super mario...pineapple and gin punch...red wine...good old friends...memories

i had a wonderful night with my grade school and high school friends last sunday...we went to jhoan's house to celebrate her birthday...ako, jhoan, arnold, karen, vicky, maricel...it was nice recalling the good experiences we had back in the old days...i know they get together regularly (i get to join them only once in a while) but there are still a lot of good memories to talk about...one of the things we've talked about is out extension parties back in high school...extension parties are 'extensions' of the christmas parties we celebrate in school...you see parties in school end at around six...so feeling 'bitin' we go to a classmate's house to continue the fun...our venue for i think all four christmases we spent together in high school was vicky's house...they have a big 'sala' in their second floor...a perfect venue for partying...and her parents are welcoming so we always felt at ease...as i look back all our parties where fun...all wholesome...perhaps the most 'adult' thing we ever did was to have punch...pineapple juice mixed with a small bottle (bilog) of gin...definitely diluted...pineapple continuously added...gin forgotten...probably high school students now will call our parties boring...no alcohol...you can hardly consider the punch we drink as alcoholic...

another thing we discussed was the nintendo game we played during our elementary years...i think vicky was the only one who has nintendo so it's only in thier house where we get to play supoer mario...i was surprised that last night that two decades after, super mario still exists...i saw a housemate playing super mario in his psp...i asked what goes on in the super mario now...iasked if they still save the princess...yes, they still do save the princess...are the mushrooms...is there still a flower you have to get?...yes...do you still jump over turtles?...yes...is there still a star to help you overpower the enemies?...yes...wow...not much changed...

as i reflect i realized that there are a lot of things in life that still remains the same...vicky's house is still there but i don't know if we could still party...super mario and his brother luigi wer able to fight all the enemies thus they still remain...and more importantly friends remain...there are little changes, yes, but for the most part walang pinag-iba...we may now have red wine (thanks to arnold and zeth who now resides in spain -- i regret not being able to join them when she came home) instead of pineapple/gin punch...but the friendship is still there...laughter...the same....stories...the same...i hope to find time to join them again...soon...there are still a lot of wonderful memories to relieve...

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hope is what we need...

i felt bad when i read an article about the manila bus hostage taking this morning...first i felt bad because i felt the author of the article was looking down on us...but then as i went on with the article i realized that a lot of what he is saying is true...many things that happen to us according to him is because many of us have already lost hope...he said a lot of us just become content on what is there...we just accept whatever is presented to us...i didn't like to believe this at first...really...but it seems that what he said is right...there are many of us who say "okay na yan kesa wala"..."pwede na yang trabaho na yan kesa mamalimos"..."okay lang ma late kasi late din naman sila"...

i hope we do not lose hope...because there is hope...look at that girl who sent her wishes to wish ko lang...she is a child who probably didn't even know how to spell hope...but she showed hope...look at that teachers who posted the concerns of her students in her facebook account...she was saddened by the lack of funds from the government...but she knew she wasn't lacking in friends whom she know would help...she hope...so she could show hope...what is their common denominator...their situations are what many would say hopeless...had those situations happened to others they would have said "let us just accept our situations because we have no other choice"...but both of them hoped...and they got what they hoped for...

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we are now hostages of our own people....

there!...what we've all been fearing for happened...we are now hostages by other people's judgments...i'll say it again we are now hostages by OTHER PEOPLE's judgements...i didn't say other nationalities...i said other people...because we are not only hostages of foreigners' opinions but our own opinions as well...so many things are being said...so many issues being discussed in public...so many criticisms being hurled at people...filipinos, why are we making ourselves hostages of these opinions, issues, concerns, criticisms...do we need to do this to ourselves?...what we need, i believe, is to stand up together, as one nation, to prove to the world that we are a good people...a peace loving race...a God fearing nation...we have done this successfully in the past...we have done this in EDSA back in 1986...we can do it again now...

we do not need to go to the streets bearing placards saying filipinos are good people...we do not need to write articles such as this to shout out loud that we are kind people...what we need is to stop pulling each other down...what we need is build each other up...what need is to sow love...what we need is to show care for others...  

let us take inspiration from filipinos who have done so already...

efren penaflorida jr teaches streetchildren how to read and write...how to live life...he teaches them out of love...he gives them inspiration...he gives them hope...

people driving the ambulansyang de paa...they take time and effort to carry the ill through long and difficult trails just to bring them to the nearest hospital where they could be given proper treatment...

the filipino nannies in other countries who leave their own children behind and take care other peoples' kids to earn a living for their families...

the filipino caregivers in other countries who leave their own aging and sick parents to take care of other old people just to make money to buy medicines for their own parents...

the filipino teachers who teach other nationalities to speak a language that they themselves cannot call their own...

the soldiers who risk their lives in protecting us from terrorists...

the missionary priests who go to places where they are not welcome just to let them know the Good News...

the old ladies who volunteers to clean the churches everyday to give us a conducive place to worship our maker...

let us take inspiration from these people who chose to look at the beauty of life rather than all the negativities....let us take inspiration from them so we could lift the image of the filipinos once again....let us take inspiration from them so we could show the world who we truly are...let us take inspiration from them for the filipino children...the kids who have no idea of what the whole manila hostage drama was all about...the kids who are at this very moment listening to their teachers believing that what they'll learn will give them a bright future...the kids who are at this time dreaming that someday their parents who are picking 're-sell-able' items from dumpsites will find free tickets to a theme park under the pile of trash...the kids who are hoping to someday see a mouse that they will not fear...

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manila bus hostage...do not let innocent filipinos become hostages of your judgments

the manila bus hostage drama yesterday was very alarming...it's very traumatic...not only for the people directly involved but for those of us who watched the situation on tv as well...

but what's more alarming for me is the effect of this on us...the reaction of the international community...last night i was saying there will be travel bans again because of this manila bus hostage taking...true enough, i read on facebook that there are several travel bans already...

i also pity all the filipinos working abroad...most especially those people working in hong kong and other chinese communities...whether we like it or not, these overseas filipino workers will somehow be affected...they might be treated unfairly...some will be looked down upon...others might even get abused...

i'm writing this to appeal to everybody to react on this with calm...please always remember that we are all different...filipinos are different from other races...and even us who come from the same race also differ from one another...please do not look at us as if all of us are evil people...please do not look at all of us as if we are criminals...yes, there are filipinos who do unacceptable things...we all know that...we recognize that...in the first place we cannot deny what happened yesterday at the quirino grandstand...but is this not the same thing that happens in other countries?...there are also hostage takings in other places...there are also others who get robbed in other countries...there are also others who get beaten up in dark alleys in other nations...what happened yesterday is not unique to the philippines...that bus hostage taking could happen -- no! that happens in other places as well...

please do not get me wrong...i'm not saying that we should just all forget what happened yesterday just because bad things happen everywhere anyway...no!...what i'm saying is that let us not blame all filipinos for what happened...we say what the hostage taker did was wrong because he used innocent people for his own purpose...i say yes, i agree...those innocent people should not have been put in harm's way...my appeal to you also stems from that idea...please do not let innocent filipinos be affected by what that one man did...because if you do you are also doing to us the very you thing you hate...you are making us hostages...innocent hostages...yes, justice must be served...but not at our expense...let the proper authorities do their jobs...in the mean time let us look at the brighter side of filipinos...

there are a lot of foreign visitors in our land who have been pleased with our hospitality...there are a lot of foreigners who have experienced our honesty...there are a lot of foreigners who have been entertained by our jolly attitude...these are the things that i hope we will not forget to see...even how blinding that hostage taking is...

we are a nation still trying to start a new life...a new life after much political turmoil...to look at us as criminals or evil people will certainly not help...please let us stand up again as a nation and allow us to prove to you that we are good people....mabuhay ang mga pilipino...mabuhay ang pilipinas....  

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moving on after moving on

a friend shared an interesting story…an unlikely story…a few hours after sharing the story she sent me a text message saying it was nice she shared it coz she realized that she has finally moved on…

sometimes it is really difficult to realize that we have already moved on…sometimes we fail to see that we are no longer hurting because we are already so used to the pain that we feel it is already part of us…and to realize that we have moved on we think we need to see something new to happen…something great…something so noticeable it could not be me mistaken for anything else…but most of time nothing great will happen…no sparks from somewhere…no fireworks…no band playing when we go home…we just need to really focus on how we feel so that we can see little changes that when put together will tell us we have moved on…it’s hard to describe what these little changes are…the little changes that will matter to me are probably different from the little changes that will mean something to you…
so, does it mean that when we realize that we have moved on we can already be happy…for many people yes…for some no…as said, some of us get so used to the feeling of hurting that when we realize that we are no longer hurting we miss the feeling…then we go back to the start where we feel we could not move on – this time from having moved on…crazy?…yes!…but that is what happens to some of us…so how do you really move on?…just tell yourself you have moved on…disregard whatever your emotions tell you…just decide that you have moved on…
does this make sense?…i’m not really sure…but i hope it does…wink

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we care....only in st. mary of the woods school

it's been a tiring week....too many things to do....a lot of things left undone...but at the moment i don't want to think about those things...i do not want to ruin the satisfaction i feel because of the wondeful presentations that our students gave in our program today.,.the students did a great job an i am well pleased...im sure their parents are also happy of how their children performed...

i am also pleased with the way the teachers did their jobs...they were able to come up with good production numbers...but what pleases me more was how they showed their love for the students...let me give you some examples...

one little girl was to suppoed to participate in the 'paligsahan sa pagtula"...she got scared so she didn't want to join anymore...the adviser came to her and tried to reassure her that everything was going to be fiine...she was really scared so she cried...when the teacher saw this she said "it's okay i wont force you to join"...i asked the teacher whatg prompted her to say that...she said she didn't want the child to feel pressured and traumatized...then another teacher took the child and let her sit on her lap...how touching....

in one class performance one child was crying...he was dancing but he was crying...one teacher standing near him kept saying "you're doing fine"....then after the presentation she run to the boy and kissed him...

these are the things that i am really proud of...in other schools only seleted students get the chance to perform during programs...the best students are selected to give excellent presentations...with us, we let all students join...we let everybody get their chance to show others what they have...even if the teachers know they will not beable to memorize the steps or say the lines well they still give them the chance to join...only in st. mary of the woods school...

thank you students for making us proud...thank you students for giving us, teachers, the chance to become real TEACHERS....thank you for allowing us to find all your potentials....

thank you parents for allowing us to motivate the students to givetheir best....thank you for supporting us...

thank you teachers for showing you care....only in st. mary of the woods school

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12 year basic education

two weeks ago, an old friend wrote in her facebook account about her experiences as a new public school teacher in the province...she just started work this month....anyway she got really depressed because of the situation of her students....each child uses only one notebook for all subjects...the parents can afford just that...they also do not have a lot of books....they just share what limited books they have....after working in a private school where all students could afford to buy notebooks and books that must have been really depressing....

last week, while on our way to skygarden in quezon city, i heard two friends talking about books...i eavesdropped...i learned that one of them asked for books from the others....it turned out her niece is studying in a public school and she was only given one book....yup...not one set of books but one book...she found out about this when she found a note from the teacher in her notebook...the note says that her niece is not doing her homeworks...

now there are talks (loud talks) that there are plans to increase the 10-year basic education to 12...if that will happen do they think they can provide all the books that the students need...we only have 10 years now and we could not give all the students even half of the books that is required...try to go to the provinces, sirs....there you will see the real state of the classrooms....here in manila all public school students probably receive the complete set....but as you move farther away from the capital, book supply also moves far away from what is proper, appropriate, needed or required....

can they build enough classrooms?...they couldn't even have all the old (dilapidated) buildings repaired....look at what happened to one school where a student died when an old building collapsed...look at classrooms being used by a class with 60 - 70 students....look at classrooms divided into two to accaommodate two big sections....look at desks shared by 3 - 4 students.......look at students studying under 'talisay trees'...look at 'stages' used as classroomS and not as venues for performances.....

students need good teachers to learn....will they be able to provide enough teachers for this additional two years....if they could provide that, will they be able to pay them enough....a lot of good teachers now are going abroad because they do not get paid well here....some education graduates would even prefer to work as domestic helpers (no, i'm not saying this is bad....this is just not what they trained for) in other countries because the pay is better....

some people advocating this 12-year basic education are saying that they are going to increase the  budget for education...can they and will they really do that?...even if they do, i think what ever additional budget they will give to education will not be enough to even compensate for the deficit every school child is now experiencing....and then they will add two years???....

i wonder....what is their real reason for thinking about this 12-year basic education curriculum?

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gospel for AUGUST 16 - the rich young man

the Gospel for today is about the rich young man who asked Jesus what he needs to do to gain eternal life....before i share to ou my  reflection on this, here is the Gospel from Matthew 19:16-22

A young man approached Jesus and said,



“Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?”


He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good?


There is only One who is good.


If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”


He asked him, “Which ones?”


And Jesus replied, “You shall not kill;


you shall not commit adultery;


you shall not steal;


you shall not bear false witness;


honor your father and your mother;


and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”


The young man said to him,


“All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?”


Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go,


sell what you have and give to the poor,


and you will have treasure in heaven.


Then come, follow me.”


When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad,


for he had many possessions.

when i heard this Gospel this morning i thought it must have been really sad and depressing for the rich young man....he might be thinking how he can give all he has when he needs to live....he needs his material possessions to survive here on earth....if he is living in our world now where money talks he needs every possession he has.....it must have been doubly hard to imagine that all the things he is doing -- following the commandments --  is not enough to inherit LIFE....

he needs to give all that he has for those things are tying him down....he is not able to fully serve God because all his  material things are taking away his attention from the Lord....

i said i'm luckier than this rich young man for i have no material possessions to boast of....i said i have almost nothing so naturally i have nothing to give....in fact if this story is happening now i think i should be one of those who deserve to get something from whatever that young man will so decide to give....im always concerned where to get money next....then i realized im no different from that rich young man....like him i am also tied down by my earthly concerns -- i with my worries how to get money -- him with all his money......

if i  will not be tied down with this concern i can fully do what i need to do....and that is to follow the Lord....this is very difficult to do....like i've said we all need money to survive....we can do almost nothing without it....so what must i do?....forget about thinking where to get money to pay the bills or to buy meds?....forget about looking for money and just run away from my obligations?....that is not possible, i believe....maybe i just need to fully trust in the Lord and not worry about it....maybe i just need to trust in his goodness that all my concerns will be take care of.....maybe i just need to believe that he has in his possession all that i will ever need here on earth and all i need is to ask from him....maybe ill do these....easier said than done....God grant me the grace to fully trust in you....

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why i need to lose weight...

i just had my breakfast...half rice (half cup of fried rice that is)...half pansit (yeah, that's half order of pansit)....two pieces siomai...how will i lose weight if i eat like this....hay....who cares....hahaha

but seriously, how do i lose weight?....i don't know....well, i know because i write about them (article writing gig)....but i do not follow what i write....i dont follow the tips like eat frequently but in small portions, don't miss meals, do aerobic exercises, build some muscle mass, drink tea and drinks with l-carnitine, etc....i don't follow any of those, that's the problem....oh....wait....i do....i follow the first....eat frequentlly but in small portions.....okay.....no need to raise that eyebrow...i just follow half of it....eat frequently....that's it.....so why don't i follow my own tips....you see, sometimes we need or i need some motivation to really start doing something....maybe i should try to find a reason why i need to lose weight....hmmm.....

hmmm.....health reasons?.....yes, that could be....the days that followed after my check up at the makati medical center were characterized by conscious eating.....i didn't eat a lot the week after the check up....but after that i went back to eating 'normal'........why?.....i don't know.....maybe because i was thinking may gamot naman (there are medicines available) or wala naman akong nararamdaman (i do not feel sick)....bad...that's bad attitude....i know.....trust me...i know....ahaha....

hmmm....how about being 'noticed'...yeah, you know what i mean....you don't?....fine....just imagine this: there's a guy who is lean with abs as well defined as that of derek ramsey beside a guy who has bulging tummy....who do you think will get the attention....hmmmm.....sounds like a good motivation....naaaah....i don't get affected by that anymore.....i'm so used to being ignored because of that already.....i have experienced that too many times that i'm numb already (play music...tan tan tanananananananan tan tan ta nan)....lol.....as in bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.........

hmmm.......i can't think of any other reason....do i need to really have a reson to lose weight.....do i really need to be motivated....maybe.....maybe not....maybe i just need to put that thing in my head and hopefully it will understand that i need to do it....do i need to do it....hell yes...i need to do it very badly....i'll do it now...hay....whatever.....in the mean time, i need to go to the canteen....why?.....duh....i haven't had dessert pa kaya.....

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pnoy declares august 23 regular working holiday -- goodbye to arroyo's holiday economics

it's official....august 23, 2010 is a holiday.....a regular WORKING holiday.....i just got this information on the net....our president  noynoy aquino reportedly chose to celebrate the death anniversary of his father on his actual death day which is august 21....it's a saturday.....

last year, then president gloria macapagal arroyo declared august 23 as a holiday -- part of her holiday economics....i wonder if her being the one who declared this is the reason why it was changed....it appears that president noynoy has a ddiferent reason...in fairness...it was said that he is trying to avoid the imposition of  unnecessary burden upon the employers, ensure the continuity of government, business, and commercial transaction, promote productivity, while at the same time preserve the solemnity of the observance....this came from lacierda which i got from yahoo.....

what is a regular working holiday?....based on what happened during the president's first sona, employees need to report to work...so why is it called a holiday?.....i don't know.....do employees get additional pay?.....i don't know.....if they do then the first reason why that laciera gave will not be achieved (unnecessary finanacial burden...).....this is confusing in a way....besides, if august 21 is already a non-working holiday, why declare august 23 a regular working holiday....if it is going to be celebrated already on the actual day, what is the point of doing it again on the 23rd....can it not be just one?....august 21 as non-working holiday or august 23 as non-working holiday....no in-betweens....(i would prefer august 23 to be non-working holiday =>)........

what do you guys think......

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late for late sunday mass

last sunday i heard mass at 9 pm....i know it's already late....it would have been better if i went to church in the morning.....but anyway....i arrived at the st. joseph the worker's parish in palanan, makati city...i arrived there on time....i sat in one of the pews that is vacant.....in front of i saw a couple who brought along their pet dog with them.....it was i think a shitzu.....anyway, maybe they just do not want to leave their baby behind.....then while the priest was giving his homily another couple came and sat on the same pew i was occupying....i thought i was already late (that is for going to the last mass for the day)....imagine you have put the mass as perhaps as your last activity for the day and you still arrive late.....i was bad....i was not focusing on the mass....i was busy judging others.....so i tried to focus on the homily....it was hard.....the priest is a foreigner....his accent was thick....but just the same i tried to focus.....again, it was hard....

why am i writing this....i don't know....i was just wondering why there are still many of us who put up to the last part of the day important obligations like participating in the mass.....hmmm..... 

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wifi on-board -- jac liner from lucena to lrt taft

i came from quezon province last weekend...i went there to visit my father....on my way back here to manila i rode a jac liner bus from sm lucena....the moment i sat on my seat i saw the sinage in front...it says wifi on-board...i checked my phone and found that there really is wifi connection although it is secured....since they are still waiting for more passengers, the bus driver and his conductor was outside....i went outside to ask them if wifi connection is free and if it is, what is the password....according to them wifi is free for alltheir pasengers.....they gave me the password and the conductor even showed me where the router is....i hopped back in and started 'facebooking' (yes, that's the term they use to describe when you are doing something on facebook)...initially the connection wasn't fast....i had trouble uploading photos...you see i love uploading photos from my cellphone (samsun galaxy spica with its android os).....it's faster than connecting the phone to a laptop....anyway, while we were traveling lready connection became better....i evendecided to take out my laptop and check my emails....i also checkd this blog site and my other one (http://eatallyoucanallyoucaneat.blogspot.com)/ ...i even checked my nuffnang account to know how many visitors i had  that day....

the connection was good throughout the entire trip....it was really a blessing because traffic was heavy that day....there were several roadworks along the way....only one lane was being used....and bad luck....our side always gets stopped to give to the other side.....i was already pissed because i had an affair to attend but i was running really,really late due to heavy traffick....had it not been for the wifi i would have exploded....
whoever thought of putting wifi on-board jac liner was a genius.....super great idea...surfiing the net is a better alternative to watching movies they show on their small tv....they show the same movies over and over....(besides, i think they use pirated dvd's so i'd rather that they stopped showing those films)....

i do hope there will also be wifi connection on taxis and jeepneys haha....no, let me correct that....not jeepneys....imagine if there is wifi a lot of commuters will be tempted to use their cellphones....this would attract a lot of snatchers......what they need to put in jeepneys are cctv's haha....

the next time you ride a provincial bus look for the new ones that has wifi on-board....you'll really enjoy.....try jac liner....they have buses going to lucena quezon, batangas and binan, laguna.....they have stations in pasay (near lrt buendia besides a disco called nirvana) and quezon city (near lrt gma-kamuning....in between edsa cor kamias and edsa cor east avenue)....

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jejemon -- wH@t'zz tH3 fUzz

do you remember when the 'jejemon' craze started?.....i don't......one day i just heard them being featured in tv shows....the first time saw a feature about the 'jejemons' was in jessica soho's show on the kapuso chanel....kapuso mo jessica soho....then they were featured in a lot of talk shows soon after.....

who or what are 'jejemons'?.....wikipedia (yes they reached that level where wikipedia devotes precious internet space just to discuss them) defines jejemons this way:

 Jejemon (IPA: ['dʒɛdʒɛmon]) is a pop culture phenomenon in the Philippines. Jejemons are defined by Urban Dictionary as those "who has managed to subvert the English language to the point of incomprehensibility and online lynch squads."[1] A Jejemon is described as one of a "new breed of hipsters who have developed not only their own language and written text but also their own sub-culture and fashion."

most jejemons are teenagers....their name supposedly came to be because of their penchant to use 'jejeje' instead of 'hehehe' to denote laughter in sms or status messages in social networking sites....the mon was supposed to be from 'monsters' much like the japanese anime pokemon.....

'jejemons' have developed their own 'language' or way of communicating....aside from replacing h with j they also use letters that are not often used like z and x....for example 'musta (short for kumusta which means 'how are you') is written as mUsZt@h..... notice that not only was w, z and h added but @ was used instead of a...and also notice that some letters were capitalized....sometimes they also usenumbers to replace letters.....the number 3 is used as e....'jejeje' is sometimes spelled as j3j3j3.....it was thought that their manner of texting was developed to maximize the character allocation of cellphones for sms.....like sending ko instead of ako which means me) or u instead of you.....maybe it did start from that....but you would see now that instead of making words shorter, they make them longer and difficult to understand.....ako for example is spelled as aQcKuHh (saw this in wikipedia)....u is spelled as yUHh.....

more often than not, sms messages from 'jejemons' are confusing....to non-jejemons, their text messages are weird, absurd....

but the 'jejemon' culture has gone beyond text messaging....they now have thier own fashion styles....i can't really describe what they wear.....maybe i could say they look rather weird.....

you will know that the  'jejemon' culture is really popular because of the existence of another group whose only purpose is to fight 'jejemon'.....the group is called 'jejebusters'.....well, maybe i'm wrong in saying that all they want is to fight 'jejemons'....maybe they have others like ensuring that the young really learn how to spell right....but the point is, their creation is an indication that the 'jejemons' have arrived...

so when did the craze start?......i don't know.....they got their name only recently....but i know they've been around for a long, long time already....here is a little secret....when i was in 4th year high school in the province we love having shirts printed whenever there are occasions.....foundation day, intrams, seniors' week, feast of the patron saint of the barangay, feast of the patron saint of the town.....and most of the time, we have our names printed at the back......some of our classmates, instead of having their names spelled correctly will intentionally change it to look 'good'....i cannot remember the exact spelling but here are some examples that were possibly used at that time.....kha-ren....lho-rraynne....oh there's one that i remember....but i won't mention the real name so you'll have something to think about....seychelle......

oh, by the way, can  you guess how my name was spelled?.........

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