LTO Non-professional Driver's License Renewal 2024

Went to SM North Annex Basement to have my Non-professional Driver's License renewed for 10 years.

I already printed out my passing results for the CDE from the LTMS portal.

Started at Window 1. Took a number. When called, they assessed my existing driver's license and exam results. Was then given the go signal to proceed to the medical clinic.

Clinic had me fill out a form to assess my medical history. I then took the physical exam which was mainly reading an Eye chart.

After passing, submitted the medical exam results to Window 2. Paid the renewal fee at the Cashier, then waited to be called.

Finally was sent inside the LTO office for biometrics and picture taking. Received the printed temporary license since to plastic cards were available. (Other drivers I've talked to said the plastic cards were unavailable since 2023).

Here are the fees I had to pay that day.

1. Medical Fee - 600 pesos
2. LTO License Renewal Fee - 585 pesos
3. SM Service Charge - 5 pesos

All in all, spent 1190 pesos.

Since I had no existing violations, my license has been renewed until 2034. Will just have to wait for the plastic card ID once it is available.

Hope this helps as a guide for other people who are planning on renewing their driver's license this 2024.

LTO Car Registration Renewal

Emission Testing 500

Insurance at LTO 1550

LTO Personel filling out motor vehicle form 50

Cashier 1610

Total Spent 3710

Repeater Saves The Day

For some reason, our modem is defaulting to 5G. But this means it is unusable for PCs. Only my mobile can handle 5G. So it was a good thing we bought a repeater a couple of weeks ago. The repeater seems to be only able to handle 2.4G. So other devices AND the PC can use it.

I should have written about this days ago but it seems I only found time today. Maybe because of my failing HDD but that's another blog post.

Back to the modem, when the PC connects to it at 5G mode, speed tests are off the charts. I'm getting speeds in the 100+ Mbps range which is amazing, until I try to surf, and get nothing. I can probably go to Google or watch YouTube, but other sites seem to not exist. I also can't play some of my games while in 5G mode. Very strange.

But once I switch down to 2.4G, it seems like everything is back to normal. Will try to update this post if I understand it more.

Secondary HDD Failed Today

It looks like the secondary hard drive has finally failed today. The drives were again no longer visible in Explorer. This happened a couple of days ago, but I was able to get the drives back by reseating the data and power cables attached to it.

It's a good thing I was able to copy some of the important stuff before it finally went out. Purchased a new hard drive which is now twice the size for 2800. 

At first, the new drive was not visible in Explorer. This was puzzling since I saw it in BIOS. Checked Device Manager and it was there too. Had to run Disk Management and chose MBR to partition the new drive.

Backing up old stuff onto the new drive.

Demolition of Home

Yesterday, I was forced to leave the room I've been staying in. Construction debris from the floor above that room fell all over the bed and all the stuff in the room. Fortunately, I was able to remove the television and my phone beforehand.

I guess the demolition has been a long time coming. But since the new rooms of the house are unfinished - there aren't any partitions yet, and not electricity and bathroom - it has been difficult to transfer my things out. It would have been nice if the agreement was followed - before demolishing our old areas, the new areas have to be finished.

And even if you force us to transfer into the new areas - there are a lot of things that need to be done in those areas, which will just force our things out again. After the wall partitions and doors, the lighting and electrical sockets still have to be installed. And then the areas will need a ceiling. And then there's the painting of walls and ceiling.

Things would probably go faster if we pitched in. And in some areas, we have. But some things are best left to the professionals. The work would probably be hindered or slowed down if we ended up getting in their way.

This is the price for lack of foresight. Hopefully, it becomes a lesson ingrained in future decision making. 

No Electricity In Our House

The lights went out. Thinking it was a typical "brown out" or "black out", we waited for about five minutes, thinking that the power would be restored. It was about past four in the afternoon. As the minutes went by, I checked if the neighbors had their power restored. Apparently, they never lost it. The black out was isolated to our house alone.

I checked the main panel board and reset all the breakers. Still no power. We called the power company and asked if there were any issues, perhaps due to payment. We were in the clear. They issued a report reference number and advised us that a crew would check our meter within 2 to 5 hours, depending on the crew's availability. They also advised on hiring a private electrician since they could only deal with the side past the electric meter going to the electric lines and posts.

I tried to inquire with private electricians. The rates were between 1,200 and 1,500 pesos. And that was non-refundable. (They would still get paid by simply showing up, regardless of whether or not our electricity was restored)

Our family prayed for wisdom from God. The decision was to wait for the crew from the power company instead of hiring a private electrician. If the power company crew would advise for us to hire a private electrician (to check on problems at the load side), at least the supply side has been checked and ensured.

I had a voltmeter available so I decided to turn off the main circuit breaker and check the voltage at the supply side of the breaker. It was zero. Just to be on the "sure" side that no load was connected at all, I decided to remove the wires from the supply side of the circuit breaker and measure the voltage from the wires directly. We measured 86 volts. This was way lower than the expected 240 volts standard. It gave me more confidence that the problem was with the supply side and that it was the power company that could fix the issue.

About 6 hours later, the crew from the power company arrived. The rains and the number of customers they had to provide service to before us was the reason for their delay. But we were just thankful. I told them about the 86 volts we measured so they quickly got to work. They simply re-spliced the wires supplying power to our meter and afterwards, the lights in our house were visible once again. 

I thank the Lord Jesus for His mercy and grace. When we only had ambient light from the neighbors, candles, and the night lights helped us see in the evening, everything seemed like despairing darkness. When the lights were restored at around 12 midnight, everything appeared so clear, despite the darkness of night.

Jesus is our light. This experience is a reminder to be patient and to hope in Him until He either brings us home of takes us to His kingdom.

Forced To Change Living Patterns

When a new house is being constructed next door, you are really forced to change some of your habits.

For example, construction work typically begins at around 8:00 a.m. in the morning. And I don't know why, but workers seem to enjoy doing the loudest work during this time of day like jack hammering, or banging concrete with mallets. I'm a late sleeper so I also used to wake up late in the morning. But now, I have an automatic construction alarm clock. My body has been forced to adjust to waking up earlier.

The noises are a source of irritation for me. So I have been forced to purchase noise cancelling earphones. If I need more sleep, I'll have to pop these earphones in and listen to some YouTube channel for minimizing the noise, like "brown noise with rain" or "seashore noise for sleeping". Sometimes they can be effective and I'm able to get back to sleep. But other times, there are some sharp or loud noises that can still get through, so I'm forced to stay awake. I'll then probably play something louder like Manila Jazz Bar Classics just to divert my attention.

If the noises are an irritation for me, I can just imaging the poor workers' ears who are at ground zero of the source of noise. (Although it feels that the noise is only about 1 or 2 meters away from me). Though they are probably used to it all year round since it is part of their work, they are the ones suffering long-term hearing loss and not the owner. They are sacrificing their future health to survive today.

I've also gone back to blogging. Writing about what I'm experiencing can serve as therapy of sorts so that my full attention is not on the noise, but on composition.

I've also adjusted my bathroom habits, if you know what I mean. It's embarrassing to be doing number 2 when construction workers are on the other side of the wall. So I'm training my body to do the deed after construction hours so that most of the workers have gone home. The same goes for taking a bath. There are still a few workers who remain onsite, and that can be another source of anxiety for some. But I understand that they need to remain onsite to protect the construction materials and tools that remain onsite.

But to the owner, this is probably of no concern. To him, what is important is that his house is built. The experience of his neighbors are not his, so why should it matter to him. Things are only important to us when we are the ones affected by the events happening around us.

We are only at around the 2nd month of construction and projects like this might take a year or more. But in the same way that God was merciful and gracious to me yesterday, all I can do is hope that He will bestow the same to me during the duration of this project.