Sun Broadband Sim Experience

Sun wireless broadband prepaid sim experience

Price paid: P50

Frustration level: high

Objects used: sun cellphone, sun wireless broadband stick, laptop

Satisfaction: 5/10

Since I no longer had access to a PLDT modem + router during the weekdays, I decided to use my dad’s old Sun Wireless Broadband USB stick. I bought a prepaid sim for P50 which came with 5 hours free internet, consumable in 5 days. I plugged it, installed the software and pressed connect and got the ERROR 619 message. Repeatedly. I also got a text in my dashboard saying that my sim wasn’t activated and to activate it by calling 220. I tried it, also repeatedly. Didn’t work.

So I called up the hotline at 333. I was unable to talk to anyone for 1 hour: I only got female voice recordings and bad music. Thank god for loudspeaker!

Finally, I got connected to a tech support guy. For this final call, there was a waiting time of 5 mins and a talking time of 15 mins. While I must complain about how long it took me to get through to someone, I must recommend this person for being patient and professional.

What I learned from the call:

• To activate sim, text BALANCE to 2225. This was not in my prepaid booklet: it stated that the balance inquiry is for balance inquiry, not for activation. It may have been in the USB booklet, if ever, but I didn’t have it. Why in the world would I get that stupid text then?
• Blue is best. Check the color of the connected stick. This is the faster of the two. Try getting the blue by using the WCDMA only settings and manually searching for 3G. If not, you’re stuck with 2G, which is pretty much crap on laptops.

So I guess, for my area, I wouldn’t choose sun broadband since I can’t connect to their 3G network. It’s prepaid so it’s okay with me, and it’s a bit expected. If only the hotline didn’t take so long, I’d give this experience a 7.

Does anyone know if I can use a Globe/Smart sim with the sun stick?

Happy Fathers's Day!

I am so tired right now because of all the changes going on in my life. I definitely know that my blogging will be affected by it. This is just a quick post to make sure that I keep posting (at least once a week, I hope).


Thank you fathers of the world! Thank you specially, papa, even if you will never read this :P


On another note:


Uniqlo is open and will be on sale for some items until the 21st. Jeans are on sale until July 5.


Do not use the turmeric mask unless you are 100% awake. I tried it when I was super tired yesterday and ended up making a big, permanent mess. *sigh* It looks like I'm back to other, less messy, masks now.


SM has this butterfly app that allows you to get discounts in SM, as long as you have a smartphone. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I've not had internet this past week, so I'm even more sympathetic to those who do not have smartphones and internet access.

Computer Maintainance Tips

I am a student with a 4-year old laptop that was bought during a time when the unit was low to mid-range (definitely state of the art). For four years, this laptop (that has no name), has been my loyal companion through a billion hours of coursework. Unfortunately, maybe due to age, misuse or generally bad technology (as compared to now), I've had several problems with this laptop, including but not limited to:

• low battery life
• overheating
• slowness

Since I cannot afford other gadgets such as tablets, much less a new laptop, I've had to figure out ways to care for my laptop. Hopefully, it'll last another 4 years. Some tips I've found that help preserve my laptop:

• Do not overcharge your battery. As with all gadgets, once it reaches high 90s, unplug it. You should also allow your battery to drain, so don't start charging until the battery is low.
• Use a cooling fan. Additionally, make sure that air can circulate underneath the laptop. Unfortunately, my cooling fan is not enough: I have to use a real electric fan and make it face my laptop to keep the temperature down.
• Make sure your laptop is well-wrapped during transport. You never know when an accident could happen.
• As much as possible, let your laptop rest. If you're not using it, shut it down or at least put it on standby. Make sure that when you let your laptop idle, it automatically engages a low-powered screen-saver or goes to sleep on its own.
• Clean your laptop regularly. You can use special wipes to wipe down laptop screens and keyboards. Make sure that your computer is turned off while cleaning.
• Protect everything. Always have anti-virus software and scan everything that enters your PC. Don't click anything without scanning.
• Keep your e-space neat by deleting unnecessary files and defragmenting regularly. Don't allow your computer to enter low memory territory as it makes them run slower.

Are there any other things that should be done? Hmmm....I can't think of anymore right now, but I can stress that it's important to be prepared for the worst. Thus:

• Back-up! Use an external drive of some sort to back-up your files. If possible, have at least 2 just in case one of the hard drives fail.

There are enough horror stories as it is about unsaved files, natural disasters (such as drink spills) and even theft! Keep your back-up(s) and laptop in different places if possible.

Let's hope my laptop and yours lasts a long time.

Review: Matsuri at Tomas Morato

Matsuri is an order-all-you can restaurant that charges P495 for lunch Mondays to Fridays and P595 for dinner Mondays to Sundays and weekend lunches. It's located at Tomas Morato, Quezon City.


It's an order-all-you can restaurant, which is good because:

1. You don't have to leave  the table
2. Food is served freshly made

Matsuri serves generally good food. There also weren't a lot of people when I last went, so I didn't have to wait long for my orders. My water glass wasn't empty for very long, and the plates were cleared very quickly. It was very clean and well lit, though I wondered why they still seemed to have Christmas decorations.


I forgot to take pictures, as usual.




Must Try:

• Gyoza
• Ushi Ebi Tempura
• Matsuri Salad
• Creamy Chicken Mushroom Ragout

The biggest surprise for me was actually their salad. I'm not a big fan of greens, but I ended up demolishing this salad. Maybe because it had a lot of fruit? Anyway, I didn't find their sashimi or miso spectacular, but was decent. 

Since there's a leftover charge of P250, it's best if you avoid the horrible things in their menu too.

Must Not:

• Chawan Mushi
• Creme Brulee

I've been to Matsuri a year ago, and I am disappointed at my latest experience with their chawan mushi. It was definitely not the same one I tried a year ago. This version of the dish was the  most horrible one I've ever tasted. It was way too dry! After one bite, I had it sent back. When I complained, I was told that "ganyan talaga siya." As someone who loves, chawan mushi, I'd have object! Although it is type of egg custard, chawan mushi should not taste and feel like badly cooked scrambled eggs.

I was hesitant about trying their creme brulee because of this, but I ended up ordering it nonetheless. It was also on the drier end of the creme brulee scale. You're much better off with the leche flan which was not amazing, but much better in comparison.


I did not try any of their tofu dishes, nor their skewers (which I wanted to as I remembered they were quite good a year ago, but was too full to try).


I like this restaurant, but it's a bit out of my way. And while they're food was good, I'm not over the way they murdered one of my favorite dishes. I'll probably go back in another year if they're still there.