Welcome Home

My niece Kim and her younger brother Jon will arrive at the NAIA airport at 11:00pm tonight on board Northwest. Will fetch them from there and transport them with their bagages to Centennial Airport for their 5:00am flight to Iloilo early next day. It's been over three years that they left the country with their mom who got a nice job as registered nurse in the University Hospital in Augusta, Georgia. They left as highschool kids and will be returning as nursing students, joining their two cousins from my eldest sister and my brother as the next wave of nurses in the family tree. I only wish their lolo who sent them off crying is still alive to welcome them back.

Wi-Fi Galore

I bought many months ago this unlabeled silver Blue Argon laptop nearly size of a notebook in its 12" width. It made my PC at home almost extinct because aside from it being inconvenient to use with all the switches and cables, this laptop is far more faster and handy. But there's more to it than the advantage of being small. I made sure this laptop comes with a Wi-Fi and multiple USB ports for the mouse, the flashdisk and my phone's data cable (DKU 2) making my online life even more convenient, wherever.

A little secret to reveal. When I was in one Starbucks place in Makati, my laptop intercepted a free wi-fi, apparently from one of the offices nearby. Next day I tried connecting again, lo and behold it was still there, and free! One Sunday, after buying my toiletries, I tried dropping by again same place and found that the wi-fi is 7 days a week, almost 24-7 operational! I'm quite sure only a few Starbucks visitors with wi-fi-enabled laptops had noticed this that they still buy the wi-fi card. As for me, the effect is, I buy coffee as my passport to use the unlimited wi-fi, the electric outlet and the homey ambiance.

Three more peppermint mochas and I'm going to get my Starbucks organizer!

happy birthday Asi!

Today, I thank the Lord for His magnificent goodness. For His unconditional love, I adore Him and praise His Holy Name. He loved me long before I learned to love Him. He made sure to take care of me and shower me with every good thing in life. Today I thank Him most especially, for giving me one of His most loving, most adorable and beautiful creation, to share the triumphs and trials of life. This day then, and thereafter, God has reserved for me someone named Paulette, to transform me to become better and bolder. And I am most grateful to the Lord for that. Happy birthday my dearest Asi!

A Journalist and Some Jerky Journalists

Business Mirror reporter Mia Gonzales was served an arrest warrant this morning for her allegedly libelous article written 2 years back in News Break Magazine about Miguel Arroyo. The six arresting officers who went inside the Press Working Area of the Malacañang Press Corps at the New Executive Building inside the Palace complex left empty handed as Ms. Gonzales was on sick leave. Talk about bobos. Out of the 42 journalists sued for libel by first gentleman Arroyo, Ms Gonzales should have been the last to receive her arrest warrant. Why? Here are my views.

Business Mirror, less than 2 years in publication, is owned by Ambassador Antonio Cabangon-Chua, owner of DWIZ-AM, Fortune Care, Citystate Savings, Citystate Hotel, Eternal Gardens, Isuzu Gencars, the so-called flower group motels and many more business interests. Amb. Cabangon-Chua should have been pissed-off by the arrest of one of his reporters (or elated, what with the free publicities the paper got). A few years back, when I was still working with one of his companies, I remembered looking for sponsors for the First Gentleman's Cup held in Wack-Wack Golf Club, with our boss alledgedly doling out P.5M for the First Gentleman's Cup. Maybe some did not notice, but the fund raising was mentioned by the oppositions during the Jose Pidal controversy. Currently, no less than DOJ Sec. Raul Gonzales hosts one of the morning programs of DWIZ-AM, sort of a PR slot propagating the achievements of the Arroyo government. Now, do you also wonder why Mr. Ramon Tulfo's long running DWIZ program "Isumbong Mo Kay Tulfo" was sacked? No, this is not a story of "you scratch my back, I scratch yours"-- this is pure political influence seemingly permeating to business decisions and vice-versa. In the above's case however, loopholes have to be plugged. How could his lackeys missed the connection? Oh I almost forget. Only blind leaders rule the blind. But blind and bobo were they who served the warrant. What then is their boss? You said it. Sue me, anyone?

Meanwhile, here are some future journalists the kind of Mike Arroyo might not be able to file libel with. Not ever. How could he, we are just a cutie jerky lot. Emman, Mark, Teejay, Tom, Dano, me and Camille on the first pic. Apple , ever camshy, joined us on the second shoot. Mucho's videoke bar wasn't much enough to hold the combined birthday party thrown by Tom, Camille and me. Scorpions , surprisingly, are gregarious!

And yes, we can also be obnoxious!

Ilonggo Indulgence

Kon kis-a napanumdum ko pano ayhan kon magsulat ako sa Hiligaynon diri? Baw ti damo gid guro indi ka intiende, luwas dulang kon kasimanwa ko gid mabasa, kapin pa kon karay-a. Pasensya dulang sa indi kamaan kay tulad daw gusto ko gid maghambal sa tumandok ko nga dila. Baw kabudlay man sagad panumdom kon magsulat sa Ingles kay ti kinanglan sakto gid grammar mo kag mga tinaga para mahangpan ka ka manugbasa mo, indi bala? Ti bahala sila ya subong eh. Basta ako ya gakatol tudlo ko magpitik keyboard nga Ilonggo ang tinaga gaguwa sa monitor ko.

Subong ti ari ko sa opisina, as usual sa conference room. Bag-o lang matapos meeting namon kag gahulat makadto sa Market Market sa The Fort para sa blood-letting event namon with Red Cross (basi mahambal sila waay ko ga-obra di). Indi ko na lang pagdetalye di ah, kay sensitive daan kumpanya namon sa mga tactical activities namon. Syado kagrabe ang kumpetisyon sa listeners kag advertisers. Para mabal-an nyo output ti pamati dulang kamo sa mga istasyon namon, kadto lang kamo di sa gin-obra ko nga website .

Ang mahambal ko lang, sako gid ako subong nga Nobyembre. Luwas sa pagdumdum sang kalag sang akon amay sang nagligad nga petsa uno kag dos (daw nakaduha ka misa gid ko to), amo man ni ang bulan sang akon pagkatawo, petsa otso, kag sang akon nobya, petsa biente siete. Sang lunes nag-enrol man ko sa UP, kag damo gid ko talapuson nga papers. Mga tunga-tunga sang bulan nga ni umpisa na ko pamakal regalo kag ticket pauli sa Pototan. Nahidlaw na ko sang balay namon, bisan waay pa matapos ang kisame kag mga palitada. Nahidalaw man ko magduaw sa Tatay ko kay waay gid ko ka puli sang Pista Minatay. Makilit-anay man kami sang mga hinablos ko nga mapuli man pagkatapos sang sobra apat ka tuig sa tate. Bakasyon lang sila kay gaeskwela pa, kag subong lang nila makit-an ang lolo nila nga gahamyang na sa patyo eh. So, ang gahulat sa ila kasadya kag kasubo man. Ang maayo lang mabaskog pa si lola nila kag sako ugtas sa duha nya ka apo sa balay. May isa pa ka 3-month old gahulat mag-entra sa gilinamo nila. Nami daad magpost pictures nila di pero for privacy reasons hasta diri na lang sila sa cellphone ko ah. Baw daw kalawig naman gali nasulat ko. Sige malakat na ko sa Fort.

Ti ikaw ya ano plano mo?

One Day

One Day. Because she no longer has the patronage of masses and her re-election is next to impossible. One day holiday. Because she wanted to woo the support of the business sector, sustaining the momentum of her self-acclaimed economic recovery via EVAT at the expense of the consumers while companies of her chinese patrons enjoy tax holidays, whatever they call it! One day, when before, she would declare two days in between weekend and a holiday, days to promote local tourism. Nov. 1 is long enough for Gloria to visit her father's tomb and tell his sorry soul that she's vindicated from all her shortcomings...

One Day. One day of rest and prayerful remembering. Because I can't go home to my father's grave, to touch his lonely tomb, to light a little candle, place a priceless rose and pray for his soul. Thanks to Gloria who deprived millions of Catholics of this chance to pray together as a family for the souls of their departed loved ones. (Remembering the souls, may I stress, is inadequate.)

One Day. I remember this one day when I was below 5 years old, walking home one stormy night he covered my head and tucked my upper body inside his fatherly-smelling jacket. We walked as fast as we could while the bright flashes of lighting lit the road and all that I see were his swaggering feet, steady and strong.

One Day.That one day I also remembered when I was holding, wrapped in black plastic bag, his chopped off leg fresh from amputation due to painful gangrene that eventually caused complications with his other vital organs and ultimately, his death. I held it with grateful heart, because through them we were cared for, protected and provided.

One Day. This one day, and each day of my life I will remember my father whom we loved so dearly. This one day, on November 1, I will lit a little candle and pray for him, who though physically far, will always be spiritually near.

Meanwhile, I will have to forbear life. One day at a time.

I'm sick!

I have flu this weekend so I stayed home the whole of Sunday. Got hooked tinkering on my codes and checking if my lay-out works. Have added this picture trail, which to my untrained eye, looks good on my page. You may check out for my enhanced events page. So this is what happens when I'm sick.

here's a dustcloth for this blog

been like this for the past weeks. my thesis is halfway. it's been halfway since last semester though. my work has eaten much of my time that i may eat and have time some more. and more time soon...

Foods I Miss

Nothing compares with my favorite menu. Of course taste is relative, though most of the time we have a universal agreement on what tastes good and what tastes bad. My provincial upbringing lingers in my tongue and to the right are foods that I could eat 7 times a week without puking. The fried rice (kalo-kalo, mas namit kon daw batok sa idalom), grilled fish (sinugba nga isda, bisan ano), steamed prawns (lukon o pasayan bisan ano okay lang), fried bangus (pinakas, mas namit kon binulad pa kag may dyutay asin) and native chicken adobo (may gata, luya, bits of salt and vinegar-- no toyo or patis or it takes away the Ilonggo adobo style). I miss these foods especially on rainy season. I don't know why, but the incessant rain has something in it that brings back memory of my mother's kitchen (and darapugan) and all the pots and wooden utensils hanging our bamboo posts.

By the way, all foods above have been converted a month ago to a potentially very rich source of vegetable nutrients. I wonder what can grow up on that heap of fertilizer many months from now. Blurp... Ha! ha!

My Sister

Picked up today at Centennial airport my sister who came from Iloilo. On Monday she's leaving again for Georgia where she works as RN for the University Hospital. The last time we saw each other was when she came home 2 years ago, upon the request of our frail father who knew he wouldn't see her again, at least until he expired. Three weeks ago she came back to an undeniably different home, perhaps expecting a familiar greet, a sturdy frame and a fatherly smile. I could just imagine how her heart sank as she dragged herself, slowly, sadly, for the first time towards our father's tomb. There his body lay, motionless, voiceless and surely lifeless inside the cold steely box, unaware that my sister has come back wanting to see him but could not. As always, it's good to be spiritual. Surely, he smiles now that my sis is back with her paternal family. Now that she's coming back to the US, our paryers for him will come from different parts of the globe.

War

The Israeli-Hezbollah war has gotten deep into my nerves that I'm surfing more often now via my cellphone looking for its updates. Honestly, the ongoing war shifted my natural curiosity from pen collection to study of Israeli politics, middle east conflicts and the Caritas Lebanon. And war quotations. So, I'm posting these quotations from great names of what they say about war:

* The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting. -Sun Tzu
* An eye for an eye only makes the whole world blind. -Mahatma Gandhi
* An unjust peace is better than a just war. -Cicero
* We are going to have peace even if we have to fight for it. -Dwight D. Eisenhower
* War can only be abolished through war, and in order to get rid of the gun it is necessary to take up the gun. -Mao Zedong
* We make war that we may live in peace. -Aristotle
* It is only the dead who have seen the end of war. -Plato
* I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones. -Albert Einstein

Unfortunately (or lucky for you), I can't find one coming from Ms. Arroyo. Oh, I forgot, did I say quotations from great names?

Today

In between this post and below are 6 days of work. Yes, 6 days because I only stayed 1 day and a half in my birthplace Pototan, Iloilo. My father's 2nd death anniversary was like a breeze, just like his life. Relatives from both my father and my mother's side from Dumarao came, and we are talking here of not less than 50 physical bodies in all, plus our neighbors and friends (note that this is no longer the burial of my father).

We heard a 9:00am mass then went to my father's tomb and said a short prayer ( it was a little bit longer than I expected) while the 12noon sun burned our skin, my hankie soaked in sweat. After our visit with my father's holy relic (well, that's how I see it now until the last earth day when glorified bodies are reunited with their spirits), we went home and took our lunch-- letchon, estofado, valenciana, menudo and other Spanish-sounding foods I hardly recognize.

On a small bedside altar, my mother placed cup-sized amount of foods served, a little candle burning in the middle and a picture of my father on the side, a creative expression of not only remembering the dead, but belief that they share in our abundance and earthly joy. Foods offered in prayer and gratitude becomes a profession of faith of the unity of the living and the dead, of the church militant and the saints (now, my religion subjects are getting flesh and form here. Pardon me my fundamentalist friends, but this is pure Catholic practices derived from the principles of other holy books your predecessors omitted from the Bible you are using now).

It's feels good to be back home again, making up for the time lost with loved ones and refamiliarizing with every nook and smell of the house you once grew up. The feeling gets intense when you know you only get to do it one day in a year. Today regrettably, that was over.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow I'll be away from Makati, a place that I feel I never belong to anyway, nor dreamt to be my retirement city. Tomorrow I won't be seeing Greenbelt 1, 2 or 3 or any structure that looks sturdy and tall or any place that smells Japanese ramen, Rustan's fresh, or Ayala-Edsa with all its toxic smoke and deafening noise.

In my hometown, in a far away, pristine place of Iloilo will I go. Tomorrow I'll take my little long-deserved rest. Yeah, only tomorrow.

Namfrel the Cat

Meet my favorite cat, Namfrel. Born on election day, we're so proud he doesn't have the character of our elected politicians today. Best of all, he's not as bitchy and arrogant as the biatch in Malacanang. When he sees you coming, he would rub his head down to his neck on your ankle in a playful manner-- a contrast to heads-a-rolling when the biatch in power smells dissent. Poverty has made Namfrel an extra ordinary cat. See how he makes both ends meet by having himself content with kangkong and rice. Vegetarian? No. He eats mice and roaches, too. Ha-ha!

When election promises fail, and all that is left are empty platters and platitudes, cats would become man's worst rival with adobong kangkong.

Life is moving out. And moving in.

I'd be leaving my crib of seven years for a better but costlier one, just a street parallel to my current address two weeks from now. Definitely I'll be missing this homey place, the neighbors, the free parking, the church just across my room and yes, the familiar smell of wooden floor and walls of a house built in the early eighties.

The new pad is a welcome change though. It's a one bedroom unit with large sliding door closet, toilet and bath, a pantry, a cooking area complete with exhaust top, sink, cupboard and sockets for every plug needed the modern world has probably invented. Ah well, I'm referring to telephone junction, 3-holed female socket for any machine, a cable outlet and female plugs on every wall-- now I can have my N6230, N6111, N7230 and basic phone Samsumg SGH-X150 all charged at the same time. The ceiling has provision for chandeliers but I might just use a halogen bulb. I plan to install smaller bulbs and mini spots for more drama, probably closer to a bar ambiance but with a minimalist touch.

There are trade-offs for this better crib. "Dumi" won't be parked across my room and is at risk of being chopped off from side mirrors to rear spoiler, or worst, carnapped. There is a guard at the ground floor of this condo but I doubt if watching tenant cars is one of his priorities. Just the same, I'd be paying higher monthly rentals, costlier electricity bills and full cable fee for this new crib-- so new I can still smell the fresh cement at the stairway and see tiny ants moving in with expectant march. So new that I'm the first tenant to complain that the window grills were not evenly painted. In any case, my Asi would be more delighted for the new comfort and convenience staying over my place.

So there. Next week I'll be busy for school and work. The week after, I'll be seen hauling from computer table to dusty shoe racks (hopefully sans the roaches and the mice). Yes indeed, I'm moving out and moving in...

...at my new place, you dirty head.

Honoring Estela

Lying on a hammock with my brother on the opposite end, we would hear her humming, her hands fidgeting with needle and string as she repairs some torn kiddie t-shirt. We would squint our eyes while pretending to be asleep, but would sometimes receive from her a lash with coconut leaf rib. That's everytime we feign to be snoring but with our eyes half open and make a silly little smile on our face.

I can still smell the rattan hammock, the squeaking sound of abaca ropes grinding on our corner posts as she subconciously push our boat-like hammock into a gentle swing. Often times, she is a quiet sweet image we were too comfortable to notice, too familiar to be seen and too trusty to be taken for granted. But she is the one constant being to correct me when I'm wrong, share my joy when I'm happy and accomplished, always hoping that wherever I go, all is well with me.

Today, I may not write about the many details of my admiration for her. This blog space my not suffice, and attempting to would do her injustice. Memories of my most adored past will always be traces of her generosity, kindness and care beyond description of the written words. I just want to remember her today and honor her for giving me to the world. Happy mother's day dearest Nanay!

Bangus Festival

I just arrived from Dagupan, Pangasinan for the Bangus Festival. All the hotels were fully booked so me and my boss, instead of getting a beach hotel which takes 20-30minutes ride to the main event, were content on taking a traveller's inn that has a warm aircon, a measly water supply and orange-bright curtains that brought us sunrise earlier than it should. Nevertheless, Dagupena's char-grilled bangus was excellent and our events did great. Session Road and Ethel Booba highlighted our event, front acts done by Masculados and Maricar Fernandez, talents of the White Castle Whiskey. My sponsors include Clusivol Adult and Nescafe Classic. The event was held at stage 9 along A.B. Fernandez St. and started around 7pm.

Mediafest

I have attended the first day of MediaFest today. Organized by the Philippine Association of National Advertisers (PANA) in cooperation with United Print Media Group (UPMG) and the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP), this media festival is the first of its kind in the Philippines where print and broadcast media have united their forces to re-educate advertisers and marketing people of the unique power of radio and print in bringing their message to the public. I haven't gone to any talk outlined by the organizers for today, but hopefully I will be able to attend one topic tomorrow.

Above is Mr. Butch Canoy of Radio Mindanao Network (KBP President), Ms. Blenn Fernando of Alaska Milk Corp. (PANA President) and Mr. Pepito Olarte of the Phil. Daily Inquirer (UPMG President).

Pakwan, Pakyo!

...Not meant to insult PDI as well. Neither the size of this water melon with a spade-sized spoon. This hot hot summer, I don't care about anything anymore than ice cold luscious-red water melon. Tomorrow, the headlines would be something like... "Josua, Nanigas Dahil sa Pakwan".

And the whole country would ask: "Josua who?"

Letche kayo! Kumain na lang kasi ng malamig na pakwan!

A street car named Dumi

They named him Dumi. I have no problem these little smart-ass brats would call my second- hand car Dumi. My classmate-friends were just creatively candid—I pointed to them a dusty, silvery, freshly-out-of-talyer Lancer and in just seconds they all agreed to call him “Dumi”. Funny and memorable, only if you really know where and why it was named so (Tom spotted Kim, Camille got reassured she really was a girl and Apple kept wondering if the Baguio guy has gone to this kind of place).

Just the same, the next day, I treated Dumi a seventy-peso shower and a vacuum of his smelly gut. I went to school to hand out cum laude (clap! clap!) Camille her list of prospect employer ad-agencies. Before she could introduce me to her mom and biological (her emphasis) sisters, she introduced them first to Dumi. Brat girl. She named her lumot-green Honda “Finding” and a friend’s car that’s regularly parked beside her “Nemo”. So, shall we name Prof. Ethics' car “Fatal” and his bestfriend’s car “Attraction?” Hmmm… "Chocolate" and "Kiss" just sounds better.