My weekend with Jessica Zafra and my iPhone

I am not a fan of Filipino writers. The only one I actually follow is Bob Ong. (Alright, I don't like reading heavy stuff! I don't need migraine. Duh?!!?) That is, of course, until Jessica Zafra came along.

Her recent book "Twisted 8 1/2" was head turner at National Bookstore. This 103 pages short stories (really short) page turner talked about the techie revolution. The story telling prowess of Jessica was spontaneous, witty and something I am sure most of my blog followers will be able to relate to (read - most of you who're reading this have to put on reading glasses).

In one of her chapters, "Requiem for the Compact Disc", she pictures her journey on the evolution of the Walkman to the Compact Disc and our trip down memory lane on what used to be music stores. How giggly we'd get at poring over all those new records, whether here or abroad.

"There is infinitely more music on the net today. You can read the album notes, visit the artists' websites, and hear samples of the music. But you can't hold the albums in your hands. You can't be among other people listening to music, judging them according to their musical tastes, and getting a kick when you realize that other people like the music you consider yours exclusively. Ah well, progress."

And I completely agree with her. With Facebook and Twitter and Multiply and all the gadgets coming out in so rapid terabytes, I have this strange feeling that before the end of this decade, machines may eventually control the humans who have made them.

Have you ever considered getting out of your house without your mobile phone? I'm sure most of us go back home to get it, otherwise suffer an anxiety attack the whole day.

I recommend getting the latest book of Ms. Zafra. Instead of reading the Philippine Daily Inquirer for the next week, this P100 short story book is a good deal to uplift your daily dose of laugh and reality check with the techie world.

Rating: 8 (scale of 0-10)
Value for money: Excellent!
Photo of the book from jessicarulestheuniverse.com

Then there was my Globe bill! Watdfuk?!?!?!? I had this iPhone 3GS since last year and thought (okay, still think) that it's the best mobile phone I ever owned. (You gotta know that I change mobile phones every 3-4 months. The longest was my Sony Experia which replaced by HTC)! It's a cool gadget! It's an iPod touch with a Phone. And camera and video. The reviews are right. No other phone has come close to the iPhone!

Then there's Globe. Hayyyyy, there's Globe. I promise to vote for Juan Ponce Enrile on the premise that he will shoot some Globe official off the wall. Included in my subscription is 10 hrs of internet charges already (you've got to pay for that separately). I got this just in case I am out of the office and need to check for emails as an emergency.

According to the customer service lady I talked to, my GFlex plan does not include my roaming, but includes GPRS/EDGE/3G/HSDPA and other Web-browsing charges. Check it out - I was on browsing for 4269 minutes (71.15 hrs) for my bill (for the months Dec 13, 2009 - Jan 12, 2010) of which only 600 minutes (that's the 10 hrs) was credited because it's supposed to be what free??!?!?! Now that is peeved me. Really really peeved me.

When I asked them (nope, challenged them) to show my how I actually consumed so much internet time, they curtly said that it was probably the phone. It has a thing for doing that...the iphone is so intelligent that it has a thing for connecting to Globe's internet...ang galing galing ng iPhone daw!! Leche!!!

Then they went on to say that maybe I did not put the push data off. I told them I was told to put it off when I got the phone so that I do not accidentally browse. Then they said that probably I did not have the 3G off. I do not use 3G, I retorted. It is always off unless I am in the US or Japan or some other country that needs 3G. They asked me to check my Wifi mode. Off, I replied. Maybe the location services is on? Off. What about the data roaming? Off. Internet tethering off! VPN not configured! Facebook chat off!!!! OFF OFF OFF OFF!!!

Oh they said it's the APN under cellular data. I should add a 1 to the internet.globe.com.ph at the end so that it does not automatically log on, according to the lady from Globe. I asked why. Oh because you automatically connect to the internet when there's no number 1 so that it does not get recognized. Huh?!?!? Built-in? Yes, was her reply.

And before we go, she nicely tells me, each time you connect to update your phone, you need to redo all these. I asked why? The iPhone is so smart that it goes back to all the default settings. The iPhone is so smart that Globe is actually making a killing for all these settings. Wow!!! Unbelievable!!! A phone that makes Globe so rich!!! Sanamagan.

To close the issue, I asked her what my flex plan included. She curtly replied, it included local data charges of internet browsing. And so, why am I asked to pay P1,253.21 of browsing time? I only spent P1158.53 on call and text charges. It's a 3500 Flex plan! Then she puts me on hold several times and comes back after 5 minutes to tell me that their system is slow today...sorry...can't check it...

Slow?!!?!?!?! Duh?!?!?! And they sell internet subscription?!?!?! Sanamagan the mobile services in this country. The reason for this kind of service is plain and simple - monopoly! You need to open up the very core of this kind of service to more people and the government should be more lax in providing incentives to competitors so that it is not only the Ayalas and the Pangilinans, or the Gokongweis who end up as the major players and cheat the public out of every little earned peso? While I can afford to pay for this - it's the principle that counts. One thing I hate is a cheater and big business that cheats consumers are the scum of the earth.

The only consolation I get out of this blogging is this is where I get to unleash my dark side. Thank God for that because I have a type A personality and Miriam Defensor-Santiago is on my idol list!

I will trod off to the nearest business center of Globe and politely ask once more regarding this. God help me!

Postmortem: As of this blogging, Brian Viloria lost his boxing bout. Knocked-out on the 12th round in his own country, the Philippines. This Fil-Am guy should retire. One more Pinoy boxer bites the dust. My take? Pilipit ang dila eh. Tingnan mo si Manny Pacquiao, tigas pati dila!