Finally, a decent Car stereo!!!

After months of listening to the "almost-static" sound of my busted car stereo, thank God for the far much cheaper remedy of having it repaired to our nearest audio repair shop. The shop's located near Frisco. Whew!

My journey to a decent car sound system was never an easy task. For the longest time, we thought the problem of my car's radio is the speaker system. Being the original speaker since we bought the car in 1991, my stereo's 25-watt stock car speakers are very much overdue for retirement. My dad and I finally decided to replace the speakers one Sunday morning. We initially traversed the suburbs of Banawe just to find a decent-priced speaker system. We were not contented with the price and the quality of the cheap speakers we found so we decided to look for it in the sounds capital of the Philippines, Raon. :)

We finally found a decent and cheap speaker system. We found a Konzert 150-watt speaker system for P550! Our elation was suddenly halted upon turning on the radio after we put the speakers ourselves. We heard the same quality of sound as if we were using the old speakers. So it turned out that the problem was not just the busted speakers, but also the stereo. Dismayed and tired, we headed back home that day...

The following week, a Saturday, we decided to have the radio fixed. So my Dad and I decided to drive around to look for a decent repair shop to get the stereo fixed. We saw a repair shop near Muñoz and stopped by to ask for a quotation. They said that it will cost around P600 to repair the radio. However, they will not guarantee that the problem will be fixed. For the utter lack of trust to the repairman, whose eyes were so yellow you'd think he's using mustard as eye drops, we looked for another repair shop. I was about to lose my patience and was beginning to think of buying a new car stereo. Until suddenly, my dad remember a shop near Frisco. We decided to take the stereo there to have it checked. And finally, that was our final pit stop. The owner quoted P550 as the price for labor and spare parts to be replaced. So we decided to take the risk.

Voilah! After 3 days of wait, we got the radio. We tested it and then... The same problem exists!!! We left it there again and again waited for another 3 days to get it fixed. My Father then retrieved the radio and found that it was already working properly. Half of it, that is! After several tests, he found out that the radio's right speaker was not working properly! Damn, another problem! We were thinking it was the wiring to the speakers this time...

He decided to take the radio to Banawe (right where we started) to have the wirings checked. The repairmen found out that it was still the radio's problem. It had a balance problem. So my dad brought the radio back to the repair shop in Frisco...

After a few more days, we got a call from the repair shop, telling us that the radio was already working properly. Dad texted me the good news, so I hurriedly retrieve the radio, straight from work.

Hallelujah! The angels must have possessed the radio!!! It was working perfectly! Whew! After all the hard work, my driving life is back to normal. Now I can once again listen to "Tambalang Balasubas at Balahura" to rev up my early morning driving! NOT!

Then I decided to purchase the MP3 FM modulator I was longing for in CD-R King. After that, driving in the metro has never been this beautiful. Thank God for my newly-operated radio...

Whew... That was a long one...

Election Blessings

We have seen news of vote-buying, school burning, murders, shaving and padding, and all other election-related controversies over the past week after the recently-concluded May 14, 2007 elections. Indeed, a lot of people were hurt, a lot of people committed various crimes. However, looking at the bright side of the elections, we also saw that there have been positive outcomes of the elections, amidst all the controversies.

Here are a few things we can be thankful for in the recent elections:

1. Manny Pacquiao took a beating from Darlene Antonino-Custodio in the Congressional race in South Cotabato. It was a win-win scenario for these two politicians and the public. For one, the Philippines did not lose a hero in Manny Pacquiao. Now he can concentrate on his boxing career and continue to inspire young boxers, help his kababayans financially and morally, and become the world champion. At the same time, the public will still be awed by the charms of the youthful-looking Congresswoman Darlene Custodio. It's good to see a few fresh faces in Congress.

2. Garci bids "goodbye" in his Congressional dreams. Thank God the people of Bukidnon did not vote for this guy. If he did win, our politics will again become the laughing stock of the entire world.

3. Our Actor senatoriables are miles away from the "Magic 12." I have absolutely nothing against actors running for public office. It's just that actors have an important place in this country already and they no longer need to enter into public office in order to prove anything. Just like Manny Pacquiao, they can already help make the country a better place not by running for Senators, but by engaging in socially relevant activities. Be a Tony Meloto. Enough said.

4. Pampanga chose one of the Lord's flock to be their next Governor. Thank God Fr. Ed Panlilio emerged as a competitive candidate in the Pampanga gubernatorial race or else, Cabalens are left with either an allegedly corrupt incumbent, or an alleged gambling lord's wife. Also, thank God for the people who volunteered to guard Fr. Ed's votes, and the lawyers who helped him for free. There are still good samaritans out there, and Fr. Ed's candidacy just exposed a lot of them. Let's just hope he could carry his newly-found cross until the end.

I hope the end results of the National Elections will turn out relatively positive...

May 14, 2007

My vote has been casted...