If there is one credit card issuer I am happy with, it is RCBC Bankard. I’ve been a subscriber since 1999 and we never had any major issues with them. I have 4 cards with them to date. I wish I can say the same for other credit card companies. First off, we have to remember that credit cards are not for everyone. If you do not have self-discipline, then use cash or debit card instead. I am happy to report that every single cent on our billing statement gets paid in full every month. It is the only way you can do to make the interest rate NOT work against you. This works for us even as we get away from having to pay annual fees because of our good credit standing with them.
When my husband and I decided on a whiff to celebrate his 36th birthday at The Boutique Bed & Breakfast in Tagaytay, we were talking about about our cancelled Boracay vacation. We were then in the hospital room where our son was confined for Dengue.
The Boutique B&B was the one place we have been meaning to check out. But for some reason we end up in another Bed & Breakfast in Tagaytay whenever we go swing by. Our son was discharged from the hospital late afternoon on my husband’s birthday. Because my man’s birthday is worth celebrating, I made arrangements as we waited for our clearance from the hospital. We also got our son’s doctor’s approval that it is safe for him to travel. We did realize that it was going to be night time when we arrive Tagaytay but decided to press on even if our B&B stay will not be maximized. This day of celebration was it! We headed home, packed the bags real quick and drove straight to Tagaytay.
The lobby feels of a classic European design, with a quintessential chandelier and a couple of unique box couches.
From the receptionist when I called earlier that day to the staff who accommodated us upon walk in, to the chef who served us our dinner that night and later served us a cake to celebrate Jeff’s birthday, we were very pleased with how they all treated us through and through.
We were led to this quaint powder room as soon as we checked in where we got to choose the scents that we want from The Boutique’s very own “Pamper Me” collection. We chose the scents for our bath soaps, shampoo, conditioner, lotion and room scent. Being a scent person, this totally won me over. And we have not settled in our room just yet!
Our basket of scents
My boys chose Apricot soap and I, Lavender. Lavender for the room scent too, Milk & Honey for Shampoo and Conditioner and Aloe Vera lotion
When I called earlier that day I was told that the “i dream” room is not booked. But we chose the “i desire” room when we walked in because we were told that there is no booking scheduled the next day for this room. This means we can extend our stay an hour longer for free. Before we finalized our room of choice, we got to check out the respective spaces. The only difference of the “i dream” room and the “i desire” room is the wall color. Chocolate for the “i dream” and white for the “i desire” room.
As promised, I am giving a more detailed entry aboutHi-Precision Diagnostics Laboratory‘s role in the early detection of our son’s bout with Dengue fever. We first had our son take the Dengue NS1 test when he had fever last June. It turned out to be viral.
Hi-Precision Diagnostics has a total of 14 branches. I still did not know before that they have a branch in Pasig, or if it was already open then. So our default was to their main branch in Del Monte Avenue, Quezon City. Whenever I go to have my son’s blood tested, I always get asked if I had a doctor’s request. Both times, I don’t. I always choose to have the necessary laboratory result ready when we go to the doctor. That’s just me being prudent and practical. It is for my own peace of mind as well. Even if the doctor won’t request for a laboratory test, with the Dengue fever incidents in the Philippines growing at such alarming rate, it really is better to be safe.
I was asked to fill out the Patient Registration Slip as soon as we got there. During our first visit, I also had my son’s blood and Rh (Rhesus Factor) typing done, while he was already there for blood testing anyway. This earned him his Hi-Precision Diagnostics Patient Card.
The Hi-Precision Diagnostics Patient Card serves as his blood type card as well. My son’s blood type is printed on the covered portion of his card (above photo). This card also serves as a discount card, 10% off on all laboratory tests.
My husband and I went to check out the 22nd Philippine Travel Mart last September 2 held at SMX in Mall of Asia. We hoped to find similar travel promos like the tickets we scored during the the 21st Philippine Travel Mart held in Megatrade Hall in Megamall. We were then able to buy 16 AirPhil Express tickets which we used for our trips to Davao (with Jeff’s relatives) and Bohol last May. All for P270 (approx. $6) each, roundtrip.
Since most airline companies during the 22nd Philippine Travel Mart only offered promos for travel periods until end of the year, we really did not take interest anymore. We have plotted our family’s travel plans for the whole year as early as first quarter of this year. The last of which will be to Hongkong for our 10th wedding anniversary trip.
We were supposed to fly to Boracay last September 5 to celebrate Jeff’s 36th birthday. It was cancelled because our little guy was hospitalized for Dengue. Thank God that the loss for that trip was not so much for us. The tickets for Boracay that we bought only cost a total of P1,400 for the three of us (roundtrip). The perks of booking when airline companies offer their promos! We’re cheap this way. We really would rather spend for the island tours, pasalubong shopping, food and exploring the locale. As for the accommodation, it was the prize that I won last year from one of last year’s Philippine Travel Mart vendors.
We bought Zest Air tickets during the 22nd Philippine Travel Mart. We saved half of the regular fare. We tried booking online the previous week and the regular price for our travel dates costs more than ten grand for two tickets. We thought to wait it out and check out with the PTM. Good thing because it was an instant five grand plus savings!
It was our first time to travel via Zest Air. Our flight was rather early, slated at 4AM. Zest Air has limited schedule. Either we fly very early or after lunch. Thinking we will be able to accomplish with our business if we go early, we chose the earliest trip. We drove to Manila International Airport at 1:30AM. It was convenient that there was a parking area right smack across the airport and the fee was only P50 per day.
I flew back home yesterday from Davao practically groggy from lack of sleep. Spent time with my son while attempting to work on the side. He was blabbering about the many things he has been reading. But before that, we played “Hospital Story” on my phone for a while after our afternoon nap. I just had to sleep off the migraine that was kicking in.
When he just would not stop telling me about the solar system, facts about the moon, how a particular desert was once fertile enough that farmers toiled on it, I just thought I’d just stop trying to work altogether and give him my undivided attention. I thought of recording a video while he was deep in his thoughts.
It’s a little past 6AM. Jeff and I are already settled here at an apartelle in Davao City. We tried booking via Agoda.com a few hours before we drove to Manila International Airport. But because we figured the PayPal exchange rate will have us end up paying more than if we just walked in, we decided to just go the same place we stayed in here last May.
We flew via Zest Air for the first time today. Our first would have been last week to Boracay if our trip pushed through. Admittedly, with all the bad publicity Zest Air has managed to collect, I can’t say I was very confident as I stepped in their aircraft. But given that our flight must be the first for the day, our flight wasn’t delayed. Yay! Jeff and I slept through its take off too, another plus point for Zest Air. But the touch down was a different story altogether. Read the rest of this entry »
Our family has been considerably vigilant against Dengue and yet it somehow managed to creep in and attack our six year old son last week. We don’t have mosquitoes and bugs in our house. Credits to our trusty JML Pest Shield, which we’ve had for around three years now. So whenever our son gets out of the house, I always make sure to spray all over his body some insect repellent. One brand of which, I even bought one liter of. Just to make sure we can easily replenish the atomizer we use whenever it runs out. It started with fever one Thursday afternoon. We tried to manage the fever. It went swinging from 38°-40° until the day after. I tried to book with Hi-Precision Diagnostic for a home service blood extraction, but was told that their Saturday schedule was already fully booked. We took our son to the laboratory first thing Saturday morning instead.
By Saturday morning, my son’s fever has been on for more than a day. Normally, with regular laboratory test – CBC and Platelet count, Dengue cannot yet be detected. We were not willing to take the risk. So we had our son take the Dengue NS1 Test. I will blog about Hi-Precision Diagnostics later. It took less than 2 hours for the CBC and Platelet count result to be available online. We are just thankful that this kind of service is now available for our convenience. Result came back normal, save for some differential count abnormalities, which practically reads as infection, I was told. Because my son’s high grade fever was not responding to any paracetamol medication, we decided to take him to his doctor before we were able to download the Dengue NS1 test result. He was given an antibiotic prescription (Co-Amoxiclav), because the doctor saw that his tonsils were inflamed. Most likely, viral.
It was when I got home from an errand that we were able to download the result – Dengue Positive (Weak Reaction). This basically explained why his fever did not respond to any medication. We decided to take him to Jesus Immaculate Conception Hospital, where his doctor is, for confinement that Saturday night. Just so his platelet count will be closely monitored. We were just really blessed that even through what could easily be tagged as a deadly disease that our son had, he was still chattering about and with energy, for the most part. To see our children suffer is the most painful thing in the world.
