Dial-Up Servers

Not so long ago, a familiar ringing sound would be heard whenever we would go online. It was even popularized by the movie of Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, You've Got Mail. You get connected by buying pre-paid internet cards or if you're one of those people who's not afraid to get their accounts hacked and pay 10,000 pesos for using the internet 24/7 when clearly you didn't (this happened to us when we were still in postpaid connection). Sometimes it would take a hundred years before you can get through because you'd always get a busy line when you're trying to use the dial-up server. This sucks big time! I even remember trying to go online when I was unaware that my brother was using the phone. I heard him through the modem talking to his girlfriend and then the modem starts dialing the number for the dial-up server. LOL.

So anyway, those days are clearly gone with the emergence of cable, broadband internet with their CAT6 cables with their speedy, unlimited use of the internet. It is sometimes annoying when the connection tends to be so turtle-paced or worse, there's no connection at all. Still, I prefer the internet connection today because I get to multi-task while I'm online. Talking to a friend on the phone and chatting with others online.

From Walkmans to MP3 players

I wonder how our life would be without mp3 players? As an avid music listener, I always carry with me my player. It used to be a disc player in the 90's and a Walkman in the 80's. I don't think I can imagine my life without any of these gadgets. I remember memorizing the exact number of seconds for me to rewind the tape when I was using my Walkman. It got easier when we had the discman but the downside was that I had to bring along with me my favorite CDs that I wanted to listen to for that particular day. Being a fickle minded person that I am, it was tough. I always end up bringing at least a dozen CDs just in case I didn't feel like playing the album I intended to listen to that day. But now listening to music is easy and hassle-free. No more rewinding of the cassette tape nor heavy, bulky CD case in the bag. Ipods and other brands of mp3 players spread like wildfire. Now people can bring their music with them anytime and anywhere.

Babies and Exercise

Back when I was still studying up until I started working after graduation, I noticed that I've been slowly gaining weight. It is only now that I've realized (after much denial) that I have gained a lot of weight for the past seven years. What kills me is that I saw one of my friends the other day and she looks slim as ever despite the fact that she has a nine-month old baby. I asked her for her secret and she just told me she exercises a lot. I was then puzzled as to how she manages to exercise because I know she doesn't have a nanny and so for sure she's busy taking care of the baby. She probably saw the look on my face and told me that it was all possible because she owns a Bob stroller.

Being the complete single and ignorant friend that I was, I asked her what it was. She said that it's one of the best gifts she's ever had received on her baby shower. Apparently this stroller enables her to go on walks or even jog while her baby is secured in her stroller. She says she doesn't have to use the car anymore while doing small errands. She just walks and brings along her baby with her.

Now that I know her secret, there's only one problem left. I don't have a baby. LOL!

The best things in life are Free

It's funny when we ignore certain things when we see them in the stores but when the same things are seen being given away for free, we automatically line up to get the freebies. I am a member of this population. Let's get real here, who doesn't like free stuff? Promotional products are one of the best freebies you can receive. Well, actually it depends on the company giving out these goodies because you can only have enough coffee mugs. I remember I was once given a really nice looking wristwatch. It was smart of that company to make their logo discreet, that way you can wear the watch without looking like a walking ad. December is fast approaching and Christmas parties is one of those events where they hand these freebies. Wee! I can't wait.

Ring, Ring, Ring!

Do you still remember this kind of phone in your home?



We had one of these in the 80's. I had fun dialing numbers and hearing the clicking sound. It was also sometimes annoying to use it especially when you're in a hurry. Mas nakakainis pa lalo pag nagkamali ka ng pag-dial. You have to press the plunger and dial the phone number again. Kainis! It's a good thing they've phased out this unit.

Easy Call, Pocketbell and Powerpage

"Where are you? I'm already here at our meeting place."

"I'll call you when I get home."

"Dad, please buy me one large fries, medium rootbeer and a hot fudge sundae. Thanks!"

These are just a few of the messages that operators from paging companies would hear from me back in the mid 90's. The emergence of pagers here in our country have somewhat made contacting our loved ones, colleagues and friends a biteasier. There are however three drawbacks that I can think of when it comes to using a pager.

1.) Cell phones aren't yet that common at that time. It is only the rich and very busy people who own cell phones back then. So it's difficult to receive an urgent message because I'd still be unable to reply right away.

2.) You really can't say everything to the operator. There are just some words that should be said in person instead of having a complete stranger type it away and send it to the recepient.

3.) Lastly, some operators from the paging companies sometimes appear to have hearing problems. I have received a couple of messages that just didn't make any sense. Or maybe it was the sender of the message that has a speech defect. LOL!

Despite these flaws of the paging system, I used mine for almost two years when I was in college. The only time that I decided to have it disconnected was when cell phones became the "in thing".

This is what mine looked like except mine was transparent and I bought extra body casing in yellow and white. Arte ko talaga! Haha!