WiFi is It !

I think I have become obsessed with WiFi. For a person like me who is an Internet addict WiFi is one of the best things that has happened in the Internet age.

Right now, I am in my classroom in one of the universities here in Cebu City. I am attending one of my classes for my pursuit for a Doctoral in Business Administration degree (DBA). Yes, I also want to be a doctor.

While my classmates are delivering their much-researched reports, I am also multi-tasking in my own little corner in the classroom. I am surfing the net because our classroom has a WiFi signal. Right now, I am looking at some shoes at Amazon.com and Zappos.com, two of my favorite online stores. And aside from window shopping, I am also browsing about the topics being reported by my classmates. I also need to know what questions I can throw to them later during the open forum.

WiFi in Bohol

If you are like me, who wants to go online as often as possible, and you come to Bohol with your WiFi ready laptops, here is list of places where I know has WiFi signal.

UB – IRC building – WiFi access here is free. But of course, if you don’t have a UB school ID, you can’t get into the campus anyway. Lucky me, I have a UB school ID.

Bohol Tropics Resort Club - The owners of this hotel are my friends, who are very 'mabait'. I come to this hotel often and I am very glad that they do have WiFi signal within the hotel vicinity. This facility is really a PLUS for those who would be stay here. And of course, WiFi access is free ( for me at least.. hehhe).

Bo’s Café at Island City Mall – WiFi signal here is strong enough. But you have to buy a ‘card’ from the nearby Globe office for the access code. P100 is good for one hour Internet access. It’s expensive at that price, but good enough if you really need to go on-line. WiFi signal is powered by www.globequest.com.ph

The Buzzz Café – located just beside Bo’s Café, signal here is also very good. GlobeQuest card is also required.

FixRite store – The WiFi signal from Bo’s and The Buzz reaches to this area. One time, I have to transfer funds from my bank account and I need to do it on-line ASAP. I was at FixRite to buy something. So, while waiting for the sales clerk to find the item, I went online.

Metro Center Hotel – WiFi signal here is very good also. I always go here every time I can’t connect to the Internet from home and I really need to go online. Internet access is much cheaper. Just buy a Nitro card from the Sundry Shop, also at the Metro Centre Hotel, priced at P100 per card. One card is good for 22 hours.

BQ Mall – There are times that I need to do some shopping and also need to go online. I get Internet access through WiFi usually at the Swiss Gourmet Restaurant at the 4th level of the mall. While at the restaurant, I get to surf the net, do my stuffs online and get to eat my favorite green salad.

I am happier that the restaurant manager has decided to provide a section of the restaurant for smokers only. It’s not that I smoke, but I hate the smell of smoke! I have been complaining to the management about people smoking inside the restaurant. At least I can now enjoy my meal there, without the annoying smell of smoke.

WiFi signal in the mall is also accessible with a Nitro Card.

Ramiro Community Hospital – it is amazing that the RCH has WiFi signal. One time when my son was admitted to this hospital for his dengue, I was stuck in the hospital for almost one week. But never I had a dull moment there. I had my laptop with me in the room and of course, I got to go online from my son’s room. Nitro card is also needed to access WiFi here.

There might be other areas in Tagbilaran City with WiFi signal that I don’t know of. I am only mentioning the places where I go to where there is WiFi signal.

I am looking forward to the time that my own house will also have it’s own WiFi signal. My husband already bought a WiFi gadget when we were in the US and he will soon install it in our house. I am really looking forward to this! Imagine, I can surf the net instead of reading a magazine while working on the call of nature. Or, checking or following a certain recipe on-line while cooking in my kitchen. Isn't that really cool?

The Gadgets

These days, it's already very rare that you see a person without "gadgets". The most common of which is a cellphone.

I can say that I am a person who is fond of gadgets too. What do I have?

- HP iPAQ 6365 for my mobile phone. I bought this(at P39,950.00)in Dec. 2004 and until now I am still happy with this. When I was on a US tour in 2005, the unit wasn't very common yet. Techie people I met there got impressed with what I have. One said "oh, you got my dream phone!". Although there are new smartphone units around now and might be better than my unit, I am not planning to change phones yet.



- IBM X40 ThinkPad. This is my partner. I bought this in Feb. 2005 (in Cebu City) and until now I am still deeply inlove with it. Though expensive, it's small, thin, and very ligth, but has the capabilities that I am looking for in a computer. I just tuck it in my handbag and I wont feel the weight too much. The built-in WiFi feature of this notebook is very very useful. It has become a habit of mine to check for WiFi signal where I would be. When me and my husband went to HK and US, we just log on to the Internet (from my notebook) almost anywhere. WiFi signal is widely available there. You can also check about this product - ThinkPad X40 Pentium M 1.4 GHz RAM 256 MB HD 1 x 40 GB Flopp

Check out Dell Notebooks too. This brand is also very popular.


- iPod Nano 2GB. . It's funny because I own one but I don't use this. I am not so fond of listening to music through it anyway. My husband and children are the ones who take turns in using this. This Apple 2 GB iPod Nano Silver (2nd Generation) is really cool. Tunes can also be downloaded from Appli iTunes:


- Canon PowerShot SD900 . In this kind of business that I am in, having a compact digital camera is very handy and useful. I just want to capture any moment or subject which could be interesting enough to share (through my websites) to people all over the world. Before I bought this, I was choosing between Sony T30 and this one. I was looking for a small, compact and light digicam and yet have excellent other quality features. I chose Canon PowerShot SD900 (10 megapixel!)over Sony T30 (only 7.1 MP). I asked my brother in California to buy this Canon PowerShot SD900 Titanium 10MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom for me and just had it hand-carried by a friend who is home to visit here.

It's really cheaper to buy digital cameras in the US. I bought a FujiFilm FinePix Z1 when I was in California in Dec. 2005, but it got stolen here at home. Then I bought a Nikon CoolPix L3 (through my cousin in NY), but I am not friends with this camera. I am giving this away to my youngest son who shows talent in photography.

- Sony PSP. This item could be any boy's dream toy too. We do have one. I also bought this Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) Entertainment Pack from the US, through my friend in Seatlle. But guess who is fond of playing with this? My husband and my two sons. They say aside from playing games in it, they also surf the net through its WiFi capability too.

- AudioVox portable DVD player. I bought this in Maryland, USA in Sept. 2005. This gadget is also cool. We seldom get to use this though because we have other DVD players at home. But this gadget comes in very handy when we travel out of town. You can also get a similar item of Audiovox D1812 8" Portable DVD Player online through Amazon.com too.

- Jabra BT800 - This hands-free gadget is also very cool. It comes in very handy with the kind of mobile phone I am having. But I just look funny when I am talking to someone (using my Jabra) while walking in the mall. People who see me might think I have nuts in my head because I am talking alone (they couldn't see my mobile phone pinned to my ear). Similar to mine but of lower and cheaper model is the Jabra BT500V Bluetooth Vibrating HandsFree Headset (Black) which costs only $89.95. I got mine from Hong Kong at a higher than this model. I bought 3 units of this for my husband, myself and for my dad.

All these are not luxury gadgets for me but these are considered more as business equipment. My IBM x40 and my Cannon digicam specially are not just cool gadgets, but they are my business gadgets.

Shopping in Bohol (Part II)

Island City Mall

ICM is the how we call the Island City Mall. It is the current favorite of the Boholanos here. The mall is new (on its 3rd year of operation yet) and is big with some specialty shops in it. It's got Chowking, KFC, Jolibee, National Bookstore, Kamiseta (one of my favorite shops), Freeway and others. The mall is located at Dao District, Tagbilaran City. The mall is just beside the Tagbilaran City Integrated Bus Terminal and Sattelite City Public Market and the Tagbilaran City hall is just around the next corner. To go to ICM from any point in the city, you can just take a taxi or a tricycle and tell the driver that you want to go to ICM.

My children loves to go to ICM to play computer games at Netopia. I also shop at their supermarket. I can only find my favorite Quaker Oats Old Fashioned at this supermarket. Well, the other basic and regular grocery items can be found there too.

The mall has a very spacious parking space. However, it's not covered and for sure cars get toasted during sunny days.

The mall also have four good movie houses. My family watch movies there.

Alturas Supermarket

We call the store simply "Alturas". It is located along B. Inting St, Tagbilaran City, just beside the forever unfinished Agora building. I used to shop at this store before the existence of Plaza Marcela and ICM. But now, I seldom go there anymore though. One reason that I don't go there anymore is the small underground parking space which is obviously always full. Although I still want to go there to reminisce.

A lot still go to Alturas. The store is very conveniently located.

Shoppers Mart

It is also located at the heart of Tagbilaran City. The store carries basic grocery items and it's always crowded. I seldom go there but when I need to buy boxes of fruits (grapes, oranges, pears, apples and others) I go to Shoppers Mart. The store sells these fruits cheaper than those sold at other stores. And sometimes, I get to find good bargain items there too.

One reason that I don't go to this store regularly is that there is no parking lot for its customers.

Well, this blog is just a general overview about shopping here in Bohol. I may post more blogs about this topic soon.

See yah next time!

Shopping in Bohol (Part I)

I love shopping. But who doesn't anyway?

My most favorite is window shopping (at the department store or mall) and browse-shopping at my favorite on-line stores because I get to do shopping without spending. But when it comes to spend-shopping, I don't have other choices but to go to Plaza Marcela, BQ Mall and Island City Mall. It's very seldom that I go to Alturas Supermarket and Shoppers Mart anymore.

Plaza Marcela

Located in the heart of Cogon District, Tagbilaran City, Bohol, this store is not too big and not too small. One thing I like about this store is that it is very near my place of work and I can just drop by there anytime or during some quick errands on my way to home from work. The underground parking space is a big plus and it's best during noontime because my car won't get oven-hot and also very convenient during rainy days. The store carries most of the grocery items I usually need too. Fresh vegetables, fishes and meat products are also available. Sometimes I am lucky to get some fresh scallops and crabs.

The department store section of Plaza Marcela used to be my favorite before the presence of the other malls. The store used to carry GUESS? items, but now no more. I haven't been to the fashion section of the store for sometime now though. However, if one is not as choosey as I am, you can find good items there anyway.

The home furnishing section of the store carries the basic items. Since I don't have the need to buy things for my kitchen or house often, I seldom go there anymore. The last time I went there was last November 2006 to buy an oven toaster as a wedding gift for my cousin. Kitchen appliances are available there at reasonable prices though. But I think the place too dusty already. The place needs a thorough dusting job. I always sneeze when I am at that section.

The store manager is my college classmate and everytime I got concerns in the store, I just see him directly.

BQ Mall

The Bohol Quality is a store that I saw grew from a small store into a big store/mall that it is now. Before the existence of the other stores, BQ was the only place to go here in Bohol. Now it is a mall in itself. It is located along CPG avenue, in the heart of Tagbilaran City. It is very near the provincial capitol, cathedral and most of the commercial establishments in the city.

My most frequently visited section of the BQ Mall is of course the grocery section. There are still some items in the BQ supermarket that I don't find in other stores, such as : "Itlong na Maalat" (salted eggs). The salted eggs in BQ are the best I could get here in Bohol; re-sealable plastic bags; Eng Bee Tin hopias; sylvannas; Ormoc pineapples and some other few items.

I also have a BQ VIP Card and supervisors and clerks there are very friendly. The owners are also very friendly (I have know them since I was a little kid though). If I encounter minor problems or if I need assistance, they readily try their best to see to it that I got what I need.

The parking space of the mall is not that convenient for others though. It would require you to drive your car climbing up a steep passage way going to the car park and coming out from the car park. If one is not familiar with the area, most likely your car would get to kiss the sides of the passage way. Luckily I am already used to driving in and out of their carpark and I haven't had an instance that any of the cars I drove there got a scratch.

Opps, it's time for me to prepare lunch now. I will post the continuation of my blog (ICM, Alturas Supermarket, Shoppers Mart and others) about Shopping in Bohol in the next issue. Please keep posted.

See yah!

Siesta Trip

Shall I consider myself lucky? I still enjoy the luxury of taking "siestas" (after-lunch nap) very often.

This afternoon, after having lunch of : boiled 'sab-a' banana, 'lakatan' (another type of table banana), Ormoc pineapple, "guisadong upo', Bicol express Century tuna and boiled rice (I eat only a half cup or less or rice anyway) with my husband at home, the 'siesta urge' started to creep into my body system. With the TV left on with Wowowee program playing, I laid down my bed & quickly fell into a deep slumber. The weather outside was so conducive to the 'siesta' trip, the rain was so light and the sound of the water dripping from the gutter was hypnotizing and in a few seconds I was already into my dreamland.

When I woke up, it was still drizzling outside. I hurriedly dressed-up and got ready to go back to my office and it was already 2:30 p.m. I drove the car to the office myself (my husband will be taking the other car later) and since Tagbilaran City is experiencing bad traffic situations due to the concreting of the main roads, it took me longer at about twelve (12) minutes (much more than the usual 6-8 minutes) to reach my office.Tomorrow I look forward to another “siesta” or might decide to spend my ‘siesta’ time at the hair salon instead, to have my regular hair maintenance (root dye) done by my favorite hairdresser – Melan.

Blog Attempt

This is my Nth attempt to create my blog. I hope I am successful this time. This blog is intended to share with you life here in Bohol.

Though I am not a very good "blogger" (yet), I will try my best to be able to post as often as I could and give you a picture of how life in Bohol is (in my own point of view). Although, I would also be posting here stories about other Boholanos lives which might be interesting to read about too. Contributions are also welcome.

Welcome to my BLOG!