R.I.P. Michael Jackson

I first heard of Michael Jackson's death from Elvira my co-worker yesterday. It was a bit of a shock to me because I never really imagined him or anyone famous dying because for me they are immortal. Their fame, works, and contributions to human culture and society will forever linger.

Just like many influential people in the past, Michael Jackson has already accomplished the status of being an icon. I remember that I got my scar on my lower lip as a little kid from an accident I had because I was dancing to his music and slipped and fell on our old rattan furniture. What can I say? His music was so moving that I can't help but groove to the beat.

R.I.P. Michael Jackson

Remote Access

A friend was asking for help with her computer one day. It seems that she had a problem with her computer settings and naturally she asked me for help because she thought that I was a computer geek which I'm not.

Everything would have turned out easier if I had remote access to her computer. I tried using the Window's Remote Assistance software but I don't know why but somehow I wasn't able to connect to her computer at all. It was quite frustrating.

Telling her what to do step by step sure was time consuming and I could have fixed her problem within minutes if only I had access to her computer. It was just unfortunate that we didn't have RemotePC.

What I like about RemotePC is that it isn't system resource intensive, the program doesn't take a lot of memory. Plus it's easier to set-up and use than the very complicated Windows Remote Assistance.

You can just open the viewer or the web browser, log-in, and presto you can instantly gain access to the files on the computer and anything in the home network. Everything is very easy to setup and the subscription to the service is cheaper than most competitors.

The Path to Our Dream Home

OMG!!! We were shaken a bit after hearing from someone that we made a mistake of applying for credit to buy a set of furniture at Sears. Well this someone said that the bank could still back out and cancel our mortgage before the actual house keys are given to us.

Applying for credit after getting a mortgage approved somehow gives an impression that we can't afford to pay our mortgage, well that's what this person said because she used to work as a mortgage specialist.

It kind of scared us because what the hell are we going to do with our $3,500 worth Sofa if we don't have a house? Gosh my mom and I were really psyched out! It's kind of my fault because I was bugging my mom to apply for credit already so that the sofa will be manufactured and be available for delivery on the day that we will move in our house.

I'm also having second thoughts with the sofa we bought because for that price we could have bought an entire sectional. But it kind of looks nice right?


We bought one that is custom made, we got to choose the color and the sofa is made out of Italian leather and the chair at the left most part reclines. I have to convince myself that the price is really worth it...

We really felt down after buying a very expensive sofa because we saw a sectional for that same price... It really pays to window shop.

And we also learned our lesson and realized that we shouldn't apply for financing anymore because we were thinking that if we had a lot of debt it would really be hard to budget our money so it would be best to just save right now while we still aren't paying for our mortgage and then just pay cash for our mortgage.

But we did already reserved some furniture at Leon's. We didn't bother with a sectional anymore since it is very bulky and it would be better to get a sofa and a loveseat so that the four of us can get a seat that reclines. Plus we had to think of getting something cheaper but has good quality because we are furnishing 3 living rooms: the basement (entertainment room), main floor (great room), and second floor (bonus room). We were able to furnish our living rooms for less than $10,000 so I guess we made quite the accomplishment.

We won't buy any paintings, dining set, or beds yet since we still want to have food on our table and cash for our other bills. We just have to make use of what we currently own right now.

I'm still unhappy with the fact that not everything I want is happening but I am really glad that my mom's dream is finally becoming a reality. She worked so hard for this so it's just right that she reaps the fruit of her labor.

I just have to bare working for a while so that I can help with the bills while I still can.

A Book Review: The Unit

I'm quite pleased that I was given the chance to read and make a review of Ninni Holmqvist's debut novel, The Unit.

And I have to say that I enjoyed every minute that I have read the book as it aroused my sense of awe and wonder if ever a place like the Reserve Bank Unit would suddenly show-up in the not so far future.

The Reserve Bank Unit is a place for the "dispensables" (women over fifty and men over sixty who don't have "useful" professions or who are childless,) are gathered for biological materials and scientific testings.

Basically, the Reserve Bank Unit is a luxurious slaughterhouse. The occupants in the reserve are able to live extravagant lives being able to eat gourmet food and shop for luxury items without having to pay for them. Well, they do have to pay in the form of organ donations and participation in life-threatening experiments though.

The main protagonist of the story Dorritt Weger, submitted herself to the Unit because she was childless and her career as a freelance writer wasn't considered a job that could benefit all of society. Dorritt who was unhappy in the outside world, in the community, is suddenly infused with desires to live her own life again as she met a partner in the unit and that they had a baby together. It's just too bad that a tragedy had to occur to destroy her dream to become a mother. I won't say anything more about the story because I don't want to spoil it for everyone.

The Unit had exreme effects on the outside world too because cases of teen pregnancies and infant kidnappings arised because no one wants to be taken away and live the remaining of your life participating in several painful experiments and having your organs taken one by one.

This then gives us the question of how valuable human life is to society that they are able to treat humans just as walking useable organs and lab rats.

I highly recommend this book to everyone. The story has a very controversial topic that will surely spark your interest. Although the book is more on the female psyche, having read it from a male perspective, I still enjoyed the book.