2009

the year that was... as seen in facebook status messages!

happy new year!
(",)

snapshots

snapshots of 2009!

travelled,

saw places,

tried new things,

waited for seat sale,

looked for bargain,

bought nice things,

ate good food,

had nice chats with friends,

spent quality time with family.

the year that was!

salamat sa Diyos!

shanghai

beijing

bangkok

ayutthaya

anawangin

capones

naga

batan

sabtang

naga

albay

camiguin

CDO

KL

looking forward to another year full of travels and new discoveries!

AU

steve tignor's 7th best match of 2009! rafa's 1st hardcourt slam!

productive

according to upgradereality.com, we're naturally good at being unproductive.

Stalling, procrastinating, coming up with excuses why you should not get to work. “I just wanna check my email for 5 minutes, I swear”, and before you know it an hour has passed. Watching Youtube videos, reading your favorite blogs, sitting on Facebook. It is so easy to become distracted on the internet.

diggy offers 5 simple points on how not to be unproductive.

The Secret To Being Productive:
Resist the temptation of procrastinating.
Motivate yourself with the goal of achieving something.
Sit down and get to work.
Focus and dedicated your attention to your work for a few hours.
Rinse, wash and repeat.

the question is... does this apply to periods when everybody's preoccupied with a lot of things (read: christmas shopping) other than work? hehehehe! misa de gallo has already started, today's the second night, but still... a lot of writing and reviewing to do. hard to get started and focused when you still haven't figured out what kinds of presents to buy since the usual list has not been done at all. of course, most if not all peeps are only focused on christmas parties, making the almost nightly troop to the malls or scouring the best tiangges in town. aside from the idc ph xmas dinner, i haven't been going to the malls yet! tomorrow, we still have the last of our annual kris kringle idc ph style - something paradoxical! and guess what, i still don't have any idea on what to buy... i really need to get it going tonight.

prowling

today's the nth time for predictions-hunting... a lot of so so are "prowling" everywhere. good thing, youtube gave me these clips! nice.

flu

i don't know if it's due to the cold weather that we have now or my missing out on my vitamins when i left for KL the other week... but the past 3 days have been flu days for me. coughing to get the phlegm out and blowing nose due to colds, coupled with aching joints. haaayyy..

good thing yesterday, the aching joints already went away. but still - the colds and that phlemagtic feeling are still here. i was already planning not to report for work last friday, but i didn't so that i can attend to a meeting. but today, i really couldn't. or else, the whole office will just bear with me barking like an askal.

this morning, migraine attack also came! splitting my head into two! i already took biogesic early in the morning and added dolfenal 250 towards noontime. but the headache persisted. and guess what took the pain away?! coffee!! hehehehe! surprising. really. because i always thought that coffee will make migraine worse. i guess that hot feeling and the right amount of caffeine stopped the headache! yeheey!

after that, i could have my lunch finally. my veggies were already turning black, so i quickly made something out of the puso ng saging and kangkong. sauteeing ground pork with garlic and onions, i added these veggies, water, cracked black pepper, salt... and voila, sinabawang gulay! another surprise on a monday again... it actually tasted good! i guess the kuripot (i don't want all these veggies go to waste) in me kicked in and i was able to come up with one nice pork + veggies soup.

serena

nang lumuwa ang "kapuspalad" na dibdib! hehehehe!

banesto

he lost before the semis at season ender championships in london (davydenko won), but there are still plenty of off-court activities for rafa! i hope that 2010 brings him success!

maguindanao

on my way to kuala lumpur last tuesday to facilitate the training session for the new analysts, i couldn't stop but think of the gruesome massacre that took place in maguindanao last monday. as of last night, at least 58 people were said to be killed in the most horrific manner... all in the name of power. the massacre included at least 7 mangudadatus, their lawyers and staff, at least 34 media practicioners and 5 totally unrelated motorists who were mistaken as part of the convoy. the mangudadatus were on their way to shariff aguak (the province's capital) to file esmael mangudadatus's (vice mayor of the town of buluan) bid for the governorship of the province, when 100 armed men ambushed and kidnapped their convoy. reports said that a backhoe from the governor's office were used to dig a mass grave 2 days prior to the incident, which means that this massacre were already planned and premeditated. andal ampatuan jr., mayor of datu piang town has been tagged as the mastermind behind the massacre.

the ampatuans and mangudadatus were previously allies in the local politics, as ampatuan sr., the current governor who ran unopposed for the past 3 elections, was an ally of the mangudadatus' patriarch back in the marcos era. some articles mentioned that the 2 clans have since parted ways when gov. ampatuan created another municipality that took away some areas that are under the mangudadatus' bailiwick. now, esmael is to challenge the younger ampatuan for the governorship of the province. the mangudadatus then sought the women family members to file vice mayor's candidacy, in hope that no political rivals would harm women since they have already received threats against esmael's life.

what shocked me was the brazen attack, in broad daylight and in major provincial highway. 100 armed men means that the perpetrators are under the influence of a powerful mastermind that could easily swat any would-be rivals. the victims were shot at close range, some of the women were raped, mutilated and tortured in the most macabre manner. most of victims are nearly unidentifiable if not for their clothes and other belongings found in the crime scene. to me, this could only be done by someone who didn't have any humane side. vice mayor mangudadatu said that:

"My wife’s private parts were slashed four times, after which they fired a bullet into it. They speared both of her eyes, shot both her breasts, cut off her feet, fired into her mouth. We can’t call him an animal because I have pets and they are tame. No, he is a monster. They are monsters."

the loss of lives, especially those of the media men and women, is unprecedented. not even iraq and afghanistan could topple this one - 34 or more media professionals killed in a single attack. to think that the philippines is not even at war! this taints the country's image even more. corruption, political scandals, killings - just some of the terms that are easily identified with the philippines. sad but true, kababayans don't even think twice when the urge to keep power drives them to commit ghastly crime against humanity.

no wonder, the philippines is seen as a somalia-like country, where tourists are quick to cancel any plans of visiting, even if our tourist spots here are superior than others. of course, these tourists would rather spend their money in countries where they would feel secure to roam around unharmed.

the main suspect in this massacre is a close ally of gloria macapagal arroyo. although gibo teodoro has already expelled the ampatuans in the ruling lakas kampi cmd, their clout is still a force to reckon with in the province where arroyo trounced her political rivals and produced a 12-0 clean slate for her senatoriables during the 2004 elections. but i still hope that justice will be served. this crime, if left unsolved, will not only give a clear indication that justice system in the philippines is not working but might also mislead the young generation that killing is part of the game and gamble of being a politician and so-called public servant in the philippines.

español

tambak ang mga kailangan kong gawin. kaya nga ba't kung maaari lang na hilahin ang mga araw nang matapos na ang nobyembre, gagawin ko. sangkatutak kasi ang mga tanong sa monitor, walang kabagay-bagay kung tutuusin, pero sadyang dumaragdag sa tala ng mga trabaho, gayong dahil lang naman ito sa isang kliyenteng galing sa lupain ng mga kokuryu na di matanggap na naungusan sila sa panahong ito ng kanilang mga kakumpetensya.

at dahil nakukurta na ako sa boses ng mga laman-lupa, na kaliwa't kanan ang tawag at mga imeyl, binuksan ko ang sitemeter ko. hehehehe! nakatutuwang makita na isang tala ng rekisa sa google ang naglaman ng aking blog tungkol sa nakaraang idg calendar contest. ang rekisa ay galing sa spain.

siyempre, may salin mula sa ingles pa-español ang google, kaya katuwang mabasa ang aking kuwento sa español! nag-aral ako nito n'ung panahon ko sa UP - 12 yunit pa nga, ngunit dahil sa di ko naman talaga magagamit ito nang madalas, nawalang parang bula ang anumang pang-elementarya kong natutuhan ukol sa wika ni rafa. maging ang mga batayang konhugasyon, di ko na maalala. alam ko lang, may anim na uri ito, maraming mga verbos irregulares, at higit sa lahat may masculino at feminino. haaayyy... aralin ko kaya ito ulit?

maiging dibersyon ito habang iniisip ko kung paano ko muling isusulat ang bawat sagot sa lahat ng mga katanungang bugok. mas gusto kong wala na ito sa aking mga kamay. sa gayon, makapagsimula na akong mag-isip ng mga babalutin sa parating na pasko, makadagdag sa mga pangalan namin para sa kris kringle at magplano ng anumang lakad sa mahabang bakasyon... tulad ng cagbelete o muling pag-akyat sa sagada!

maarte

umarte lang ng naaayon sa itsura.

'pag hindi masyadong maganda,

'wag masyadong maarte.

-alessandra de rossi.

mahusay! singhusay ng kanyang mga pagganap! matutuwa si zel, mylene at cathy rito. mabiyayang buong linggo! (",)

laundry

as i wanted november to come to an end as soon as possible, these 3 advices that were given to my UP blockmate, zoe librando is just so apt. heheheh!

1. Never judge a person by their laundry.

2. When in doubt, give yourself a time out...count to 30 seconds and ask
yourself " Will it really matter ____ years from now?"

3. Good food is not just sustenance but proof of a Maker's goodness.

zoe's right. these advices were never asked for, but there's absolutely no regret that we got these. happy weekend! (",)

beaches

i've been reading some back issues of men's health philippines. their march 2009 issue, summer ish, included a list of the top 10 must visit destinations in the country. in no particular order, here are the top 10:

- Caramoan -- Camarines Sur.

- Siargao -- Cloud 9, surfing capital.

- Cagbalete Island -- Mauban, Quezon.

- Panglao -- Bohol.

- Baler -- Aurora.

- Samal Island -- Davao.

- Sumilon Island -- Cebu.

- Calaguas -- Camarines Norte.

- Gumasa -- Sarangani.

- Palawan -- Puerto Princesa's Honda Bay; El Nido; Taytay and Coron.

they also included five honorable mentions, which are:
- Guimaras
- Dumaguete
- Siquijor
- Bantayan Island
- Boracay

i've been to dumaguete, siquijor, bantayan, boracay, panglao in bohol, and el nido, honda bay and coron in palawan. but based on the above list, a lot are still waiting to be discovered! with climate change, next year's trip should be well spent during the first 4 months of the year. rains now start to pour in may. there's a long weekend this november, so there's a good chance that we can sneak in to cagbalete in quezon, since this is the nearest, only 3 hours travel from manila. i hope that all typhoon ramil will be the last of his kin this year. biyahe tayo!

balls

kakaibang challenge sa mga olympic champions! hehehehe!

villar

dumaan ang dalawang bagyo nitong nakaraang tatlong linggo. bumuhos ang nakapagpapabahang ulan at humagupit ang hangin na nagpatumba sa maraming mga istrukturang gawa ng tao. halos buong luzon ang sinalanta nina ondoy at pepeng. sa benguet at ibang karatig-lalawigan, nabaon sa rumagasang putik at lupa ang mga kabahayan, habang ang mga bayan sa pangasinan ay nalubog sa tubig-baha gawa ng pagpapaagos ng tubig sa tatlong dam sa hilagang luzon. wasak ang mga taniman, nagmistulang karagatan ang mga palayan, habang sa kalakhang maynila, gabundok na basura at putik ang iniwan ng kalamidad. walang sinanto ang hagupit.

sa gitna ng unos, umusbong muli ang bayanihan. simpleng mga mamamayan ay nagsipag-ambag sa abot ng kanilang makakaya, naglaan ng oras upang makatulong sa pagrerepak ng mga pantawid gutom. maging ang mga biktima ng nagdaang mga kalamidad gaya ng mga mamamayan ng ginsaugon, leyte, nagbigay-tulong sa milyong nasalanta. magandang halimbawa, lalo na sa mga kabataang di pa nakaranas ng anumang katastropiya.

ngunit sadyang may mga taong pansariling adhikain ang nangingibabaw, maging sa panahon ng kalamidad. oo nga't nakapag-abot ng tulong sa pamamagitan ng ilang supot ng nudels at dalawang maliit na bote ng tubig, subalit kalakip pa rin ng mga pantawid-gutom na ito ang makasariling hilig na itaguyod ang kandidatura sa nalalapit na halalan sa pamamagitan ng pagdidikit ng mga istiker ng kanilang mga sandamukal na mukha't pangalan. gaya na lang ng ginawa ni manny villar. sa dami ng pera ng pinakamayamang senador ng bansa, nakuha pa nilang lagyan ng istiker ang bawat isang pakete ng nudels at bote ng tubig, gayong ang tulong ay higit na kailangan sa lalong madaling panahon sapagkat n'ung kasagsagan ni ondoy, maraming tao ang di pa nahatiran ng anumang tulong sa loob ng tatlong araw.

sabi nga ni jim paredes sa kanyang mga tweet, kung nais mo talagang tumulong... wala nang cheche-burecheng promosyon o anumang mababang uri ng advertisment. ihatid ang anumang tulong nang walang bahid ng pansariling naisin. anu't anuman, pasasalamatan ka ng tao sa anumang tulong na maaari mong ibigay. isang magandang halimbawa ay ang pagbibigay-kawanggawa ng pamunuan ng rebisco sa mga nasalanta sa aming barangay sa novaliches. di na nila pinadaan sa mga ganid na pulitikong-lokal, kundi idineretso na sa mga nangangailangan, nang walang anumang tokata o anunsyo sa radyo, pahayagan at telebisyon.

'wag na sanang dumawdaw sa ngalan ng bayanihan kundi rin lang taos-puso ang pagtulong.