Merry Christmas everyone.. i hope we stay happy always. cheers! :)

charise on the O show

if you haven't seen Charise's latest guesting on Oprah show then you're missing a lot baby. "World's Most Talented Girl" the Sept. 9th Oprah show is one full hour episode on Charice, highlighting her life from a small town girl competing in singing/talent shows to becoming an international singing sensation. and who doesn't watch Oprah in America? come on!

as a Filipino, i am just as proud as everyone is on what she has accomplished so far. Filipinos really possess world-class talents, di lang tayo nabibigyan ng break especially on Hollywood where being good enough won't entitle you a ticket in. kelangan you have to be damn good amazing. sensational to say the least. just listen to how Oprah was blown away by this little girl's talent. no other than legendary David Foster was tapped to develop and bring out the best in her.

the first time i saw this episode (the day after it was shown on tv) i literally had goosebumps all over. her voice, the emotion on her singing voice is soul-stirring. i was even teary-eyed when she sang Celine Dion's most famous hit. i'll let you watch yourself and see what i mean. here are some of the highlights. click "watch in high quality" para mas malinaw talaga.


part 1
Oprah - "nothing is more fun for me than helping to make somebody's dream come true especially when this somebody is a gifted young person who really really really wants it and really really really deserves it.."
- "..a girl with an incredible sets of pipes."

Michael Buble - "no matter how good i am you kicked my butt.."




part 2
who among our Filipino singers has had duets with world-class singers like Andrea Bocelli or was even invited personally?

Charise - "..we left my dad and after that i never saw him and i don't wanna see him. i'm just singing now for my mom.."




part 3
David Foster - "it's the extraordinary gift and she seems to really get how to take care of it, preserve it and cherish it, which is really the important thing.."




part 4
if you won't be moved by this performance, go get a heart-checkup!




part 5
no other than Celine Dion!


well, dreams do come true. if you noticed she goes by just her firstname nowadays. i heard that's because her dad was mad at how he was portrayed in her daughter's life in all the shows she'd guested in. eh kasalanan naman talaga ng erpats niya. good thing for Charise she didn't give up easily or else she might not have been living these days to see her dreams coming to realization. way to go! Filipinos swell with pride i assure you that :) keep it up!

ella ella, eh eh eh..

it was all wet all week here in Manila. typhoon Marce hit the region, or actually almost the entire of the country, that left most of us soaked in the rain going to and fro the office, stranded in traffic, pass by flooded streets, restricted to inside our houses or maybe rediscovered that you really are sleepyhead :P para sakin, it's all of the above hehe. but there's one particular thing i discovered that had me blogging tonight (it's 1AM local time).

if you knew me better, ako yung isa sa mga tao na hindi talaga nagdadala ng payong :). it's on my hell-i'm-a-guy-i-don't-do-these-things list :P yung prinsipyo ba na di bale nang mabasa ako sa ulan wag lang ako makita ng iba na nagdadala ng payong haha. parang hindi kasi manly hehe. often i ask my sister to accompany me sa sakayan ng taxi o jeep. bago ako sumakay binabalik ko sa kanya yung payong and she brings that back home so pagpasok ko ng office wala talaga akong dala. hindi naman ako nababasa madalas or ng sobra so it wasn't really a big of a deal. but not until this week. i was converted from being one of those anti into a, believe or not, firm believer. 'twas a complete turnaround. you probably are thinking what triggered my melioration.

Monday. regular day for me. woke up at around 7PM to get ready for work. i called this ihaw-ihaw nearby and ordered something for our dinner. 20 minutes passed and my friend and i decided to get our food dun sa kainan. pero it was already raining hard that time. so we brought umbrellas and nagulat kami kasi baha na pala sa street namin at medyo tumataas na ang tubig. we really had no choice pero sumuong sa baha just to get our food. sa sobrang lakas ng ulan at kakahintay eventually nakatulog ako at hatinggabi na nakapasok hehe.

Tuesday. galing ako sa bahay i was going somewhere in Makati. i was hesitant pero i still brought an umbrella kasi sobrang dilim ng langit. and then umulan ng walang humpay na pagkalakas lakas sa loob ata ng tatlumpu't limang minuto na sinabayan ng walang puknat na malakas na ihip ng hangin. sakto pa na wala talagang masakyan nung mga oras na yun kasi baha daw ang mga dadaanan so walang nangahas bumiyahe. putik nung finally nakasakay na ako ng bus, dun ko na-realize na kalahati pala ng katawan ko, mula baywang pababa eh basang basa sa ulan. parang kanta lang ng aegis noh?! at doon ko na rin na-realize na pwede naman pala kaming maging magkaibigan ng payong. if i clung in to my pride that time, siguro na-ospistal na ko dahil sa hypothermia sa sobrang exposed sa ulan for a prolonged period tapos sobrang lamig pa ng tubig. at heto pa ang mas matindi. pagdaan ko ng Mantrade sa EDSA, kung alam niyo yung lagusan ng sasakyan sa ilalim nun (Pasong Tamo) hindi talaga madaraan ng sasakyan kasi puno ng tubig! tama po. the last time na nakita kong napuno ng tubig yun eh 1st year college pa lang ata ako nun. so mga 1996. after 12 years saka naulit. bakit ko naaalala ika niyo? eh yun yung gabi na naglakad ako mula sa pinapasukan kong kolehiyo pauwi ng bahay at madaling araw na ko dumating sa amin :P

fast forward to Friday. i had an appointment in the heart of the business district in Makati. i was not in my usual self, ibig sabihin naka-slacks ako, long sleeves and black leather shoes. so di naman poging pogi, medyo pogi lang naman hehe. i decided i'll bring an umbrella with me and lucky enough umulan ulit pero hindi na ako gaanong nahirapan maglakad o sumakay. but i still titter on the thought :P

this stormy week made me realize it wasn't really bad at all. to bring and be seen by others. ang mas nakakahiya eh yung meh payong ka tapos summer haha. so the next time we chance upon each other you might see me holding that long stick and just be shocked as i am. it's not a lance and you won't find any thoroughbred nearby. it's called an umbrella but hey i still think it's manly. and who knows? baka pasukubin pa kita :P

redemption

USA Redeem team has finally redeemed their lost glory. having failed to win the global tournament in 8 years, they brought their A+ game against the Spaniards who also brought their A+ game. yan ang championship game! 4 point lang lamang ng US going into the last 2 minutes. sobrang ganda talaga ng game. D-Wade was phenomenal sa 1st half then Kobe Bryant took over nung 2nd half. don't be mislead by the final score, this was really a hard-fought game until the final minute. in the end the "Star Spangled Banner" was played on the medal ceremony.

it just showed how far the rest of the world has grown in the game of basketball. but as of now order has been restored. USA reclaims its position in the pinnacle of international basketball. U! S! A! U! S! A!

murphy's law and jose rizal

life ain't supposed to be hard, right? no. but we can sit back and wait for that golden opportunity to just come by us, di ba? maybe. or how about this.. hard work and perseverance will definitely pay off later. yes. hopefully yes.

at my age it is a point where i seem so determined to really put my life in a direction where i wanted to see myself years from now. know what i mean? i could have done this on my earlier years but i wasn't that matured back then. "ubos ubos biyaya bukas nakatunganga" principle lang ako dati eh. not that i didn't enjoy those times mind you, i freakin' loved those moments :P pero siyempre times change. and so should i grow up. eto na yung mga stages na you're concerned about your future, not that you can control it but at least you direct it into a direction where you wish and dream it to be.

it's been almost two months since my friend and i decided to put up our printing business. and boy little did we expect we're in for the ride of our lives! investing into something, whether a relationship, career, bank account, business, house and lot man yan, is really challenging. it requires your time, dedication, your wildest thoughts, strength, talent (you're blessed if you have one), and money (if you weren't blessed with the former i hoped you're blessed with this one - pag wala pa din eh kawawang bata ka na hehe).

the company is actually a brainchild of my good friend Randy. he's been with the advertising business for 3 years and had, in my personal assessment, quite a handful of experience. printing was one of his previous jobs that company. he was fortunate enough start a partnership with a foreigner last year for the same business and they were doing good for some months. pero sabi nga sa murphy's law, "whatever can go wrong will go wrong". true enough this Korean guy went back to his motherland and pulled out all his machines and literally my friend's living. wala na siyang ibang kabuhayan but that tapos nawala pa. so to make the story short after sleepless nights and deep thoughts he decided to move on. with the little that he had left he hoped to start again. pano ako pumasok sa eksena 'ka nyo? eh we chanced upon each other one Sunday afternoon around June tapos kinuwento niya ang nangyari (ayang lahat ng isinulat ko sa paragraph na toh). Randy and i have been close like brothers through many years so trusting the guy and his vision did not come hard. so with the work experience that he has at yung konti kong perang naitabi sa bangko we decided to setup the business. ako pa naman yung tao na pag hindi natakot sa isang challenge eh it's not challenging enough. eh dito medyo tinamaan din ako ng takot so alam ko i'm up for something great. so off we go. we bought a large format printer, 44-inch, from his contact and a cold laminator naman na 60-inch from Hidalgo. tapos may dalawa kaming pc sa place niya and yung ibang former clients niya still had him do some printing jobs. so medyo naging okay ang simula namin. and to think the money that we invested is so little compared to those who had this same business. so siyempre i-expect mo rin na palabas muna lahat ng pera in the first 2 to 3 months and that's where we're struggling right now. good for me i still have my day job at least my salary is still enough to feed myself and my two siblings. lagi ko ngang binibiro na double job ako ngayon :P hehe.

on the course of these two months, we've experienced discouragements, frustrations, fatigue, shortage of money, and everything else we did not expect to happen. ewan ko ba, parang nananadya ang panahon. eto ha, Randy has his family (nanay at mga kapatid niya) living in San Andres bukid. two weeks before we started this business eh nadamay sa malaking sunog yung bahay nila. good thing is that 2nd floor lang ang nasunog. if that will not dampen your spirits eh mutant ka siguro.. sa ganitong business kasi dito sa atin eh 3rd party ink ang gamit kasi napakamahal ng original ink (P5K plus for a 220mL!!). when one of the 8 inks ran out, we had no choice but to purchase the original kasi wala pa kaming nahanap na supplier at that time ng 3rd party ink for our printer. eh may pending work for a client so it was so critical. kahit mabigat sa bulsa we had to come up with the moolah. and we had to buy it in Quezon city during a stormy Sunday noon kasi half day lang pala yung seller.. there is this system that you need to purchase para ma-convert mo yung printer mo into a continuous ink supply system o CISS. and for the printer model that we have, nahirapan kaming maghanap dito sa Manila. most of it kasi eh galing sa Shenzhen, China or sa UK. Randy does most of the research and he contacts immediately kung meron mag offer. we were ecstatic when he found one in Marikina, so tinawagan and ni-confirm na meron daw sila. so pinuntahan niya sa pusod ng Marikina, bumabagyo pa that time, bought the device and went back home. alam mo yung parang on fire ka tapos nabuhusan ka ng malamig na tubig? mali pala yung device and clearly the seller did not know what he's selling @&#$%!( nakakainis diba? what frustrated us more is that konti na nga lang yung pera namin (so we really were very careful in shelling out cash), napagod na yung kaibigan ko tapos we were 2 weeks delayed na i think on some of our deliverables that time. the morning after we went back to Marikina together para balikan yung nagbenta. coming from my night shift schedule i barely slept. kada upo ko sa jeep, sa mrt o fx kinuha kong tsansa para matulog. pagdating namin dun yung pinangako nilang meron eh wala naman pala talaga. pero at least binalik yung pera namin. kung made-describe ko lang ang naramdaman namin that time isusulat ko dito kaso hindi ko ma-describe. parang right there and then, our high hopes that this business will turn out very well could have really dashed out of the door. to be honest napaisip na ko nun, "ano ba tong pinasok ko?" "is this really gonna work?" i even thought of going to China myself para lang bumili eh. kaso bigla kong naisip wala pala akong pamasahe hehe. i think for about 15 minutes Randy and i did not utter words. ikinain na lang namin yung problema namin sa Jollibee (that's around 11AM na) and naisubo ko na yung huling butil ng kanin nung meh nagsalita na sa amin. sa totoo lang gusto ko ng umiyak nun nahiya lang ako puro bata yung mga nasa katabi naming table. isipin pa nila na boyfriend ko si Randy at nakikipag break siya sakin :P "papi, wag mo kong iwan.." hahaha :P

but you know what? little did we expect that there was still a glimmer of light we're about to see that day din. my friend started to flicker through the pages of his planner. it had some numbers of contacts he gathered from the internet. he called about 3 and i overheard him saying, "saan po ang office niyo sir puntahan po namin kayo... ah sa Malinta exit?.. andito pa po kami dulo ng Marikina pakiantay po kami..." before i can even ask a question we were on our feet again. pagod pero adventure talaga. to cut the story short, nagkaligaw ligaw kami, naubusan sya ng load, naubusan naman ako ng battery at muntik na rin kaming maubusan ng bait. wag kayong tumawa pero muntik na talaga. after about 2 hours we located the place and the consolation of all these unlucky things? the guy (sir Anthony) whom we met for the first time accomodated us like we have been friends for eons. cool guy, very approachable at napaka down to earth din. he gave us tips more than our weary minds can even remember. so for more than an hour kinausap niya kami and gave us more than what we need. di nga lang namin nabili yung CISS kasi one set dapat ang bilhin eh kulang ang pera namin. still he offered a cartridge with original ink that is about half the price compared sa labas. not bad huh. at least we went home after an adventurous day with a reason to smile a bit.

actually madami pa kaming problema ngayon. recently lang nagkasakit yung dalawang anak ni Randy, monthly bills, payment for the media, house rent, kakainin sa araw araw among other things. the thing that is most challenging for me eh yung maubusan ulit ng pera. there was one day when i only had P7.50 in my pocket and a whopping P62 in my atm account eh siyempre di ko naman ma-withdraw yun. that was like 4 days before my next salary so just imagine the worries. i literally had to flip thru my memory bank kung sino yung mga may utang sakin and i starting texting them. today, i only have P500, 5 days bago mag sweldo ulit. wuuuhhaaaa *sigh*.. hindi ko akalain mararanasan ko ulit toh after so many years. kumbaga since i started working eh i seldom had this problem. it is literally stepping out of my considerable comfort zone and put myself on the sacrifice line alongside my friend so to speak but this is exactly what i should expect the moment i agreed. pero i was born and raised in a poor family so these things are not new to me. there were even worse back then. pero really there's no other way than to move forward eh. it's either you stop or keep walking. Randy even joked one time na sana may video camera kami and na-document lahat namin ang mga paghihirap namin. yung mga misadventures namin. parang Ariel and Maverick lang ba. para when we look back we can just laugh at ourselves and appreciate better what we have in life.

it's been tough and it's getting tougher. but it's all good. it's all good..

post scriptum:

bumibili kami ng gamot ng anak niya kanina sa drug store, sinuklian siya ng tig beinte pesos, tinignan niya sabay sabi, "ngayon ko lang na-appreciate si Manuel Quezon." sagot ko, "dude, mas i-appreciate mo dapat si Jose Rizal dahil pag wala si Pepe, hindi mabubuo si Ka Manuel" :D

printing business

as Chinese regard number 8 to be lucky, i'd like to ride on that belief and advertise today (08-08-08) the business my good friend and i put up. it's small but it's large hehe. it's large format printing. we print just about everything you need into virtually any media you prefer:

photo paper
backlit
canvass
banner cloth
clear sticker, floor sticker (and other sticker-based media)
blinds
streamers

(in the meantime, we focus mainly on indoor printing. but we also accept outdoor prints if needed)

we offer other services which include:

standee (sintra PVC board, carton, or other types)
murals
backdrops
framing
vehicle wraps

i'll post some pics of the tools we've already invested in and some of the things we did for our budding network of clients. parang ang dami na eh noh haha.

we're not getting any younger so things like this come up to mind. eh ayoko namang maging employee forever na umaasa lang lagi sa swelduhan hehe. tsaka for the future na rin. i'm not Chinese pero hopefully we get lucky with this endeavor. wag na kayo magpa print sa iba ha. sakin na lang :P contact me thru email or cellphone number below my avatar (right side). salamat po!

my computer clock reads 4:29AM Manila time and i am still awake. don't even ask why. it's getting frustrating nowadays. i should be in deep sleep by this time. which leads me to really ponder on why am i still here. do i still love what i do? what keeps me from leaving? or a better question should be, am i ready to move on?

when something pushes me to the edge, i don't easily give up. not without a fight. i put up a challenge. pero feeling ko lately i'm trying to move a mountain without much progress. so when exactly do you say enough is enough? all i can say is that this is not good anymore. ain't healthy either..

iba ka talaga Pacman!

walanjo, hindi talaga ako maka-get over dito! nakaka-inggit hahaha :P



Manny Pacquiao kasama ang Boston Celtics team pagkatapos ng laban niya. at nakikipag diskusyon pa si Pacman keh Garnett habang naka-akbay ang lolo mo. parang hindi nahirapan mag english parang nagta-tagalog lang haha. ayus talaga!

gusto ko rin nun! makapagpa-kodak man lang kay Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce o Ray Allen. idol ko rin yang mga yan eh lalo na si KG. pero si pacman, napaka swerte. lahat andun. kumpleto yung Big 3. astig! meh iba pang mga players.

Kevin Garnett, "he's great man.. huge man.. that's what it is... i'm a huge Pacman fan, that's why we're here.."

Manny Pacquiao, "yeah! yeah! my dream is come true!"

wahahaha! ako, my dream IS not come true yet wehehe :P

idol ka talaga Pacman! mabuhay ka!

Manny Pacquiao makes history

(photo taken from ESPN.com)

galing talaga ng idol nating si Manny "pacman" Pacquiao. a total destruction of David Diaz from the starting bell until knocking out the Mexican face-first to the mat on the 9th. he is now the new WBC 135-pound lightweight champion. not only did he do it in an phenomenal fashion, it was awesome to say the least!

at any weight, in any ring, our boy is convincingly phenomenal. he was at his best the entire fight. and i think this was one of the best fights of his career. he has now become the first Asian, and Filipino, to hold titles in 4 different weight class.

eto mga statements ni David Diaz:

"Manny was too fast..."
"I could deal with his power but not his speed. I got tricked by his speed. I gave it my all. His speed is what sealed it for me. His speed was uncontrollable..."

about his cut on his right eyebrow:

"It didn't bother me," he said. "But I thought he had a knife. It's like he was hitting me with a blade. I thought [Pacquiao trainer] Freddie [Roach] was in there hitting me too..."

about the left hook to the jaw that ended the fight:

"I didn't see it coming... he is f*cking good." hahaha :P

sabi naman ni Pacman, "i feel very comfortable in 135. i am very strong!" wehehe :)

konting sidenote. eto pa matindi sa idol natin. inimbitahan sila Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen to watch his fight and boy they did. they even went directly to his dugout after the fight and had a photo op. galing diba? hindi nagpapakua ng picture si Manny kahit kanino dito sa mga artista o pulitiko, sila ang nagpapa picture sa kanya. pero eto si Pacman, nagpakuha sa mga idols niya from his favorite team, Boston Celtics. ayus!

congrats Manny. mabuhay ka! pinagkaisa mo na naman ang bansang Pilipinas!

i don't know exactly why but rain brings out so many emotions in people. more often than not melancholy. low in spirits. or blue. well maybe because when we were kids we are restricted to go out and play with friends once the heavenly hosts take their bath (at least that's what my parents told me. that is after San Pedro and God played bowling one on one. yun naman daw yung dahilan bakit kumukulog :P hehe. at pag kumidlat, we don't know exactly who but someone just had a perfect strike and heavenly cameras start to click. silly eh hehe). i once believed as a child that it robs you out of a chance to be happy running outside with your friends playing patintero, teks, taguan, tumbang preso or luksong baka. kaya nga siguro ganon. at pag bumagyo, walang pasok (yey!) pero wala nga rin lang baon (ay sad).

that was then. now it's different. it now means a time to relax, extra hour to ponder on things (okay, okay, i meant sleep), of course be home with my family, and a time to expand this web space (until now i don't know what i am writing about actually). i was also browsing the internet of headlines i missed for this week. i don't have my HD TV with me now but very soon we'll be reunited. aside from the Boston Celtics winning the NBA '08 championship (this i didn't miss watching :) wuhooo! panalo ako ng P500 keh Jod hehe), there's really not much news to uplift someone's spirit..


the green tradition
though i was rooting for another team at the start of the '07-'08 season of the NBA, the Boston Celtics had been my team come playoffs time. i always side with a defensive team rather than an offensive one. i personally liked Kevin Garnett's chances of finally having his own ring when he was traded to Boston. along with P2 (Paul Pierce) and Ray Allen (whom they call as the "candyman" since his stroke is so sweeeet) they more than just capture their 17th title Wednesday morning Manila time, they played their finest game of the season and crushed the spirits of their longtime nemesis, the L.A. Lakers. final score, Boston 131, Los Angeles, 92. nope, your math isn't wrong. 39 points it is. that was obliteration. no other word. obliteration. Kobe Bryant and company, with their lack of intensity in putting up a fight that night, looked like they wanted to catch a flight back home during halftime.. to the C's, continue on with the green tradition. let's play some nasty defense. de-fense! de-fense!


the raw emotion of KG summed up a perfect night for every Celtics fan. (image taken from ESPN.com)


jungle hell
i don't know how to describe the feeling and i don't desire to be there first hand to be able to illustrate. but that's as far as Ces Drilon described her 10-day ordeal with her captors in Indanan, Sulu. what was supposed to be an agreed interview with an Abu Sayaff commander turned into a kidnap for ransom. together with her 2 cameramen and a professor from that province, they were held hostage for P20 million. but here's the twist: Ces' family chose a lady vice governor of that province to be the third party in the negotiations but the rebel group chose a town mayor. so negotiations happened and thru the direct help of senator Loren Legarda all the hostages were released. (thru some research, i found out that senator Legarda was the same person who negotiated for the release of a 2002 hostage of some journalist and tourists, here at the same town, of probably the same group. rightly so the ABS-CBN honchos chose the lady senator to mediate since she already has the "connections" so to speak). but that's not the twist. at the end of the ordeal, it turned out that the mayor was believed to be the one who staged everything. at least that's what the PNP is looking at right now. together with his son, they're being interrogated. hala, eh dahil pala tatakbo ng pagka governor ata this coming August election kaya nangailangan ng pera. tsk tsk tsk. yan na nga ba ang sinasabi ko, mga pulitiko talaga. akala mo parang tupang nagmamagandang loob tumulong, siya din pala ang lobo na lalapa sayo. oh well, let the law extend its hand on the perpetrators and bring them to justice. as for Ces, i think she learned her lesson:

"It taught me that the story is not everything. Before kasi I was always in hot pursuit of a story without thinking of my own safety... Maybe there are other stories I can pursue without taking too many risks. That’s how I will draw the line now..."

one of this cameramen meanwhile said something very good about humanity throughout this ordeal.

"..if there is evil around you, there will always be good too.."

Frank's fury
as i write this, Metro Manila is being pounded by a typhoon. kanina malakas ang hangin ngayon ulan naman. what saddens me though is that another passenger ship is reported to have sunken in the Visayas region, several kilometers off Sibuyan island in Romblon. the ship en route from Manila to Cebu was carrying more than 700 passengers. first question that came to mind is why the ship has been allowed to set sail with a typhoon approaching? haven't we learned our lessons?? nakakainis naman tong mga nasa maritime institutions natin. ilang beses na bang may nangyaring ganyan at bakit hindi pa rin nila na-anticipate. i sympathize for the victims' families. i believe many of these passengers opted for a cheaper fare going home kaya nag-barko sila tapos magiging biktima lang sila ng kapabayaan ng mga otoridad. nakakagalit!! bakit di natin pagsama samahin ang mga tiwaling opisyal ng ahensya ng gobyerno na namamahala sa paglalayag ng mga pampasaherong barko, isama na natin ang mga may ari ng mga barkong lagi na lang sangkot sa mga mass murder sa dagat na parang walang pakialam pagkatapos ng mga ganitong trahedya, isakay natin lahat sila sa isang butas na barko at palautin sa dagat habang bumabagyo. tignan ko lang kung hindi magbalahaw ang mga yan at magmakaawa ng saklolo. pero hindi na dapat umabot sa ganon. kailangan ng suspindihin, panagutin at bigyan ng mabigat na parusa ang mga nagkasala para hindi na maulit ang mga ganitong mass murder sa sinuman nating mga kababayan..

one ship crew, who is among the four survivors as of this moment, recounted that the sea was really rough and waves as tall as mountains were pounding the ship which later developed a hole in its hull. water started to fill in then after about 15 terrifying minutes lang the ship was already underneath the sea. ang bilis at sobrang nakakatakot tsk tsk. what's sad about this is that four lifeless bodies have been washed ashore and the fate of the rest of the passengers and crew is still unknown. what's even more disheartening is that there are at least 45 children listed in the ship's manifest. so sad. thru his sunday speech at the Vatican, Pope Benedict in Rome sympathized upon learning of the tragedy. whenever i hear death of children in whatever way, my heart breaks.. so so sad :(

rescuers were prevented by bad weather for a search and rescue mission. but according to later reports, they already boarded the coast guard ship and estimated to arrive at the scene Sunday afternoon. i hope they find survivors. there may not be many, but i hope there are. God bless these people.

the man they call "Daboy"

honestly, i hardly get inspired by two types of people here in our country: politicians and actors. there are too few politicians (am not even sure if there is even one left) in our country who serve as genuinely as what they have taken oath to. a young public servant may look promising at the onset but once he dips into the murky waters of politics, even the meekest of the lambs turns into a vicious wolf wanting and thirsting for more. greed is blinding. it even makes one forget his very first priority which is serving the people. and all sorts of lies, deception and hypocrisy follow. &(#^*$@^ ang laki na ng tax ko ngayon tapos kukurakutin niyo lang! (alis na nga ako sa paragraph na toh naha-high blood na naman ako eh..)

problem with actors (male and female alike) on the other hand is that they are paid to portray a role which does not necessarily reflect their true being. an actor may play Robin Hood on films but in real life does not even have the slightest compassion on others. or someone who is kontrabida but is the exact opposite off camera. my point is that, they're paid to do what they do and it's easy for them to put on that disguise once the director shouts "action!", and difficult for us to look beyond that portrayal. that mask. that disguise. more so look for heroes amongst them. ika nga, heroes in show business are generally found in fantasy productions on big and small screens.

there are however, once in a while, real heroes who come out of the latter. actors who inspire me beyond their portrayal. whose courage on life's battles is moving you can't just help but admire and take your hat off to.

Rudy Fernandez, i truly believe, is one of them..

Saturday morning at around 2AM, i was having lunch (that term is correct for night-shifters, mind you) with friends Teejay and Irish and we inadvertently talked about Rudy Fernandez' condition, as we have heard from our local news and showbiz programs. we even shared how we have admired his wife Lorna on handling the difficult situation. the conversation went on to us having to share our personal difficult times when my nanay died and Irish' father passed away. the agony, pain, and loneliness after losing someone you dearly love.. back at the office at around 7AM, Irish hurried into my desk and informed me, "sir Art, patay na daw si Rudy Fernandez. nag text si Cherry.. eh di ba pinag uusapan lang natin kanina.." upon checking the Daily Inquirer online and PEP, it was confirmed.. in the afternoon, i was watching Startalk cover the first day of Rudy's burial. the amount of people, friends and loved ones alike, who flocked the chapel testifies how he, as a person, became friends to everybody. it was even mentioned by one of this sons that according to Rudy himself, he'd like everybody from all walks of life who'd want to view him for the last time come to his burial. wala dapat piliin o pigilan.. nakaka-inspire din yung kanyang tunay na kabiyak, si Lorna Tolentino, who showed us her own courage in the face of the unknown. bilib din ako sa'yo ma'am.

more than how Rudy faired courageously with his battle with the big-C, i think he really is a good person and that's what inspires me most. hearing his family and friends' accounts, i was moved. how he always acted as the peacemaker in their barkada. how he fairly treats everyone around him. how meek and bait he was sa family according to his eldest sister. and more importantly how he raised up his family, his sons. dyan magre-reflect kung ano ka talaga. sa sarili mong pamilya. aside from Mark Anthony, who went thru his dark past but has since successfully recovered, his two sons with Lorna Tolentino are living testimony of how responsible he was as a father, husband and friend to them.

so long Daboy. you've fought a good fight. you're in a better place now. rest in peace brother.

pause

though i had a lot of topics to blog about these past months, i had been very busy (actually i don't wanna start this piece by that line. it's just damn stressful. i'm sick and tired of being too busy, but how else do i have to put it. sugarcoat? now that really sucks). i just did not have the drive to visit this page, login and begin writing - typing for that matter. like how much i've been wanting to upgrade my SLR camera and really start getting serious about this interesting (read: ex-pen-sive) and fulfilling hobby. or how itching i've been to feel the summer's warmth at the beach (it's been 7 looonnnggg months for goodness sake!). or at least go somewhere new this year. an adventure that'll leave me breathless. a visit to Vietnam. be enchanted by Siquijor. how about romancing at the lovely Santorini island. actually the first two i will be visiting this year. hopefully the third within my lifetime. *sigh* so many places to see.. so little time.. and moolah!! wehehe :)

today is different. i started it very early to watch live NBA games and then headed to Baclaran to buy flowers for nanay. it's mother's day and i hope you guys have done something special for your moms: cooking her favorite breakfast. buying her favorite showbiz magazine. or simple a kiss to the forehead and a tight hug. at around 9AM i was already preparing kasi ninong ako sa isang binyag. i realized at the seminar that being a godparent is a great responsibility to your inaanak. you become a second parent to the child. it's not just being a financial liability as some of us have been accustomed to. more importantly i realized that i should take part not just in his physical or financial needs but more so on his emotional, spiritual and social needs. ganon pala yun. ngayon ko lang lahat na-realize kung kelan siyam na ata inaanak ko hehehe. right after the baptism was a sumptuous buffet waiting for us here at our place. magkakapitbahay lang kasi kami :) hay naku, bondat pagkatapos.

then i started to receive greetings of sorts. i realized unga pala hehe. so i bought myself a cake and ate it, myself haha. i just thanked God for all the wonderful things and not things He has given me. those intangible ones. and thanks to all you peeps. to my loved ones and friends.

i napped for about 45 minutes and we headed to the cemetery to visit nanay. i was surprised to see lots of people there. parang November 1 atmosphere as in madami talagang dumalaw. most of them turned it into a family affair. nag picnic sila, some flew kites and the children ran around. the only thing that forced people to leave was the heavy rains. it was great to revisit since it's been a while. six years have passed and we've somehow learned to live life on our own.

we wrapped up our day by having dinner together with my kapatids and pinsans catching up on a few things. i'm glad to have paused and appreciate the people i have in my life. thank you. thank you..

happy 8

(this is how busy i have been. 1 entry every quarter hehe)

contrary to the mustiness of this web space, i'm still alive mind you :) matter of fact is that i accomplished a milestone today. March 1st marks my eighth year in this company. you read it right folks eight long - or should i say short - years. for the most part, things were enjoyable despite lots of hard work. at the end of the day you look back and appreciate everything, from your two cents to accomplishments of mammoth proportions. now, here i am and everything seems different. the then sweet idea of staying and building a solid career here is starting to turn sour.

will i continue to be proud? i don't know. i have no idea what's ahead or if ever i'm gonna reach that 10. all i know is now and that i have good music to keep me sane..



" Rise up this mornin'
Smiled with the risin' sun
Three little birds
Pitch by my doorstep
Singin' sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true
Sayin' "This is my message to you-ou-ou:"

Singin': "Don't worry 'bout a thing
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right."
Singin': "Don't worry don't worry 'bout a thing
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right!" "

- Bob Marley (Three Little Birds)