things i like

things i like having around me right now --

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Burt's Bees Lip Balm with shimmer. Recommended by Z. A little expensive but I just totally love it!

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my very old Timex watch (about 8 y/o) with a new handwoven strap made in Sagada, Mt. Province. Thanks to my friend X, who took charge of the strap replacement and M, who delivered it to me today. I love my "new" watch!

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A's gift for me last Christmas. It comes in handy when I have to put on a "things to do" list. you know me, i'm forgetful! latest list is my Holy Week grocery list :D

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my up @ 100 planner-turned-slambook. inside are small personal notes of what happened to me on that day, tickets, bills, and chocolate wrappers... :D

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my scrapbook book containing my favorite pictures (am i vain or what?!). my sister says the inside's so bare so i decided to "beautify" it this Holy Week with acid-free papers and decorations. will wait for LD for some suggestions though coz i have no artistic bone in my body. let's hope i won't screw it all up! :D (that's my laptop behind and i love it too, even if it's cracking up due to old age...)

aumentaran mas posibilidades

Baldo en Espanol

papi: do you know that the latin population will reach 6 to 19 million by the year 2020?
baldo: wow, that's good news! that just means i'll have a bigger chance of finding a girlfriend!

:D

what we said

i got into a fight (not cat fight, though) with a very old friend a year or so ago. she was my classmate since grade school but when she went to college and had this crazy boyfriend, everything changed. she's now an unoffical ex-friend. =D

(heck, how can i grin like that?!) :D

anyway, i would just like to tell you, invisible readers, that she's not worthy of a space in my blog but i would actually like to write here, what me and a friend had told her, when she started breaking her friends' hearts and eventually alienating all of us --

from me -- i'm not mad, but i'm terribly (or was that sorely) disappointed in you! (and now, she had the gall to use it on another friend of ours! my, my, no originality at all! now, i'm really mad!)

from G -- i'll be too scared to get too close to you again...

wow! pang telenovela na ba ang linya namin?! :D

this says it all

with what's happening in my country, it's really kind of depressing. with all the emotions that come into that, i just can't write eloquently how i feel until a friend forwarded this email to me. i guess it says all what every sane filipino who loves his country feel right now.

*****

Dear Friends and Relatives,

Here's a wonderful letter to all the Filipinos written by a brave woman. She wants to do her bit in these trying times of our nation. Please pass to as many persons if you see her article worth reproducing via email.

God bless
Fr Francis Gustilo, SDB

To all Filipinos Everywhere:

I used to think that corruption and criminality in the Philippines were caused by poverty. But recent events tell me this isn't true. It is one thing to see people turn into drug addicts, prostitutes, thieves and murderers because of hunger and poverty, but what excuse do these rich, educated people have that could possibly explain their bizarre behavior? And to think I was always so relieved when petty snatchers got caught and locked away in jail because I never fully realized that the big time thieves were out there, making the laws and running our country. Can it get any worse than this?

Every night, I come home and am compelled to turn on my tv to watch the latest turn of events. I am mesmerized by these characters. They are not men. They are caricatures of men - too unreal to be believable and too bad to be real. To see these "honorable" crooks lambast each other, call each one names, look each other in the eye and accuse the other of committing the very same crimes that they themselves are guilty of, is so comical and apalling that I don't know whether to laugh or cry. It is entertainment at its worst!

I have never seen so many criminals roaming around unfettered and looking smug until now. These criminals wear suits and barongs, strut around with the confidence of the rich and famous, inspire fear and awe from the very citizens who voted them to power, bear titles like "Honorable", "Senator", "Justice", "General" and worse, "President". Ironically, these lawless individuals practice law, make our laws, enforce the law. And we wonder why our policemen act the way they do! These are their leaders, and the leaders of this nation – Robin Hoodlum and his band of moneymen. Their motto? "Rob the poor, moderate the greed of the rich." It makes me wonder where on earth these people came from, and what kind of upbringing they had to make them act the way they do for all the world to see.

It makes me wonder what kind of schools they went to, what kind of teachers they had, what kind of environment would produce such creatures who can lie, cheat and steal from an already indebted country and from the impoverished people they had vowed to serve. It makes me wonder what their children and grandchildren think of them, and if they are breeding a whole new generation of improved Filipino crooks and liars with maybe a tad more style but equally negligible conscience. Heaven forbid!

I am an ordinary citizen and taxpayer. I am blessed to have a job that pays for my needs and those of my family's, even though 30% of my earnings go to the nation's coffers. Just like others in my lot, I have complained time and again because our government could not provide enough of the basic services that I expect and deserve. Rutty roads, poor educational system, poor social services, poor health services, poor everything. But I have always thought that was what all third world countries were all about, and my complaints never amounted to anything more.

And then this. Scandalous government deals. Plundering presidents pointing fingers. Senators associated with crooks. Congressmen who accept bribes. Big time lawyers on the side of injustice. De Venecia ratting on his boss only after his interminable term has ended, Enrile inquiring about someone's morality! The already filthy rich Abalos and Arroyo wanting more money than they or their great grandchildren could ever spend in a lifetime. Joker making a joke of his own "pag bad ka, lagot ka!" slogan. Defensor rendered defenseless. Gen. Razon involved in kidnapping. Security men providing anything but a sense of security. And it's all about money, money, money that the average Juan de la Cruz could not even imagine in his dreams. Is it any wonder why our few remaining decent and hardworking citizens are leaving to go work in other countries?

And worst of all, we are once again saddled with a power-hungry president whose addiction has her clinging on to it like barnacle on a rusty ship. "Love (of power) is blind" takes a whole new meaning when PGMA time and again turns a blind eye on her husband's financial deals. And still blinded with all that is happening, she opts to traipse around the world with her cohorts in tow while her country is in shambles.

They say the few stupid ones like me who remain in the Philippines are no longer capable of showing disgust. I don't agree. Many like me feel anger at the brazenness of men we call our leaders, embarrassment to share the same nationality with them, frustration for our nation and helplessness at my own ineffectuality. It is not that I won't make a stand. It is just that I am afraid my actions would only be futile. After all, these monsters are capable of anything. They can hurt me and my family. They already have, though I may not yet feel it.

But I am writing this because I need to do something concrete. I need to let others know that ordinary citizens like me do not remain lukewarm to issues that would later affect me and my children. I want to make it known that there are also Filipinos who dream of something better for the Philippines. I want them to know that my country is not filled with scalawags and crooks in every corner, and that there are citizens left who believe in decency, fairness, a right to speak, a right to voice out ideas, a right to tell the people we have trusted to lead us that they have abused their power and that it is time for them to step down. I refuse to let this country go to hell because it is the only country I call mine and it is my responsibility to make sure I have done what I could for it.

Those of us who do not have the wealth, power or position it needs to battle the evil crime lords in the government can summon the power of good. We can pray. We can do this with our families every night. We can offer petitions every time we celebrate mass. We can ask others to pray, too, including relatives and friends here and overseas. And we can offer sacrifices along with our petitions, just so we get the message to Him of our desperation in ridding our nation of these vermin. After all, they cannot be more powerful than God!

I implore mothers out there to raise your children the best way you can. Do not smother, pamper, or lavish them with too much of the material comforts of life even if you can well afford them. Teach them that there are more important things in this world. I beg all fathers to spend time with their children, to teach them the virtues of hard work, honesty, fair play, sharing, dignity and compassion – right from the sandbox till they are old enough to go on their own. Not just in your homes, but at work, in school, everywhere you go. Be good role models. Be shining examples for your children so they will learn to be responsible adults who will carry and pass on your family name with pride and honor.

I call on educators and teachers – we always underestimate the power of your influence on the minds of our youth. Encourage them to be aware of what is happening in their surroundings. Instill in them a love of their country, inculcate in them the value of perseverance in order to gain real, worthwhile knowledge, help us mold our children into honorable men and women. Encourage our graduates, our best and brightest, to do what they can to lift this country from the mire our traditional politicians have sunk us into. The youth is our future – and it would be largely because of you, our educators, that we will be able to repopulate the seats of power with good leaders, presidents, senators, congressmen, justices, lawmakers, law enforcers and lawful citizens.

I ask all students, young people and young professionals everywhere to look around and get involved in what is happening. Do not let your youth be an excuse for failure to concern yourselves with the harsh realities you see. But neither let this make you cynical, because we need your idealism and fresh perspective just as you need the wisdom of your elders. YOUR COUNTRY NEEDS YOU! Let your voices be heard. Do what you can for this land that gave you your ancestors and your heritage. Use technology and all available resources at hand to spread good. Text meaningful messages to awaken social conscience. Try your best to fight moral decay because I promise you will not regret it when you become parents yourselves. You will look back at your past misdeeds and pray that your children will do better than you did.

Remember that there are a few handful who are capable of running this country. You can join their ranks and make their numbers greater. We are tired of the old trapos. We need brave idealistic leaders who will think of the greater good before anything else. Do your utmost to excel in your chosen field. Be good lawyers, civil servants, accountants, computer techs, engineers, doctors, military men so that when you are called to serve in government, you will have credibility and a record that can speak for itself.

For love of this country, for the future of our children, for the many who have sacrificed and died to uphold our rights and ideals, I urge you to do what you can. As ordinary citizens, we can do much more for the Philippines than sit around and let crooks lead us to perdition. We owe ourselves this. And we owe our country even more.

*****

Let's love our country. Don't let lies cover the truth.

funny, questioning, irritant and daunting

in the elevator after lunch today, we were talking about our hair and of course, i had to put a word or two about mine coz i truly love it! anyway, on the fifth floor, a lady got in as i was just saying that i haven't brushed my hair since it was curled last july. ha! she must have been so intrigued about what i said and gave my hair a curious look! oops! i didn't mean it the way it sounded! :D

******

why is it that people go on fun vacation during the holy week? when i opened my email a few days ago, a high school classmate on our egroup asked where we can all go for this long break. he listed a few places but none of them were places you can go to and reflect - boracay, galera, etc. i didn't want to seem like a killjoy but i truly wanted to ask them if they really learned something from religion class! what the heck! we grew up in catholic schools, at least most of us were. so sad. isn't holy week a time of reflection and reconciliation with God? i hope my friends will be enlightened.

*****

an irritant again. why is it that i'm getting passed over some opportunity when it is obvious that i'd be the one who'd benefit most from it because i'm the one doing it? yeah, life's definitely unfair.

*****

the last couple of days saw me as a sounding board to a friend who's scared about getting married this year. she was asking me it's really possible to know if that one guy is the last one and of course, i cannot answer that. she asked why she's meeting all these interesting guys when she's about to get married. what if she'll f*ck up? yeah, i guess she's really scared but i know, she loves the guy and is willing to spend the rest of her life with her guy. this conversation led her to ask me if i would want to meet a guy from her work and that made me stop -- and think of drifter.

i am foolishly crazy over him and it made me wonder how it will be without him in my life (anymore). we have never started anything yet but i'd surely want to see how we will be together. it's daunting to think how it would be without him and i hope i'll never lose him, even just as a friend.

where i've been to lately 2

my sister and i just arrived from seeing our brother who's attending a seminar on pneumonia at sofitel hotel. i started late today and wasn't able to pick him up at the hotel and so, i have nooo picture at all of that hi-end hotel. oh well, hopefully, i'll have another chance to see the place next time. anyway, my brother, sister and i ended up shopping for clothes for my brother's son and had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, the old spaghetti house. it was fun, the first time i have time with my brother in a long while... sibling bonding, go! :D

so, to continue with my previous blog, the next few pictures were taken last february, starting on the eve of my birthday --

dinner with my sister, cousins and friend at one of the greatest pasta places, Aveneto's

yummy!

on my birthday at the 12th hotair balloon festival at clark with C and good friends --

at the up fair--

weekend at home with L --

dinner with friends on the people power anniversary :D

and just last weekend, a trip to baguio --

where i've been to lately

when i first started this blog, i intended for this to become a travel blog. after a while, it turned out to be a personal blog with an occasional travel comments. to get into the spirit of the original intent, let me tell you where i've been to the last couple of months...

first time at sta cruz island in my hometown of zamboanga with my high school friends

celebrating up's 100 years

dinner for the first time at bellini's and conti's (serendra) with friends

appreciating history at ust and fort santiago