I was away for a couple of days in Cebu and Bacolod. Every waking minute in Bacolod was filled with non-stop activity, and I didn’t even get a chance to text Lee and Hchie who are long-time readers of this blog and who reside in Bacolod and Silay, my apologies. But I DID finally get to see the lumpia wrapper man in action, the realization of a two or three year quest to figure out how to make the most amazing thin lumpia wrappers. It was such an inspiring hour-long experience/story and felt it was almost too good for a single blog post. So you guys are just going to have to wait a few more weeks because I am hoping to convince a local television program to pick up the “feel-good” story and run with it. It’s something millions of Filipinos should see and hear for themselves. In other words, I am giving the story away. Will keep you posted…
Meanwhile, my laptop has had a nervous breakdown of sorts. Or fried brains, more likely. There were ominous signs last week, and thankfully, I managed to back-up all of my photos (over 10,000 food/travel shots) and all of my other work and personal files onto an external hard drive. But I didn’t manage to save ANY of my emails and can’t seem to figure out the details of setting up my email accounts temporarily on someone else’s computer… My MacBook Pro is only 20 or so months old, but it was very heavily used. And Macs are notorious for their bad/faulty batteries. So when I brought the laptop into the Apple service center this morning, they took one look and said they would send the pregnant, ruptured, exploded battery to Apple and hopefully they would send a replacement battery for free, due to numerous similar incidents around the world. If I don’t get a new battery, I will have to buy one for PHP7,500. And hopefully, everything on my laptop is safe and sound. I should mention that I was quite impressed with the serivce guy at Mac this morning, it took very little time and wasn’t as nerve wracking an experience as I thought it could be. So things will be a bit slow around here. And PLEASE DO NOT SEND ME ANY EMAILS UNLESS IT IS AN ABSOLUTELY LIFE OR DEATH SITUATION. Or at least don’t expect any answers for several more days. Thanks.
16 Responses
Hi MM, sorry about your computer woes. I keep an extra battery when I am in the Philippines but you can connect directly to a power source without your battery, can’t you?
When you said you did not save your emails, you don’t mean you have lost them forever? Unless you meant something else, your emails are safely stored with your ISP and you can access them in any computer without setting up new accounts. ….depending on your space allotment, though I can see that you probably have well over 5 Gigs, more than any free email service would allow. You just log on like you would normally do. I have several email addresses to make sure I can take advantage of as much space as I can as I tend to save most of my important emails.
Hope you get your computer problems squared away and will be back posting soon, or you will have many of us having MM withdrawal and getting hungry for more.
“And Macs are notorious for their bad/faulty batteries.”
– Really? I never heard of this before… if your Mac’s barely 2 years old, then its processor must be Intel. A power-hungry processor. No wonder your battery got fried. I am still hoping that Mac would make PowerPC laptops again. They’re less power-hungry than Intel-cored ones. (Sorry for the techspeak MM, it’s because of my major, computer engineering. :D)
MM, when you do the post on the lumpia wrapper, can you also have a youtube video or a recipe on how to make them. Also what crepe maker is the best one to buy. Sorry to many requests.
I think your laptop problem is because of traveling…just be glad that you computer still works after 24 months, IBM or MAC…that’s the average life of a traveling laptop in my experience. It must be shaking and the heat on the motherboard.
Sorry MM. Can’t help it, but this is not a life and death email but something DANGEROUS!
WATCH from the link below.
I am sure you do not visit the Cebu Penitentiary when you are in Cebu, but who knows?….. it could be cooking lessons after dancing sessions.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/27/filipino-inmates-perform_n_245420.html
I figure if we can’t have a post from you, let the inmates at Cebu Penitentiary entertain us.
ENJOY!
Sorry to hear about your unfortunate computer crash and the computer fairies are standing by you and able to run a back up of your invaluable photos. Otherwise, it is a real disaster! The other bright side is I cannot wait to read your post on lumpia wrapper and hoping you will share with us the ingredients and procedures in making a paper thin lumpia wrapper. Unable to bat my beauty supply enhanced eyelashes (Silly Lolo and BettyQ they look better than Tammy Faye or Dolly Parton for all that matter) for scarcity they will come off, the lumpia wrapper mystery is about to unravel. I will definitely stay tuned for your upcoming posts!
what is it about MACs? my husband and I both have 3 Macs total and each became problematic after about 1.5 years. luckily we got apple care for all of them! and didn’t have to pay for repairs :)
No need to apologize, MM. Heard you dropped by a cousins Cafe (Cafe 1925) that time you were in Silay with Ms. Fores. I’m glad you’ve decided to come back and visit. Next time naman, give me a call or email. There are a lot more kitchens to visit here :-)
I used to have a Powerbook myself. I remember a battery recall from Apple some years back. All I did was check on their website if my unit qualified for it and they exchanged it without any fuss.
After reading Jenny’s comment above, I’m beginning to think there must be a lifespan for Apple stuff. My Powerbook stopped working after about 2.5 years. There were no warning signs. It just refused to switch on one day. At the service center, the tech guys told me the cost of repair was about as much as buying a new one.
If you want value for money, get a Fujitsu laptop. The one that we got in 2001 still works until now. It’s a glutton for punishment.
I’ve been a looooooooonnnng time Mac user (since Classic II days). Truly value for money because even if the initial cash outlay is more than the PC (it was more than 2x way back when), the lifespan of both hardware, software, maintenance and ease of use more than make up for it. One of my Macs (desktop powerPC) lasted 7 years! My current MacPro is more than 3 years old now and my partners MacPro gen1 is more than 6 years old. Having said that, our laptops hardly travel, as they are for home/personal use, except when we go on vacation, one of us brings it along. As previously mentioned, the only gripe would be they just “die” with hardly any warnings. I’ve learned to keep vital info/documents on a separate hard drive; back up regularly.
MM, you should be able to retrieve email info, unless your hard drive was corrupted by a virus. Your email details are saved/preserved in a separate file. If you need help, email me.
dragon, et al, yes, I am assured that if this is just a battery problem, all my emails will be intact when I fire up the laptop again. :)
msybe it’s better to get apple care for your laptop MM.. an extra cost but i’m sure it is worth it though.. hope you’re battery will be replaced soon. pls if ever your lumpia story will be aired in national telly somebody pls upload the episode on you tube.. thanks.
cheers!
Maybe you can consider buying a Time Capsule for your Mac. No worries! :)
Another thing MM, laptop batteries do heat up (doesn’t matter what brand). I have bought laptop feet: silicon contraptions that stick to the 4 corners of the computer so the laptop is elevated, allowing air to circulate under the computer and cool it as you use it. It’s a pain if the laptop is mobile but for me since the computer is stationary most of the time, huge difference with my computer in the sense that it doesn’t get too hot now. My daughter’s Macbook which is newer than mine sounds older; she wouldn’t use the “feet” I bought and her computer, which is also stationary except for rare travel, does heat up considerably as she does tons of heavy graphic work on it.
It is your fault. You have such a great blogsite so you can’t stop us from e-mailing you whatever are the circumstances, hehehe.
Peace, man, peace!