SEMPLANG LOCA

I saw the face of death today. That moment of imp... 

BANG! 

A split second of disbelief; a dream within a dream; a reality within a dream; or a reality within reality. I really don't know. I got a little bit confused. 

It was a sharp curve in Biluso. I was running on just 30, but there was a tricycle that caught me by surprise. It was running slow too, but the sudden appearance shook me.

The road was wet because of the morning drizzle. Everything happened too fast. I stumbled down and my head banged on the road. Thank God I have a helmet to protect my not-so-essential skull. It was the bitterest kiss i have tasted. I stood up quickly. The passengers on the tricycle got a little dazed in disbelief. The driver asked "Ayos lang pre?" ("Are you ok, man?") with a chagrin. I replied with a wave. Of course, I didn't remove my helmet. It was my protection: against the impact and against the humiliation.

When I looked back, Battlehopper (the name of my motorcycle) was there lying. He was hurt too. I could tell it from the bruises he attained after the impact and with the dislocated side mirror. Good thing his eyes (headlights) weren't damaged. On the road, my bag, with my laptop inside, was also contemplating. They were dizzy and asking, "What has just happened?" I could tell it when I picked them up. Good thing that my laptop wasn't really hurt that bad (proof is that I'm still typing on it now). 

I gathered myself up and uttered a prayer "Thank you Lord, I'm still alive."  I moved on and reached school safely. 

I saw the face of death today. It was brief though, because God sent an angel to snatch me away from him. 

That moment of impact was His swift rescue.

BANG! It is finished.

How to request for a SMARTBRO REBATE

Smart, which claims to be the "Nationwidest" and "strongest" network, still has a lot of glitches in its system and proof to this is the everyday clamor of subscribers regarding lost of signal particularly in its internet service (SmartBro). (This is evident in Smart's FB and Twitter account)

I'm a Smart Bro subscriber (the one with the canopy on the roof) for about 4 years now and an all fairness to them, I had good internet service in the past years and it is just recently (May of this year to date) that I have experienced "regular" intermittent internet connection.

When I have free time, I would really try to contact them and report about these disconnections. I also took down the Report Numbers that the call center agents would tell me.

However, it was only last August 13 that I learned about the possibility of requesting for REBATE! YEP, folks! You got that right! You can get your money back since we are paying for a certain monthly postpaid fee for "UNLIMITED" internet and we don't really get the service we are paying for. It was just unfotunate that SMART does not exert a lot of effort to inform its subscribers about this option. Aside from that, I find it unfair that the subscribers will still need to report and request when in fact, they should be responsible enough to monitor their connections and automatically issue rebates.

At any rate, WE HAVE AN OPTION to get our money back, and that's positive enough in itself.

If you are a Smart Bro subscriber and you want to request for a REBATE , here's how:

1. REPORT DISCONNECTIONS- Every time you experience loss of internet, be sure to report it to SMART by dialing *1888. It takes a lot of time waiting for connection, so I suggest you "dovetail" e.g. do something else, put your phone on speaker mode so you don't waste time waiting. Once you have connected, inform the call center agent and they will be able to monitor if there really is a disconnection or if there's just a problem in your computer.
2. RECORD REPORT NUMBERS- Upon confirmation that there really is a disconnection, ask for the REPORT NUMBER. All agents are required to submit reports and these reports have reference numbers for easier retrieval in the future. Be sure to take these numbers down and keep them in a notebook, which you can retrieve anytime.
3. REQUEST FOR REBATE WHEN INTERNET CONNECTION RESUMES- When internet resumes, call *1888 again and request for a rebate. I suggest that you do this prior to your Bill Cut off. But if in case you weren't able to do this before, they will issue rebate on the next month's bill. You'll need your notebook in this process to tell them the report numbers and dates when the internet connection was lost.
4. RECORD REPORT (for rebate) NUMBERS- The agent will again issue another set of report number. This time it's for the request for rebate. They will submit this to the accounting department of SMART who will then compute for the necessary amount that will be deducted to your next month's bill. 
5. WAIT WITHIN 48 HOURS FOR CONFIRMATION- They will call for confirmation. That's what the call center agent told me, but they never did. I never stopped bugging them through twitter and FB because I felt it was my right as a consumer. Finally, last October 14, they replied to me and told me that my request was granted. It was a long wait but it was worth it because the total rebate i got is more than 2 months of internet bill. I think I'll enjoy my internet til December for FREE!

Let us be responsible consumers/clients. Let us not let these capitalists benefit from our lack of vigilance and indifference toward the services that we pay for. We work for the money that we pay for these services. It is just necessary that they work for theirs too.


P.S.

Since the rebate request, SMART seems to have been "shaken" because my internet connection is now flawless. I haven't experience disconnection for two months now.

Of teachers and storms

Storms are teachers and teachers are storms.

Both rage. Both are unpredictable. Both could be destructive but constructive all at the same time. Both carry lessons with them, although often misunderstood, at times hated, even cursed.

But have we, as humans, as learners, asked ourselves? Have we shown appreciation? Have we learned any of the lessons that they carry amid the rage of misunderstandings? In a world filled with self-serving individuals, always looking for self contentment and comfort, we seldom,if not, realize the lessons storms and teachers ought to teach us.

Tomorrow, the storm shall leave and the semester shall end, and the teachers will soon to the ground lay to rest. But have we learned our lesson? Have we realized our mistakes? Have we exerted efforts to change? If we remain stagnant, if the drainage systems and our brains clog continuously, then learning  ceases to exist. Another storm will come, another generation will blame, will curse, will die unlearned, illiterate of nature's lessons; of God's design that we have timelessly tried to alter.


But storms are teachers and teachers are storms. Let's not stop hoping that humans will eventually become learners.