One weekend at The Manila Ocean Park

My kids unlike other children does not enjoy going to the mall. They prefer going to the park, museums or to the beach. So one weekend, we decided to go to the Manila Ocean Park. The Manila Ocean Park is an oceanariumin in Manila behind Quirino Grandstand at the Rizal Park.

The oceanarium was divided into different sections:

Agos (Flow) - freshwater fishes can be found

Bahura (The Reef) - features the very colorful Philippine underwater rainforest

Laot (Fishing ground) - big fish and Eagle-spotted rays can be found

Buhay n Karagatan (Living Ocean) - is a 25-meter long walkway tunnel with 220-degree curved acrylic walls. It is where we see how marine animals interact with each other in their natural habitat.

Pagi and Pating (Stingray and Shark) - variety of rays and several species of sharks

We all enjoyed because this is the first state-of-the-art oceanarium in the Philippines. It's really educational, kids were able to see different kinds of sea creatures in different aquarium. Each aquarium has a label of its english and tagalog name. We were amazed of the sharks and stingrays, before we only see them in movies. We also enjoyed the Mermaid show, mermaids dance while stingrays and sharks swim in the water.

The kids also had fun with there Fish Spa where spectacular species of fish commonly known as Doctor Fish, named for the wonders they have been known to do for people with skin related diseases, nibble away only affected and dead areas of the skin leaving your healthy skin to grow.

What is Pterygium?

Many things happened to me this past few weeks, I never had a chance to blog. Had a problem with my work, health, and with my Nanny. But everything is back to normal now and I just hope that it will continue to be ok.

Last month, a redddish pimple-like grew in my left eye. I thought it's because of stress so I made sure I had enough rest.I also appplied an eye drop to lessen the rednness but one week after I noticed that the size increased. I went to the ophthalmologist and had my eyes checked. The doctor said it's because of stress he gave me a sterile ophthalmic drops,he also checked my eye pressure and it's within the normal range. I was impatient because I've been using the drops for two weeks but I haven't seen any improvement. I went back to him and he just said not to worry then just finish the bottle. Since he is the expert I followed what he said. After a week the reddish pimple-like grew bigger and it's already near my iris. I was impatient again so I visited another ophthalmologist and I was advised that it's called pterygium.

Pterygium is a raised, wedge-shaped growth of the conjunctiva. It is most common among those who live in tropical climates or spend a lot of time in the sun. Symptoms may include irritation, redness, and tearing. Pterygiums are nourished by tiny capillaries that supply blood to the tissue.

The second ophthalmologist advised me to stop the eye drops I'm using since it didn't help, I used it for four weeks. He said to wait for another week if it's still red then I have to undergo surgery because it may affect my vision since it's already near the iris. He also advised to avoid too much exposure to the sunlight and use shades with uv protection.

Thursday isn't my day!

I work as QA Analyst/Sales Verifier in one of the call centers here in Manila. I started as QA Analyst in a technical account but after 6 months I was transferred to a financial account. We handle one of the credit cards in the US and our agents are also based in the US. The agents offer different programs of the banks to the card holder. All the calls are recorded and we listen to all of them to avoid cases of fraud. Fraud done by the agents they also call it slamming. There are certain guidelines from the client that have to be followed. If the agent did not follow it strictly it will be kicked back and will be considered to be invalid sale. Basically we audit the calls of the agents and there is also a spotchecker who audits the QA Analysts verified calls.

One of the calls I verified yesterday was a good sale. During the presentation of the program there was no negative reaction from the customer. Even during the enrollment question and billing question (BQ) the customer answered an affirmative yes. Due to high call volume when the customer answered yes after the billing question I disposed the call. I did not wait for the agent to finish his closing spiel.

Unfortunately when the call was about to end after the agent finished the closing spiel the customer changed his mind. He refused to the offer but the agent still processed it as good sale. It was the time that I no longer have the call. Our spotchecker got it and report it to the manager. Poor me, for that case I will be suspended for 5 days. I was really confident that it was a good sale knowing that the customer immediately agreed to enroll. The lesson we learned in our team was to listen to the entire call.

To work in a financial account is really risky. Especially that from previous years United States had so many cases of fraud and identity theft. Identity theft is stealing someone's identity like personal data, social security number, bank accounts or credit card number to personally profit at his expense. It takes years and big amount of money to restore a reputation in the community and erroneous information.

Benefits of Whole Grains in our Kid's Health

Some parents are having problems with their children's eating habit. We can seldom encounter kids that enjoy eating fruits and vegetable. Kids now love to go to their favorite fast food chain or can easily buy junk foods from any convenience store. TV ads influences us so much.

I've read that whole grains have been found to be nutritionally superior in giving health benefits than refined grain. Cereals, bread, pasta contain all the healthy parts of the grain. There are also snacks that are made of whole grains which can easily be found in our favorite supermarket.

Whole grains contain all three important parts of a grain: Bran - which is rich in fiber, B vitamins, iron, zinc,copper and phytonutrients. Germ - which is rich in vitamin E, B vitamins, antioxidants, and essential fats. Endosperm - which offers carbohydrates, protein and small amounts of B vitamins.

Whole grains provide energy to support kid's growth and activities, promotes healthy digestive functions. Fiber helps clean the digestive tract to prevent constipation, promotes regular bowel movement and keep digestive tract in tiptop shape. Whole grains also encourage healthy dietary habits, by incorporating whole grains into our kid's diet at an early age we establish good lifelong dietary habits in our child.

Online Recruitment..Online Screening

Today most of us has Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace account. Normally when we sign up we fill out personal information, educational background, employment history etc. We also upload pictures like family, special occasions, officemates and company outings where our friends can leave comments. There's also an option to post shoutouts about what we feel for the day if we are sad, happy or mad at something.

But I've just read today from the newspaper that nearly half of US employers search online profiles of jobseekers using social networks. I realized that it is really possible that employers pre-screen job applicants by utilizing those sites.

Let us all be mindful of the information that we post online. I suggest never upload any scandalous pictures, never post shoutouts that will be taken against you like badmouthing someone or any discriminatory comments. Instead post information that will boost your personality especially if you are a jobseeker.

The Best Buy Online

It's a back to school season and I'm looking for best buys and this includes my younger daughter's eyeglasses. I normally spend $100 for her eyeglasess and it doesn't last, it's either she broke it or had scratches on the lens. Then I saw Zenni Optical on TV!!!

I went online to check their site and I was amazed they have $ 8 Rx eyeglasses. Designs are really fashionable at an affordable prices. This is really beneficial to us because normally our ophthalmologist would just give us the prescription then it's up to us where to order the eyeglasses. My husband would storehop to find the best that would fit on our budget. Now that I know of Zenni Optical we can just go ahead and order online.

I've heard others recommending Zenni for being high in quality and in reasonable price. Their shipping and handling costs only $4.95, what more can I ask for. High Five to Zenni Optical!

Vasovagal Syndrome

Last Saturday I went to the gym then after, I went to the hospital to visit my Aunt who's in the ICU. We just started the conversation and immediately I feel dizzy so I went out and I found a chair in the Nurse's station. In less than 5 minutes I collapsed, when I woke up I saw the doctor getting my blood pressure. My blood pressure really went down, 100/50, it's the first time that happened to me. Also a week before this I played badminton with my officemates, it was a 2 hour play. When I went home, I feel pain from my chest through my back as if I'm going to faint.

This thursday I went to Medical City for a check up, the physician advised to have a blood test and an ECG . After an hour of waiting, I got the results. The blood test result was normal but I was reffered to the cardiologist. I discussed everything to the cardiologist and also my previous experiences. I can't stay longer in a "dawn mass" because of the crowd. There was a time that I fainted at the middle of the mass.

The cardiologist said that I may have a "vasovagal syndrome". To confirm he gave me option to have a "tilt table test ". It's funny because he said on the evaluation they will give the patient physical exercises with a certain amount of time, if he faints then it's confirmed that he has "vasovagal syndrome ". I guess no need for me to perform the evaluation. He discussed the precautionary measures which I've been doing eversince.

Normally when we are tired our heart rate would go fast and blood pressure should go up. But what's happening to me is my blood pressure goes down the result is less oxygen going to my brain then I start to feel dizzy. I cannot take the drug to let the blood pressure up because of family history for hypertension. To avoid symptoms that may trigger to fainting I was advised to have a high salt diet and stay well hydrated, avoid long exposures to sun. So far my condition is not that really scary, the doctor said that I can continue my daily activities especially going to the gym and playing badminton. We are going to continue to observe my condition and if it happens again I may have to undergo several heart examinations.