Issue with Dab Water Pump

A few weeks ago, our water started to get scalding hot. We thought it was due to our water heater. Sweetie adjusted the temp and we thought that would resolve the issue. I was super surprised one evening while washing my hand the water was scalding hot. We turned off the water heater in our bathroom. 

The next day, Miggy said the water was still hot everywhere. We were getting really worried because hot water can damage our pipes and we were not sure what was causing it. I did some research and found some pages about how hot water can be produced by your water pump. 

Removed the Dab water pump for now

I specifically looked up possible issues of a Dab water pump. We've had ours for five years now and have had it checked only once. Sweetie called the next day and booked a technician. While waiting, he turned off the pump from the circuit breaker just to be sure it doesn't cause other issues. He switched the water to come directly from Maynilad and not our tank. Water was once again cold all over the house. 

Bestank (the distributor of Dab) sent a technician by end of the week to check the issue. He explained that the water dried up in the machine. This can be caused by brownouts and when there's water interruptions. We experienced both the past few months and that's what probably caused the pump well to dry up. He also noted that the grounding was removed from the outlet* and there's one more part that needs replacement (the hot temp damaged it). 

We're now just waiting for Bestank to update us about the cost to replace the 3 parts. I hope it won't be expensive. While waiting we'll also get an electrician to replace the outlet to accommodate the grounding. We've used water pumps for decades now. We had a cistern in my childhood home where we'd store water. A water pump helped distribute it across the house. The issue has always been the pump well drying up. I'd still use Dab since it's been very reliable. We'll just make sure the well always has water.  

*Removed by the electrician who helped build the house. He should have changed the outlet instead. This is what also ruined our water dispenser (rawr!).

#BeKind #StaySafe

Restful Sunday

I hope you all had a restful Sunday!

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I Didn't Know Caladiums Can Grow So Big!

Last May, we transferred the last set of pots and plants from my Mom's garden. Some had soil in it but no plants. Those pots eventually got rained on and I was surprised to see Caladiums/Heart of Jesus growing. 

I didn't touch it and I watered it everyday. I eventually gave those pots some chicken manure and I was surprised to see them grow so big! Here's a few photos of how it developed:

I think I'll re-pot the other bicolor caladiums. They thrive in bigger pots.

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Found Some Dalandan, Made Spanish Chicken Adobo

I made Spanish Chicken adobo whenever we buy dalandan. It's always a big hit and I remember Tito Mon would hide it when I bring it for parties at home, haha. We bought some dalandan in Tagaytay a few weeks ago and I immediately planned to make some Spanish Chicken Adobo. 

Full recipe is on my recipe blog: https://recipesformyson.blogspot.com/2026/07/recipes-for-my-son-spanish-chicken-adobo.html

Here's how I made it (this time, Miggy did the cooking coz that's how we roll nowadays):

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Back When I was an Office Girl

I honestly never planned to work in "tech". I just stumbled into it. I worked for a Telco, then helped my Mom in her business which forced me to learn how to make a website, make marketing materials, and figuring out how to use the world wide web for business. 

It eventually led me to work for a company that made websites/directories. I ended up as a product manager of the Philippine version of an import/export directory. It eventually led me to the yellow pages - the electronic version. 

The skills I developed through my career led me to work at the biggest search engine in the world (it still is!). Looking back though, what led me to work for tech companies was not because I planned it. I was led to those companies because of my quest to learn new skills.

I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted to be in marketing but what fascinated me when I took my MBA was the different pathways you can take to become an expert marketer. At that time I didn't know what path to take, so I thought I'd do stuff to learn. My experience and skills led me to become a product manager (eventually program manager) and it allowed me to learn new things. 

If you're feeling lost in your career, perhaps learning new skills in your particular interest can be a way to grow :)

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My Respiratory Therapist Made Me Cry

Last week during my respiratory therapy session, my OG respiratory therapist suddenly joined the session online (they reverted me back to online sessions to protect me from picking up germs at the hospital*). I didn't recognize him at first because he was on a hospital bed and he lost a lot of weight. 

He said he just wanted to say hi and told my current therapist to do well. My OG therapist always knew when to stop so I don't get overwhelmed and exhausted from the session. He also motivated me to continue since he knew I had only resumed my sessions recently. 

After he dropped off, the team told me he was supposed to get discharged, but was sent to ICU when his BP became unstable. I bit my lip from crying since my OG therapist could've just rested to get well, but he made the effort to say hello and motivate me to do well in my sessions. I guess he can't help, but be his generous self. Even in pain he thinks of others. 

Huge hugs for R*****. I pray you will get well soon.

*Plus COVID-19 cases have increased.

Made a Cat Coaster

I had a hard time making the Yoda-inspired coasters and to reset I wanted to make something easy. I took a look at a cat coaster I got from Daiso and thought it would be a perfect pattern. 

I found some of my Mom's scraps (they're probably older than Miggy!) and I used it for this experiment. It was fairly easy after I got the size of the squares right. Here's how it turned out -

And how I made it :)

Maybe I should make more in other colors?

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