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.

handwashing

with so many bacteria and virus causing various illnesses, the most basic tool on disease prevention is handwashing. and today's is the Global Handwashing Day.

Philippines
A multi media Handwashing campaign was launched on Global
Handwashing Day to raise awareness among the population.
Key activities included: a press conference on September 12 to announce the
local coalition with a symbolic handprints activity and handwashing with
kids, held at Museo Pambata (Museum for Children). Furthermore, handwashing was promoted through a road show with different stakeholders: schools, businesses and media, prior to the official launch of Global Handwashing Day on October 15 at Makati Park in the heart of the central business district. Over 100 school children were invited to participate in the event and kick off the advocacy of making handwashing with soap an important habit. Starting October 1, there was advocacy for handwashing through press and media articles, TV interviews, banners and posters on Metro Rail Transit (MRT). Simultaneous activities were held outside Manila in other regions.

hugas na ng mga kamay! (",)

sled

for the second year in a row, one of my pics were shortlisted in our annual idg calendar contest! while both entries came up short as one of the final 12 (2010 winners has just been announced), i'm so glad that these pics were picked as one of the worthy ones to be considered. i'm using a lowly kodak cx7530, a model so elementary, i got it during a sale and was already in the market since 2004. this kodak cam is the same one, which i accidentally dropped when mark was giving it to me with the strap still around his right hand. this happened in shanghai in january this year and prevented me from taking any "spectacular" pics of shanghai's pudong area and beijing's historical sites. after 2 weeks, kodak repaired it to the tune of 1,600 since it was way past its 1-year warranty period.

last year, my "strike" made it to the shortlist...

this year, my "sled" was picked! yeheeey!

looking at the other entries, most of them probably used more powerful and sophisticated cameras. but my lowly cam allowed me to have a nice one. this was taken in the rolling hills of northern batan island, part of the capital basco, just outside the town proper.

big deal? yes! hehehehe! i don't have any budget for a nice dlsr. so i would still be stuck with my good old kodak for now. the right eye for a good angle and inspiration is already there (naks!), so i might need a good equipment in the future, so that colors and other features would be a lot better. till next year! (",)

ondoy-ed

last sunday, i wrote about ondoy wreaking havoc on metro manila, parts of central luzon and calabarzon. ondoy's great flood, the worst in 40 years, did not spare our home in novaliches. i wanted to go home immediately but could not due to dizziness. good thing, i was allowed to go home earlier last tuesday. the fx took the 'shortcut', which is actually the long route to novaliches proper, snaking through what they call SB way from talipapa to doña rosario.

during this ride, i saw trail of ondoy's destruction. home furnishings of mid-level income families were all put under the sun, outside their houses. nearing novaliches proper, even deeper level of destruction was seen. shantytowns that i've been used to seeing whenever we pass SB way, were completely nil. those areas looked like bangladesh-like flooded areas, debris were all over and people were trying desperately to salvage whatever they can. dried up mud covered half of the streets, trees uprooted and factory walls collapsed. garbage-hills were all over. grabe.

i was prepared to see the same gloomy picture when i get to our barangay. to my relief, everything seemed to be back to its normalcy, except for some neighbors who were doing their laundry outside. tita jo was busy taking papa's maong pants to and from a neighbor's house. apparently, she requested the use of our neighbor's drier since their electricity is free! our house was already cleaned, no more muddy waters, but the living room has yet to resemble its old form. sofas were still wet and they couldn't use some of the appliances anymore, like the washing machine and gas stove, and even the rice dispenser was nowhere to be found!

with all these, i'm still thankful that my family is safe. apart from minor damage to property, we didn't have to go through others' experience of being trapped on roofs with no food and soaked in rain. they were safe in our second floor and no untoward incident happened to anyone of us. we just have to be prepared, especially with pepeng (international name: typhoon parma), nearing super typhoon status, as it is expected to make a landfall this saturday.

pictures below were taken by my sis liezl on sunday morning.