean @ SM

Pan de Manila @ SM

Deco's @ SM

Chicken Savory @ SM

Old Spaghetti House @ SM

KFC @ DBP bldg

Chowking @ upper session

Jollibee @ Legarda

but still, NO KRISPY KREME. O_o

Remember Happy Days Doughnuts? (the doughnut shop that used to run in the spot where Pan De Manila is now..) They displayed their bakeshop through a glass window.. This attracted customers. Problem is, it never really worked because they had an itty bitty narrow doughnut display rack and their doughnuts were not that good. Let's just say one bite from one of their doughnuts just made you have an UNhappy day. 

Mister Donut? yes, they were okay, until everything became Bavarian. Chocolate Bavarian, Strawberry Bavarian, Vanilla Bavarian, Frost Bavarian, Bavarian Bavarian.. =/

Dunkin Donuts?  Joey De Leon. 'nuff said.

One thing you'll never miss seeing in a bus is a balik-Baguio carrying a whole lot of Krispy Kreme. Really. One time, a teenager was sleeping, holding onto his precious 4 dozen.. (Lucky dentists.) It's as if they'd rather lose their baggages instead. Try killing time at the Victory Liner Station. I bet you'll see at least one Krispy Kreme box come out from a parking ex-Manila bus.

What Baguio needs is a rich-ass investor willing to put up a Krispy Kreme Factory in the city. 

Wherever you are, I hope you read this... You have customers waiting.. :)

http://reikahwangfood.blogspot.com/2011/04/krispy-kreme.html

Fun Fact:

When Krispy Kreme's red light is on, go on in and grab your free Original Glazed doughnuts. The illuminated sign means that they're making fresh batches of their signature Hot Original Glazed... I'm not sure if all their stores have the hotlight.. But I've had a lotsa free ones from Greenhills, MOA and the Fort. (credits to my sister who bequeathed the fact to me..)

VAMPIRES EVOLVE, TOO

My friend recently asked me to write something about vampires and ghosts for her class... I was working at night, and being the scaredy cat that I am, I just worked on the Vampires part. haha.. here it is.. :p 

Vampires Evolve, Too.

Vampires might as well be the most celebrated English folkloric beings. We learn more and more of these creatures mainly because they are much-publicized like Hollywood celebrities.

The fear of vampires has become so trivial. Gone are the days when vampires were simply associated with bats, garlic, fangs, and capes. Now, we associate them with action, romance, and inhumanly good looks.

In this age, with the mere mention of “vampire”, the Cullens come into mind -- yes, the Twilight characters. They have made vampires so admirable, that fanatics desire to become vampires themselves. But before Twilight, various media have contributed to the popularity of the undead, namely:  Blade, Dracula, From Dusk till Dawn, Queen of the Damned, Van Helsing, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Interview with the Vampire, Underworld, The Vampire Diaries, and a lot more.

What is it about vampires that make them ever-so-annoyingly-popular?

1.       Immortality. In a world of false ages and anti-aging products, one thing is certain: Being bitten by a vampire is way easier than scouring the ends of the earth for the fountain of youth.

2.       The Battle. One hot vampire in combat with an equally hot rival? Anticipate a media hype that will build into a crescendo. Plus, all boys love a good fight.

3.       Sex. Vampires are driven by lust, a factor that always finds its way into the plot. You can expect either a vampire hero saving his love interest or a vampire adversary who is destroyed by the power of love. Goodbye, wooden stakes!

The vampires that were accustomed to hiding out in caves now dominate high school and play baseball. The convenient bat-flying has long been forgotten thanks to the Volvos and Aston Martins today’s vampires now display. The sunlight which led to their painful destruction now transforms them into shimmery wonders. In spite of all these changes, one particular idea remains fixed: We continue to involve ourselves with vampires despite the negative consequences associated with them. They truly are, in a word, addicting.

Not only have vampires become more accepted in pop culture, they have also become more acknowledged by the younger generation. Parents used to forbid their children into watching movies or reading books about vampires; but as we live in a technological world, little do parents know that they are encouraging their children through video games such as Mortal Kombat, The Sims, Castlevania and through comic books, mostly Manga. These forms of entertainment not only expose children to what a vampire is, but depict violence and give them distressing obsessions.

If vampires live infinitely, shouldn’t they also get with the times and change their ways? They can hibernate, mutate, adapt, blend in, get married -- whatever they need to do. Real or not, vampires evolve, too.

(458 words)