Last Monday, I was taking my kids to the mall. As usual, we let them play at one of the playgrounds where they can play all sorts of games such as the trampoline, slides, swings, mini bikes, bouncy balls and even a ball pool. All for a small fee of course. It was a fine day, and there were a lot of other kids there.

As I watch my daughter playing, I noticed that she enjoyed the swings more than she used to. It could be because that she is getting bigger and the swings fit properly and is easier to use this time around. Seeing her playing the swings reminded me of my own childhood.

I enjoyed playing the swings too back then, trying to get as high as I can. I especially love to ride the swings while standing because you can get much higher that way. Of course back then I usually played at the playground near where I was living back then.

The swing sets are made of iron, as opposed to the mostly plastic one that my daughter use. It was heavier and requires more caution because we can easily get hurt if not careful enough. Oh they were the old days. It sure brings out a lot of memories that I thought I forget…

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Picture Copyright ©  Best Price Toys

It started sometime early last week, when the connection and also the cable TV service, which was both provided by Firstmedia, went down at the same time. It usually happened when there were heavy rains in the Jakarta area, but this time there was no rain whatsoever, which concerned me. What happened exactly I don’t really know.

The internet, however, returned with only a partial functionality. I said partial because it was horribly slow and even unusable at times, refusing to display any websites that I tried to open. At first I just tried waiting until the next day, since the problem usually disappeared after a while, but unfortunately this time it won’t.

The problem stayed for several days, even after I called their Customer Service, informing them about the problem. I tried several times, and each try usually ended up with their Customer Service telling me to turn off the modem for 5 minutes and then turning it back on again, while they tried resetting the connection from their side.

Unfortunately this solution didn’t seem to work well. The internet connection stayed slow and even unusable most of the time, making me considered that the problem could actually be a hardware issue. In this case, it could be either the modem or the cabling.

I don’t really think the cabling was the problem, because the cable TV service is working properly, but I wasn’t 100% sure. The modem was what concerned me the most, and I almost believed that it was really the source of the problem at some point, considering the time it took to establish an internet connection to their service.

I really need to know what the problem was, so I called again last Friday afternoon from my office. This time I determined to get real result. When the Customer Service representative told me to do another hard reset, I flatly refused to do so. I told him that they already tried doing that for the last several days to no avail.

I also told him that I won’t take any option other than a visit by their technician in order to know for sure what the problem was. As usual, they told me to wait while they forwarded my request to the corresponding department, and that they will contact me soon (which they never did).

The funny thing was, that the moment I got home that night, the internet connection is back to normal. Really back to normal as it was before the problem started. I was happy but slightly annoyed. What did they do this time? I didn’t turn of the modem as they asked, so what happened? There’s still no phone call which they promised me.

The next day I tried calling their Customer Service representative again. I told them my problem, and that it was gone now. I tried asking them to tell me what the problem exactly was, but I didn’t get a satisfactory answer. All they can tell me was that it could be because of a bad signal.

At that point I just decided to let it rest, for now at least, unless the same problem happened again. Anyway, it has been several days and the connection is still doing fine. I hope it stays that way; it was really annoying for sure. Oh well, see you around then!

As I get older and the days start getting shorter. When time flies by so fast it seems almost impossible to catch up. At certain point in our lives, we are beginning to forget, beginning to care less. Perhaps it is our flaw as human, fooling ourselves by thinking that those meaningful to us will always be there.

That is when God gives us a reminder that we humans are, in fact, mortal. That time, is something we cannot go back to. At times like these we can truly relate to ourselves as a human being. Painful as it is, but we must accept the fact and go on.

Someday our path may cross again, but ’till that moment came let us bid you a fond farewell, MJ. Your passing shall not be in vain. May you rest in peace. GBU.

While thinking of this, a thought crossed my minds. What about people who are already at a disadvantage, such as people with disability. Is there any way for them to have insurance? Of course they should arguably have a way to have insurance; it is only fair that way.

So while searching for a disability insurance out of my curiosity, I found out that there are actually Insurance Companies that provide insurance for people with disability. The insurance was called Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), and one of the insurance companies that provided this is Allsup.

I read that they have a 98% success rate for those who complete the SSDI process, quite a remarkable feat in my opinion. Anyway, it is getting very late, so I have to go and get my sleep while still can. See you later then and have a good day!

I’m a rather sad because I haven’t got the chance to visit the proud new parent. That and also because my best friend’s son have to spend more time at the hospital. It seems that his son got some kind of viral infection, which is quite normal for a newborn according to his doctor, but was advised to put his son in hospital care just to make sure everything is okay.

I heard that his son will probably be allowed to go home in a day or two. That was relieving news indeed! I hope I can go and pay them a visit this weekend at their home. I am also a bit sad because I cannot give anything but prayer and a listening ear. I wish I can give more to help them, although they probably got every help that they need already.

Anyway, if you read this, I pray that your son will be home soon so we can go and visit sometime this weekend. Take care and GBU my friend…