The thing about having a 2nd hand car is the maintenance. It needs more maintenance than new cars but when you don't have enough money to pay for a spanking brand new car then you have to live with the quirks and minor repairs of your 2nd hand car. This is a lesson I'm learning with Stanley, our beloved Subaru Legacy.
Granted that so far, most of the repairs have been minor, like buffing up his paint or replacing his wheels. These minor repairs can still cost you an arm and a leg! LOL The only major repair we've had so far was when his CV joints got busted and we were practically crawling from Pampanga to Manila.. but still, in other cars, their wheels would've just rolled off. Other repairs include aesthetic things like a new sound system (we got the Sony Xplod thingy), grilles and garnishing (yeah, a car term!) and headlights.
One maintenance schedule that we follow is the oil change. Unfortunately, when we had most of Stanley's oil changed last time, Ondoy arrived at our doorstep. Stanley was flooded. Goodbye to all that oil!! It's only now that we're able to finally change his oil, after months of saving up. We went to Speedlab along Quezon Avenue in Quezon City which was owned by Patrick's co-worker. I can sense the difference as soon as we got in and went on our way home. Stanley was practically purring like a cat :)
The next item on our maintenance schedule was the repair of Stanley's aircon. This was looked at by my uncle who owns a car-aircon shop earlier. They made stop-gap measures to keep the car cool. But over the summer, the heat was just too strong that even at the highest setting, Stanley couldn't keep us cool. What's worse, there was a leak somewhere and Stanley's dripping water!!
Patrick thought Stanley's condenser and one other part that I fail to remember now need to be replaced. We took Stanley to Fusion R along E. Rodriguez since they're well-known to Subaru owners for supplying good quality 2nd-hand but original Subaru parts. Turns out, the condenser wasn't the problem but the tubes and fittings needed to be replaced. There was a lot of detail that I didn't understand but all in all it was like I bought a room airconditioner for the price of all those repairs. The bottom line, Stanley was breathing cool, cold air again and that was what's important.
I think next on the agenda will be the replacement of the glass tint. We need to get the tint with more heat-rejection because it gets really hot. If any of you have suggestions as to what tint we should get, feel free to leave a comment :)
Showing posts with label flood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label flood. Show all posts
The sun is out!
After Ondoy it was Typhoon Pepeng but he didn't pass Metro Manila. Instead he made landfall in the North, not once but three times (yes, he came back twice!). Relief and cleaning up operations are still ongoing this time in the northern provinces. The northern provinces, especially Pangasinan, Tarlac, Bulacan were left flooded. Baguio had one too many landslides and for a while the roads leading to and coming from Baguio were impassable. Rains continued for 3 days straight there. 5,000 cubic meters per second of water was released from the San Roque Dam, which may have added to the flooding of 90% of the towns in Pangasinan. Prices of vegetables doubled because most of these were coming from Baguio. Many people were left homeless, their crops a riverbed of water, and their towns once clean and green are now either flooded or muddy.
Metro Manila, this time, was spared with only a few rains here and there. Thus, we decided to get out of the house, breathe "fresh" air and maybe enjoy the sun when it comes out. We all went to Mall of Asia where Dylan got his hair cut at his regular salon. Den also went for a hair cut while I treated myself (sort of a pre-birthday gift) to a foot spa with pedicure! (oh it was heaven!!) at the David's Salon. I love this salon, they really make you feel pampered and special. That's why I keep going back there :)
The weekend after that, after Dana's Saturday class, as another pre-birthday gift, we also had Stanley's stereo replaced. We bought a Pioneer system that's equipped with a USB port for more music woohoo. Stanley's old radio had a 6 CD changer but you can only play 2 CD's and that's at the whim of Stanley LOL Next on the agenda will be to replace his speakers because one of them is broken. ;)
Metro Manila, this time, was spared with only a few rains here and there. Thus, we decided to get out of the house, breathe "fresh" air and maybe enjoy the sun when it comes out. We all went to Mall of Asia where Dylan got his hair cut at his regular salon. Den also went for a hair cut while I treated myself (sort of a pre-birthday gift) to a foot spa with pedicure! (oh it was heaven!!) at the David's Salon. I love this salon, they really make you feel pampered and special. That's why I keep going back there :)
The weekend after that, after Dana's Saturday class, as another pre-birthday gift, we also had Stanley's stereo replaced. We bought a Pioneer system that's equipped with a USB port for more music woohoo. Stanley's old radio had a 6 CD changer but you can only play 2 CD's and that's at the whim of Stanley LOL Next on the agenda will be to replace his speakers because one of them is broken. ;)
The aftermath of the storms
You've all probably heard by now the destruction that the Philippines experienced in the wake of Typhoons Ondoy (Ketsana) and Pepeng (Parma). Ondoy hit Metro Manila last September 26, rained for 6 hours and delivered a month's worth of rain. The result: Metro Manila was totally flooded, especially in the areas of Marikina, Rizal and Pasig, all of which were along the path of the Marikina and Pasig Rivers which both overflowed during the height of the storm. Many people were stranded, my niece included and she spent the night at the University. It's funny because though the school was only a 15-minute walk home I told her not to risk the floods because the water was thigh to chest deep in some areas. You'll see a lot of videos and pictures of cars one on top of the other, filled with mud and cascading down streets. Most houses in Provident Village were submerged in mud and flood waters. Patrick's brother Stevie and his family had to evacuate from their house in Marikina because the water rose up to about 12 feet. We went to help them with the cleanup last Sunday and we hardly recognized the subdivision because it looked like a battleground of sorts. As you can see, it's not just debris from their own house that they have to clear up. There are lots of debris brought by the floods that end up in their home and mud is so hard to clean.
We also heard from friends about other friends that lost most of their belongings and we pitched in to help by donating clothes and food. Den also volunteered in their school drive to pack relief goods.
Patrick's sister, Dimples also felt the brunt of the storm. Their house in Quezon City was totally flooded up to the 2nd floor. They thought that they will be safe because the water level has never risen past the ground floor and they were caught unaware by the deluge. They had to evacuate for their own safety. When they came back, their house was a wreck. Furniture overturned, the ref floating in the water and even their cellphones and gadgets were waterlogged.
This was certainly a trying time for everyone. More so for those who lost everything but their lives. Seeing all that they've worked so hard to build reduced to a pile of debris is heartbreaking. Losing their loved ones to the raging waters, cascading mud is even more traumatic. Having to spend the night on your roof without water, without food and without any hope of rescue is mind-shattering.
Thank goodness for the kind-hearted souls who have generously donated their extras to help their brothers in need. Thank goodness for the many organizations who work nonstop to get the relief goods to people still unreachable by regular means. Thank goodness for the indomitable spirit of the search and rescue workers who have continuously been working to get people to safety.
You can look at this tragedy and be hopeless and wallow in self-pity. Or you can take the higher path and feel emboldened by the generosity of others and move forward, value the life of your loved ones and strive to learn from this experience.
We also heard from friends about other friends that lost most of their belongings and we pitched in to help by donating clothes and food. Den also volunteered in their school drive to pack relief goods.Patrick's sister, Dimples also felt the brunt of the storm. Their house in Quezon City was totally flooded up to the 2nd floor. They thought that they will be safe because the water level has never risen past the ground floor and they were caught unaware by the deluge. They had to evacuate for their own safety. When they came back, their house was a wreck. Furniture overturned, the ref floating in the water and even their cellphones and gadgets were waterlogged.
This was certainly a trying time for everyone. More so for those who lost everything but their lives. Seeing all that they've worked so hard to build reduced to a pile of debris is heartbreaking. Losing their loved ones to the raging waters, cascading mud is even more traumatic. Having to spend the night on your roof without water, without food and without any hope of rescue is mind-shattering.
Thank goodness for the kind-hearted souls who have generously donated their extras to help their brothers in need. Thank goodness for the many organizations who work nonstop to get the relief goods to people still unreachable by regular means. Thank goodness for the indomitable spirit of the search and rescue workers who have continuously been working to get people to safety.
You can look at this tragedy and be hopeless and wallow in self-pity. Or you can take the higher path and feel emboldened by the generosity of others and move forward, value the life of your loved ones and strive to learn from this experience.
Flooding in Sampaloc
Never in my life did I think that the water would rise so fast. It was a Saturday morning and Dana had classes. So we brought her to school. It was raining a little so it was still okay, otherwise I wouldn't have thought to bring her to school at all. Anyway, around 10:30, we were heading out to get her from school and the rains were stronger, visibility was very poor but we managed and we even went to our favorite store so we can buy lunch but the water was high already and we were scared it might get into the car. We didn't think it was going to be bad at our place.
When we got near the house, we noticed that the garage was open and my cousins were bringing their cars out.. Look out! Water was in the garage and it was ankle deep in a span of 15 minutes!! we parked the car outside, brought the kids in and checked the status inside the house. Mel's room was flooded, there was a leak in the window.. got that fixed with sealant. Den's room was leaking, got that fixed too, the roofdeck was flooded, the drain was blocked. Our room was leaking.. the ceiling was flooding.. man, i can't fix that so our room had buckets of water LOL
You won't believe it, but the water in the garage rose to as high as chest-levels. On the streets, they were probably at thigh-levels. and the rain wasn't stopping ... At least, we didn't lose power.. Our neighbors houses were flooded. Our house itself wasn't flooded but we couldn't get out.. We just had to wait it out and keep vigil on the buckets of water inside the house LOL
Now we're waiting for the water to subside for the clean-up.. oh what a joy! LOL
Here are pictures, if you're so inclined:
On the streets:
Inside the compound:
If you look at the water level behind Tito Ernie, you'll see how high it reached.
Water in the car:
When we got near the house, we noticed that the garage was open and my cousins were bringing their cars out.. Look out! Water was in the garage and it was ankle deep in a span of 15 minutes!! we parked the car outside, brought the kids in and checked the status inside the house. Mel's room was flooded, there was a leak in the window.. got that fixed with sealant. Den's room was leaking, got that fixed too, the roofdeck was flooded, the drain was blocked. Our room was leaking.. the ceiling was flooding.. man, i can't fix that so our room had buckets of water LOL
You won't believe it, but the water in the garage rose to as high as chest-levels. On the streets, they were probably at thigh-levels. and the rain wasn't stopping ... At least, we didn't lose power.. Our neighbors houses were flooded. Our house itself wasn't flooded but we couldn't get out.. We just had to wait it out and keep vigil on the buckets of water inside the house LOL
Now we're waiting for the water to subside for the clean-up.. oh what a joy! LOL
Here are pictures, if you're so inclined:
On the streets:
Inside the compound:
If you look at the water level behind Tito Ernie, you'll see how high it reached.
Water in the car:
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