And here’s my I-suck-so-much-you’re-going-to-slap-me-stupid post of the week. It basically revolves around the fact that I didn’t get to vote for the 2013 elections.

Boo! Yeah, I know. “What’s your stupid excuse?” you might ask. I’ll get to that in a minute – but before that, let me share with you a few things I learned about this year’s elections. Tell me if you agree or if you have violent objections to make – it’s all good. After all, we live in a democratic country (for now).

2013 Elections: Lessons Learned

I spent the entire day watching television and observing online, getting green with envy as I saw everyone post about how hot it was outside, how long the queue was – oh, and how the PCOS machine always conked out at the right moment. In other words, I have assimilated so much information about what lessons are to be learned from the 2013 elections that I was compelled to share them with you.

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Oh, Holly’s Coffee. You’ve always been one of my favorite coffee shops because of your coffee and free WiFi (despite the wait staff who can’t seem to smile). I’ve always assumed that because you’re located near DLSU in Taft Avenue, you’d get the “art of service” down pat quickly enough. But just when I thought your service has improved, here I am, disappointed once more. And this time, you went too far.

I’ve always recommended the lasagna served at Holly’s Coffee because it was good. It’s the one thing I always order. But today, the lasagna I got was not what I expected – it was swimming in water.

Lasagna A La Swimming Pool?

I took one look at the plate and asked a member of the staff why the lasagna was in two centimeters of water. I asked not only because I was curious, but also because it was my way of saying, “Hey, look, your lasagna seems to have taken a bath!” in a nice way.

The wait staff said the water probably came from the tomatoes in the lasagna. (Dear chefs who are reading this, I know you’re probably having an aneurysm from that explanation.) He also said the water came from ice because the lasagna was previously frozen.

Notice how the crew member never offered to remove the water.

There was nobody else at the counter except me, so they couldn’t have been too busy to actually offer to make the food at least look presentable. Imagine a plate of lasagna that is up to its knees in what looks like pink water with red bits of upchuck. Seriously, can you eat lasagna that looks like this?

Note: The watery lasagna in the above photo was “recreated” to provide a close representation of the actual lasagna I ordered. And yes, the water in the lasagna I ordered was about the same amount, if not more.

Rudest Crew, Ever

Since the wait staff didn’t offer to at least drain the water, I asked nicely if they could transfer the lasagna to a new plate. The wait staff said yes, so I waited by the counter. And that’s exactly how I heard them talking:

Wait Staff #1: Anong nangyari? (What happened?)
Wait Staff #2: Kadiri daw. Ang arte. (She said it was disgusting. How annoyingly fussy.)

What on earth?!?

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While on my way to the 16th Mega Summer Bingo Bonanza sponsored by Neltex Development Corporation to celebrate National Hardware Day, I asked myself, what good would come of hitting a pipe with all the anger you can muster? Apparently, a lot.

Neltex has been challenging hardware dealers and members of the media to crush their pipes using a steel hammer to prove that their PVC pipes are indeed of high quality. Called the Hataw Challenge, people were asked to vent all their pent-up frustration on a poor piece of pipe – and guess what? The pipe remains unfazed. It’s like it has magical powers or something.

Neltex Hataw Challenge: Steel Versus PVC

During the National Hardware Day festivities, everybody was asked to join, including members of the press. Three lucky winners received a Samsung Galaxy P3100. Participants simply had to follow these simple steps.

1. Each participant was asked to fill out the registration form.
2. And the fun starts here: each participant was allowed to beat the pipe to a bloody pulp with a steel hammer – but up to this moment, all the pipe gets is a small gash. (I have yet to see any Neltex pipe bend or break!)
3. Interested participants were then asked to like the Neltex page.
4. Lastly, participants were asked to upload their photos with the Palo-er signboard on Facebook!

And if you joined but didn’t win? Well, at least you got the chance to beat the crap out of a pipe without looking like you’ve lost your mind.

Neltex Mega Summer Bingo Bonanza 2013

But that’s not all. Neltex also flew in almost 5,000 dealers from all around the Philippines to join in their National Hardware Day festivities. The highlight of their day is the Mega Summer Bingo Bonanza, where four brand-spanking-new cars were given away! As if that’s enough, 150 different cellphones were raffled off, too.

But really, how does this whole National Hardware Day affect me? I’m not a construction worker, nor am I a hardware store owner. I didn’t have anything to gain from a lecture on pipes, right?

Wrong. If anything, learning about pipes was right on the money, especially because I’ve been canvassing for a home.

Bad Piping and Ghosts

I thought of how PVC pipes are very much like ghosts: they are supposed to exist, but you aren’t supposed to feel their presence – unless they’re bad, that is. They (the pipes, not the ghosts) exist in your walls, but up until now, you probably never gave them much thought.

Well, let’s just hope your architect used Neltex pipes on your home; otherwise, you will be thinking of this blog post the moment something starts leaking.

Apparently, bad pipes lead to leaks that can potentially destroy your walls, toilets, floors, and even electrical outlets. And really, there’s no reason for you to buy cheap, substandard pipes – and I’ve enumerated the reasons for your convenience.

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