OLD GreG

this video is so crazy! Was laughing so much and cringing at the same time...So sick you can't help but watch it haha!

save me from myself

jolt me back to reality - please!

i feel so dreamy these past few days...everything is so surreal -- is that the right term for that? anyways...don't worry, i'm nowhere near sappy. when i said dreamy, i didn't mean the i'm-in-love-and-the-world-could-just-melt-now-and-i-don't-really-care-state... what i meant was that my attention is half attuned to what i'm doing and the other half is somewhere floating (near the ice cream stand, i guess)... im dreamy eyed in a sense because i'm only half-attentive in what's going on around me...result is, i bump into things, i say 'ha' almost always when being addressed to (yes, im your next door idiot if u want to rub it in), i stop in the middle of what i'm doing because i was able to think of something - and my thoughts would just drift to lala land while i remain stationary in my own corner that i call world, etc. etc. etc.

now, is this a good thing? maybe, but let me tell you something, i had my wallet stolen recently. now let me ask again -- is this a good thing?! HA!??!!

yeah yeah, im still bitter... i lost a very nice wallet, it was given to me by my mom's bestfriend, im not a reptile lover, but i do appreciate the rough texture of the snake skin they used... i am so sure im the only one with that wallet here, coz she got it somewhere...anyways, i lost it in Victoria Plaza, at the groceries.

I was gonna buy milk and diapers for my children-- flash forward-- i was already at the counter, i had my stuff punched and packed --- imagine my surprise when i opened my bag and ---tada! --- my wallet's missing... i had to have everything cancelled ...(great...)

I had to run around the mall as if i was a madwoman because of it, I had to call every reinforcement i know (guard, customer service head, head security, head of the grocery dept., my mom, our relatives, friends, the radio broadcaster, the television crew, boy abunda, noli de castro, oprah, johnny depp...) to inform them that a certain petty thief had pulled his stunt on me and got away with it. Not to mention the crowd of onlookers, salesladies, promo girls, bag boys, and just the downright nosy, giving me their thoughts and opinions, their share of similar stories, some cussed and wished not only the thief's death but of the thief's whole clan (yes, he feels the pain too...), others shared their own experiences and how they coped with it, someone told his life story, some contributed their share of love, relationships, and views on karma and losses...

what a rowdy crowd i gathered -- in my fifteen minutes of fame, with everybody getting hyped and excited, i lost the chance to get intimate with Oprah when she asked me my plan of action... ok, scenario is, now, i am in the middle of a certain department store -- with no money, not even a single centavo to redeem myself.i

If someone would hold me hostage and would ask for one cent as ransom money... i was so sure i was destined to be the next chop chop lady -- i don't think that any hostage taker who asks for one centavo as ransom money is open for negotiations... not to mention id get insulted first before my torture.. what an embarrassing way to die.

see? my thoughts are drifting again... ok, i let's go back to me in the middle of my awesome fans during my fifteen-minute fame experience...

where was i? oh me and my empty pocket...needless to say, nobody slapped me with cab fare... it's ironic, how people contributed every nook and pieces of advice and opinion, but nobody asked me how the heck am i to go home penniless...tagem

p.s. more blog party photos here, courtesey by catea

Bloggers Party 2008

davao bloggers party was a blast!

happenin'? bloggers party 2008
orgaized by? Blogie, Andrew, Ria, Migs
venue? Toto’s Bar in Casa Leticia
what's the craze all about? something to do with the fast mouse

for those who've heard of it but decided not to come just missed one heck of a party - not to mention the intersting discussions (before, during, and after the party). NO, nobody got wasted or anything, heck, nobody could even if they wanted to --- coffee was overflowing , more than enough to keep you sober, even if liquor was served as the main dish.

But who would want to pass out while everybody was busy having a good time?

The core group who organized the event were warm and friendly. The party was actually an intimate one -- just the right number, big enough to be called a party, small enough to remember the names and faces you encounter...

Personally, my evening started with a bang --err -- with a flash rather... I almost ran for my life --- for when the elevator door opened, i was greeted with this sudden flash -- which made me scampered for dear life...except that i was trapped between the elevator and the small receiving area of the bar...thank god, it was not the aliens, although for a moment there, in my state of confusion, i saw the two culprits as yoda's childhood friends (friends of yoda, are you?)...only bigger....although, now that im thinking about i, i freakin wish that i don't look like an alien in the pic.... although there is a slim chance of me resembling a human being, as I was startled and wide eyed with fright and confusion, something the photographer (kinsa gani to? doc charles kaw ba toh? yatis ka) must have been eagerly waiting for , anxiously waiting for the elevator door to open just so he could blind the next blogger with his flash -- a victim for his camera -- and there i was, the perfect target...nose flared and all, malasa oi, kabalos lang ko...

when my vision returned, i was already being pushed towards the door (o cge na nga, di ako pinilit, inalalayan lang) - although i rememeber them, brimming with pride, saying something about their super advanced techie creation. (see pictures below hehe!)

burag naglutaw noh?

halata ba na bond paper?

forgive the crude photos, hese are celfon pics...promise, next time, i'll remember to bring a cam...kabalo lagi ko mukuha og picture (aim and click ra ma na...nyeheheh)... for the meantine, mangita sa pud kog ma-grab na waffo na pics...so far wa pa koy nakit-an ^.^

pahabol - err--- kay celfon man nako ni noh, maong kasagaran akong dagway ra pud ang naa diwi...pasensya na, naulaw man gud ko mamiktyur og daghan... hehe!

with bong... mao ni ang pinakabugoy sa party...hehe!
ang tao sa likod ng eraserheads album cover (o ha! tagem...)


Catea of Cathara22...finally nagkita na jud mi ^.^


ang mga waffa og waffo sa party... ^.^

ang davao blogger superstar og ang iyang papparazzi
(damn, its hard to be famous...)

si doc charles ang dahilan nganong nahurot ang food sa party


about the next 3 photos
-- dili ni sila bloggers, mga na-harrass
ni nako na staff sa casa leticia, hahaha! --

ang nag charge sa akong celfon

ang nagbalot sa akong cake

kani xa, gitawag ra sa kauban aron mugawas aron maapil sa picture..hahaha!


---- ang mga food, bow ----

at the party, a new word was introduced....

FOODNOGRAPHY
the art of taking pictures of prepared food
(or what's left of it...)

PHIL KIDNAPPING SYNDICATE

I received an email that is really disturbing. Yes, I've heard of this already and was quite alarmed in regards to the sophistication of the crime. Well, the manner that they do it is still crude, but to have Doctors readily available to check the just kidnapped children to see if they are fit, is no handicraft of a poverty-stricken criminal either. To have the luxury of being able to afford to even think and implement such scheme is surely an indication of a higher level of understanding of the purpose of the crime. It is not a crime driven by poverty but of greed, a deed to answer, not the call of a churning stomach but of the echo of a not yet-brimming-bank-account.

Opinions aside, I heard of the news of one abducted child who was let loose because the doctor inside the van where she was held hostage declared that she has a heart condition. It's scary, how children are not only taken foricbly but rather harvested like one would in a farm but this time not for food but for organs to be sold in black markets. The level of sophistication in this type of crime is almost unbelievable, I thought, the Philippines being a third world country, I thought we will initially only have to worry about crimes resulting from poverty...it's either I was wrong or that we are already pass the initial stage (whatever that means)...

Who would thought that this can happen? but it is happening and it is scary.It is one thing to sell drugs, but it's abominable to kill helpless children for profit.

This serves as a warning for parents to be diligent in keeping their children safe.

------email content-------

PHIL KIDNAPPING SYNDICATE

Latest Phil. Kidnapping syndicate: victim's internal organs

Pakikalat na lang. Napakahalaga po ng e-mail na ito I don't
believe this story until last weekend, when I went home to Pampanga, my
mom told me this news. One of our neighbors witnessed the funeral. There
is a grade 6 student near our barangay, who was missing for 2 days.
There are posters of his picture everywhere... after how many days, the
body was found with missing eyes and kidney... a Php20,000 was inserted
on his body with a note 'PAKI LIBING NA LANG...'


Hindi lang white van ang gamit nila ngayon may green, black at
maroon. Me look-out nakamotor pag me nakitang bata tinatawag doon sa
kasama na nasa Van, take note may kasama na silang doktor na nag-aalis
ng organ. Even sa mga subdivision nakapasok na rin sila kaya inform nyo
sa Guard nyo. Sa amin sa Dasma kahapon grabe dami ng Pulis at Barangay
sa Gate Red Alert kasi may 3 batang nakuha around Dasmarinas, Cavite May
1 nakaburol sa AREA-H2 walang mata at Internal Organ with 70,000 na
pera.

Even yung Elem. School sa tapat ng subd. namin di na muna
pinapasok yung mga bata kahapon grabe nakakatakot po. Sa Manggahan Trece
Cavite, mag-ina magkasama pilit na kinuha yung bata, lumaban yung nanay,
ayun binugbog tapos nadala yung bata last week nakita yung bata sa
Paliparan patay na din wala ng organ at mata. Meron ngang sketch nuong
isang kasama nakapost na din duon sa Gate ng subd namin. This morning in
Kawit Cavite 2 bata, nawawla at sa Quezon 3 year old na batang babae
nakita patay walang heart at kidney.

News:
World Kidnapping in Southern Luzon ,
Victim's Internal Organs Missing By Jean Stuart Marc h 09, 2008

Kidnapping is rampant nowadays. Kidnappers usually asked ransom
money from the parents of their victims. But lately, I was disturbed of
the news about the kidnap victims whose internal organs were missing
after they were found. In Ibaan, Batangas four children were abducted.
One of them was found with the pair of eyes missing and with Php 30,000
pesos on his/her mouth. Three were found with missing internal organs.
There was also report in Tanauan, Batangas with a missing heart and Php
8,000 pesos on the hole of the victim's chest. It's really creepy.


Lately, there have been reports that the kidnappings is not only
happening in Batangas. There were also similar incidents in Cavite and
Laguna. Last Wednesday, Marc h 5, my friend told me that there was a
third year high school student (from a school in San Pedro, Laguna) was
abducted on her way home. I still haven't heard about what happened to
the victim. I heard that a syndicate is behind this kidnapping and they
are selling the organs to the black market.


Text messages and email messages has been circulating saying
that a white van with plate no. VMM 507 is said to be the kidnappers
van. In our place the cartographic sketch of the kidnapper and the plate
no. of the vehicle used by the kidnapper were posted everywhere.
Residents in our area in Laguna were already afraid. Students going to
school were now accompanied by their parents and yayas. It has been
reported that the kidnappers where luring children going to and from
school.



Our school management even released a letter to parents to watch
for their children when going to school and while playing. Kindly
include them in your prayer.

Thanks a lot!

REV. MR. PETE PELIMIANO
Deacon, Archdiocese of San Francisco

morning madness

just woke up...nothing to do but toy with the webcam...and although it was not a necessary part of my day, it was not a total waste of time either...well, sorta. i was curious as to how i look in the morning... you know how some people tend to look cute in the morning when they wake up, while some people are just not so hot during that time of the day? anyways, i think i look ok...weird in some...but hey...at least, i dont have to face this face...it's somebody else's problem then eh? ^.^

Bleeding Love

I'm hopelessly so into this song these days. I just realized that I listened to this piece the whole day today, playing it over and over again, swaying with the beat, trying to sing it inside my head, humming it as I gently bob my head up and down, infecting my nephew with it and even downloaded it in his ipod...so that we could silently sway with it as we face eachother with earphones separating us from the rest of the world... Thank God, Kuya Brian was there to get silly with me (yes, I call him kuya even though he is my nephew, he is older than I am...if you wanna know why, drop me a line =P)

(photo from flickr)

This song caught me off guard, the first time I heard it...It slapped me on the face that forced me to listen to it, held my hips and pushed me to move my body with its melody, and thus, I am now hopelessly in love with it... *sigh (and sighing contentedly). When something like this insists, it's best to just savor it till you lick it bland, don't you think?

april silence is now over.

Looking at my archive, it seems as if I only posted one entry for the month of April. Oh well, it was a busy month...a stressful busy one. I will be updating this blog baby often too. I need the therapy. I can feel my neurons short circuiting not because of overload. Waaaahhh.... I feel like I'm in the middle of a not so sturdy bamboo raft in the middle of a gushing river. Holding my breath and keeping my mind blank -- too scared to even think of a single word for the fear that the weight of it will make the raft sink...a bad case on my part...I am a bad swimmer...in fact, I don't know how to swim at all. I'll learn the virtue of combing my hair first before I start to learn complicated stuff.

Patience is also another thing I must learn to love -- reminding myself not to be irritated by the smallest matters like the endless ringing of my phone, the constant reminder to not be late, or the repetitive monologue of somebody who wants to get his points clear and to release the stress due to an impending 'puke attack' is something i have to live with everyday. I am not a cheery person, although some would disagree...believe me, see me in my own corner, working, oblivious to the world, the happy colors just fade away -- and if you ever try to disturb me while I'm in the midst of an important task, I can assure you, you'll get a growl as a response.

I am not moody though -- being moody has to do with changing one's "feel" for the day. I don't change moods, my brows are constantly knitted. Maybe, one of the reason is that, I live in this, oh so, isolated part of the city, where the taxi is a phonecall away but an eternity to wait for... a heart attack is most likely to come by before a taxi crosses your path. And when one comes, expect competition -- tons of it.

It's better to walk. It exercises your mind -- it makes you think murderous thoughts due to your present predicament, and it's good for the heart too...

My best solution for this, though, is to never go out. And believe me, it works. Just be sure to have phone credits or net connection, and yes, don't forget the cable. Never mind the food. A human being can go by a week without water and months without food... Good thing air is free -- even if you fart too much, there will be lots and lots for everybody...for now. So there, kill your social life, and you'll see the blank walls in your room beome alive... in the coming weeks, you'll start to see things... you'll start to hear strange noises (someone calling your name even if there is nobody there)...Unless your name is Barbara, there is nothing to be scared of. Even Spiritual entities will be too amused to see how long you can endure this regimen, expect them to bet whether you'll overcome this or not. If you start to see the tables dance, or a dead loved one rising from the kettle steam as it whistles -- don't worry, that dead loved one is not real... it's just hallucination due to starvation and isolation. It's practically normal for someone to see and hear things when you are alone and hungry.

Soon you'll start to talk to yourself and hear it answer too! you'll notice (if you still can) that you are more alert and that you have gained super strength and speed.

It's normal. Do not be afraid. Nothing weird is happening, you are just losing your mind.

Ignorance goes a long way....or something.

In this part of my world, sex talk is still a taboo... calling your private parts in their own name, even in medical context, can even cause red faces and crossed eyebrows. But the catch is...everyone assumes almost everyone is doing IT.

I'm not saying sex talk is a must over every cup of coffee shared with a friend -- what I am driving at is, let's face the fact that some 4.9 million young adults, with ages raging from 15 ( yes, you read it right, one and five, fifTEEN) to 24 are sexually active even before they tie the knot. Statistically speaking, 1.6 million of them are not only active, but are actually doing it with multiple partners and some 400,000 did it with the same sex. That's a freakin high number with a crazy low percentage of only 19% who are smart enough to use contraception to protect themselves from pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases like HIV-AIDS.

Did I scare you? ok, don't get carried away and let me stop you from buying your kids condoms and don't even think about the phrase "Go out and multiply" as an opening line to your kids as you picture yourself handing them the goods...Noooooo -- sending them armed but not teaching them how to use the weapon is like but sending a kid to battle with an uzi -- by the time the war starts -- he scrambles, only to have the weapon backfire to his face, he'll surely come running back with an accusing finger shouting "it's your fault!"... well, that is, if he survives the bang... as most kids don't, especially women. With our patriarchal society in constant watch for unwed mothers, "loose" girls, and the like, we find ourselves in the midst of struggling teens trying to grow up too soon because of necessity and guilt...ending up more confused and shattered than before.

So pretending that a rise in number of unwanted pregnancies is not happening is just downright dumb... Well, there is that occasional parent that really believes that their children are not doing it and was only able to find out otherwise when- surprise! surprise! - she found out she was pregnant. Babies are bundles of joy, of course... and when they come, you just have to welcome them with open arms...but babies are also very expensive bundles of joy...lucky for those who can afford...unlucky for the 80% Filipinos who dwells at the bottom of the pyramid ( inverted or not - bleah!)... STDs (or STIs - Sexually transmitted Infections - as it is fondly called now), on the other hand will never be bundles of joys...they itch and they produce foul smells -- and 80% of peole who have them, don't even know they have them...now, let me ask you -- would you rather have a pasaway kid or would you rather have a pasaway kid with STD? hmmm.... I hope that made you stop and think.

Anyways, I don't see parents anxiously pushing their children to an open sex talk soon -- most of the parents don't know how to start it. Who could blame them...most likely, their parents didn't do it either...and also, timing is everything...and timing can be a bit --- hard to figure out. To pre-empt the talk would be like pushing them to war prematurely, doing it too late can be --- well, too late. *slaps my forehead!

So why is sex a taboo? maybe it's not...we just mistook it as one...a child asked her mom, "what is sex?" -- the mom, wide-eyed, embarrassed, and definitely stunned-- she spats, "shut up!"... child goes to dad, asks the same question and gets the same response...Child goes away thinking..."sex is shut up (?)"...what is shut up? a playmate offers...."something the french invented?"... Waaaah! *tagem!