Hey guys! Remember the friend of mine I talked about in my previous post? Yeah the one who had an uncle suffering from mesothelioma? Well, she called me up yesterday and told me that her uncle is already stable. He hopes that the treatment will make him recover.

Anyhow, doing some more research about asbestos, I found out that even buildings are using asbestos in their heating system. Old buildings usually have asbestos insulation in their heater pipes just like in submarines or ships. Although not everyone exposed to asbestos develop mesothelioma, it is still risky. This is why specific measures must be done before even attempting to repair these pipes; otherwise it will be hazardous to health. I hope you learned something from this article.

Hi. I just received the LCD monitor I bought from Buy.com. I used to buy from circuit Circuit City but now that it closed down, Buy.com is the way to go. Anyhow, I got a Samsung 2233 monitor which is really a bang for the buck. At 22 inches, it is already a full HD. I bought this so that I can view several windows at the same time. If you’re a web developer too, you know it’s necessary.

By the way I also tried its HD capability using my Blu-ray drive. I watched “the Dark Knight” and it was perfect. The video was astounding and the images were so crisp. It even surpasses the quality of my LCD TV at home. I guess I’m so impressed this time. So I’m planning to get another one for my sister who still uses a CRT monitor.

I got my credit card statement earlier and I found out that I am already billed for the annual fee. Since I really hate paying for fees, I quickly called up my card company and requested a reversal of my annual fee. In a pleading voice I said “maam, would it be possible to reverse my annual fee?” To my surprise, the agent said “yes” but there’s a catch. I must charge five hundred dollars to my card before my due date for my request to be approved. Since I always use my card for groceries and stuff, this was not a problem.

Now what can I do with 500 bucks to spend? I thought I needed a new pair of pants for work! So I rushed to the mall and did some window shopping. At last, I found the perfect pair. I tried it and it felt comfortably tight. Unfortunately, it looked like a pair of breeches worn by equestrians. Hahaha. So I just got a pair of Levis and went home.

Oh I just remembered. Lately I was given a good “home insurance package” offer by an insurance lead. The insurance is comprehensive and it includes the house and everything in it. I became interested in home insurance because of a tragedy that happened to a client of mine, I think it was shown in CNN last week.

It was a medical facility that exploded because of gas leak. The facility was literally blown into pieces. Fortunately, insurance converted it all, so not much worries for the owners. The insurance offered to me is included in the office insurance; this is why it’s cheaper. What do you think?

Right this moment I’m in a hotel courtyard with beautiful flowers around me. I’m waiting for a friend who is doing some business transactions with a client. It’s taking a bit longer than I expected so I might as well do something before I fall asleep in this relaxing outdoor couch.

Well actually, this friend of mine is an architect. He’s working with an interior designer to convert some of the old wood flooring into a great piece of modern art. The owner of the hotel values the sentimentality of its structure so he doesn’t want anything thrown away during the renovation. How I wish I could have a garden like this at home.

Hey everyone! I was a bit shocked earlier to see so many nerds roaming around the office. At first I thought, a school was having a fieldtrip in our office because those young peeps were not in company attire. Anyhow, I remembered that last month our CEO stopped the hiring of regular employees and approved a policy to accept freelancers as part of our workforce – this is to help the company in the crisis of course.

Freelance jobs are becoming more popular nowadays especially on jobs in programming. Some freelancers even get more benefits than regulars. When it comes to work, they are paid for their outputs so they are forced to complete their tasks if the want to get paid. And I don’t know any lazy freelancer around (we can fire them anytime).

It was a wise choice made by our CEO. With this, we are helping talented young individuals who are struggling to find a well-paying job. This also gives the company a quality output because from what we have experienced, freelancers do the work as a part of their lifestyle, like a hobby of some sort. The only drawback about this is… we don’t have enough chairs in the office anymore! hahaha.

Next to my birthday, April 1 is one of the days I look forward to every year. It’s the only time I can legitimately execute and test my well-researched, practical jokes’ effectiveness. This 2009 though, the joke was on me…

While at work after lunch [12:47:11 PM], I skyped my best friend who was currently swamped with deadlines this month. I told him that I saw the cheap flight deals being offered and spontaneously made flight reservations to California from April 12 to 14 for both of us. I skyped him the flight schedules I researched earlier to make it more realistic.

I told him I know he’s busy (true) but then, I’ve been dying to go to the beach since last year (true), and that I’ve been planning to kidnap him so we can finally spend a long leisurely time together (ABSOLUTELY true), so I couldn’t help it and it’s going to be my treat (if I had enough dough to make the purchase, true).

Based from our skype chat, and as expected, he was utterly torn between his duties and his longing to go to the beach as well. I was just planning to make the joke run for 30 minutes to get the full effect, then he frustratedly skyped this then logged out:

[1:01:09 PM] what in the world were you thinking booking us???

So much for the 30 minutes… I called him up and asked him what day it was. He remembered it was April fools, and acknowledged my practical joke but was not happy about it. He said he hates practical jokes and actually left two of his friends because of those.

I was already feeling uneasy by this time. I think I overdid it. He logged in back in skype, was really pissed, and said:

[1:16:30 PM]: it was not a funny joke!
[1:16:42 PM]: i was actually gonna say yes!

I gaped at the message and was stunned. This is unexpected. Somebody pinch me… My crush and best friend was actually going to say yes to a 3-days 2-nights trip with me! *jumps up and down with glee* I re-read the message several times to make sure it’s there.

Then again, he said he’s so angry that he’s going to go on “hibernate mode” for the next six months so I won’t be hearing from him. He’s actually typing in ALL CAPs by this time. I almost had a heart attack (fortunately I availed of a life insurance no exam package last month) . This is the first time I got this type of reaction from an April fool’s joke.

I told him I understand the “hibernate mode”. I guess I did overdo it. I apologized to him profusely about the joke and asked if there’s anything I can do to make it up to him. He was silent for a long time… I never knew what suspense was until that moment.

Then he said, “Well… I do want to go to the beach as well, and I have always dreamed of surfing…”

I ended up booking us to the Outbacks as well!!! Since he knows I’m a bit short with cash, he said he’ll pay for his own airfare. Isn’t he the sweetest friend? I’m starting to love April fools day more than my birthday.