Here are some of my favorites from those little ones: Follow the law; Don’t buy smuggled goods; Speak well of our people and our nation when talking to foreigners or when abroad; Respect public servants. The list is up to 12. The author cited practical scenarios per item. He encourages everybody to think about it and act on it because like what the saying goes “If the Filipinos will not do it for the country, who else will?”

 

Terra – Proper noun: (Astronomy) The Planet Earth

Last Saturday, October 18, 2008, our company celebrated its Global Volunteer Day at the La Mesa Ecopark in Quezon City. Less than an hour drive from Makati, the Ecopark is the last remaining forest of its size within the whole metro. It serves as the carbon dioxide sink for the city and the source of clean fresh water for about 12 Million residents.

First part of the event was an awareness campaign program. It was sad knowing the previous state of the forest. The threats and obstacles hindering the drives in making the whole protection project successful were evident. But thanks to the combined efforts of the government, non-govermental organizations, private corporations and the public, it is still in a manageable state. This is another testimony that when people work together, they can make a difference. However, the dream is still far from being fulfilled, there is still a lot to do… and awareness is the key. Global Warming, for instance is already a known phenomenon but there are still people who have no idea about it. What we can do is participate in environmental projects like this and at least advocate. Start with ourselves. Small things sometimes, when done by everyone for a unified purpose can do BIG things. An act of brushing teeth while using a cup, for instance, instead with running water can quench someone else’s thirst.

During the afternoon, there was the EcoMazing Race, an Amazing Race-like game where teams will have to go to 10 stations in the park and rush to finish first. I’ve never been in this kind of race and I thought it would be fun. A total of 10 teams with 10-15 members each will have to do a task in each station in exchange for a clue to decode for their next step. Throughout the game proper, all members will have to be inside an elastic loop while running, walking and going from station to station. The elastic loop (a garter) was there to signify unity. The last task of the race is to arrange every bit of the puzzle collected after accomplishing each task. While in the race, we thought we were leading since we finish every task in no time, but I guess everybody thought that way. With all the luck we had, we came in fourth. Congratulations! Apparent enough, what we believed along the way was not true at all. But it was okay, finishing the race was more than completing it, it was a lot of fun.

In the afternoon, we were tasked to pick non-bio garbages and clean up the park. After that, we went to the nursery area to plant seedlings. Each volunteer was given a chance to pot at least five (5) seedlings. I planted 10 small trees. Hopefully, they will all grow well as tall as they can be.

While going back home, despite the exhaustion from all the days work, I thought of three things: the fun I had, the new friends I made and most importantly the simple deeds I shared for the environment and the community. I hope I can join more projects like this in the future.

After exactly one year of waiting, the opposition once again has its ‘constitutional protest ban’ againsts the president lifted up. They can once more seek ‘justice’ and ‘make’ the life of philippine politics’ main man miserable. The complainants had vigils at the congress from 7 p.m., Saturday, exactly a year after the filing of a similar case; to 12 midnight, Sunday, to mark the end of the one-year ban under the Constitution; and till 9 a.m., Monday as the congress starts the week ensuring their case will be filed at first light. Somewhat similar to iphone fanatics waiting in front of Apple’s store to make possesion of the newest gadget and like the comrades of Yoda waiting for the force to be with them the first time. Well, the circus once again is open!

The content has not reached the people yet but whatever it is, I know has its points. However, in my opinion, with this carnival-like sessions in the congress, it is only the Filipino people who suffers most. Not the president and her party but the greater number will be affected. The precious funds that should have been used for buying books and food for our children, for building roads and infrasructures and classrooms for our students, hospitals for the sick are used instead for deliberations and investigations that in the end, will still not change anything. Suppose the president is kicked out, still there will be anomalies and holes in the next administration. And then another complaint, and one case  after the other but where is it heading? The precious time of our congressmen that should have been invested on creating laws for the country are waisted in the courts. Are they really lawmakers or attorneys? Sila na ang magaling!

Puro bangayan, wala namang nangyayari!!! They are just making noise for publicity for the next elections. A very personal political ambition. Why not help the administration to solve problems? Hay, kelan kaya yun?

For now, let’s find out who’s the best performer.

Finally, after months and months of thinking, I have finally found the force to buy and start reading this series. Artemis Fowl is more than a trilogy of fantasy novels written by Irish author Eoin Colfer, starring the teenage criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl II (there are already six novels in the series, by the way) . It showcases the genius mind of a twelve-year old boy who can interact with the creatures of the underground: all of the eight families of fairies. This book is continously becoming my nightly habit, sort of a replacement to seeing the drama and fantasy of the country’s telenovelas. A good alternative since I still do not have my own tv at my place in the city. Every night, at least a chapter.

Though I started with Book 5: Artemis Fowl The Lost Colony, it’s a nice beginning and once I found this very interesting, I might have the whole collection. It’s this book’s summary that bade me to read it. What’s cooler than this is that there is someone in the office who also reads this and even shares the series’ Graphic Novel version of Book 1. I try to read a chapter or two during lunch breaks but I have a feeling I will buy my own copy and collect all books in the series. Bad thing, the graphic novel is not available anywhere but on order basis (3 to 4 weeks of waiting).

I just wish I could be there. Formula One’s first night race. Singapore’s first Formula One race. Asia’s first street race. The world’s first night race. Well, how about that? Simply a big WOW!

I wonder what will it be like. From the press release I’ve been seeing, Singapore is really offering itself to the world… exposing its capabilities from a former tiger cub to a mature feline ready to conquer the world and compete with the world’s finest. See http://www.singaporegp.sg/ on what to expect. The inaugural 2008 FORMULA 1™ SingTel Singapore Grand Prix will take place on 28 September 2008, 8PM on a street circuit of public roads around the Marina Bay area.

Out of curiosity, I wonder too on when will it happen to Manila? To the F1 organizers out there, if any of you happen to read this, do not worry we will not offer our EDSA. But hopefully, in the years to come, our economy will be able to host something like this. When that day comes, it will not be just to boast of what the Philippines has accomplished by then, but most importantly it will make the Filipino proud.

I guess my eyes deceived me. I thought I saw it clearly. I remembered I had my mind set all right. That that GMA documentary about the latest five presidents of the republic and how the Philippines was shaped to what it is now will be aired on September 28, 2008. That’s next week but I suppose I missed it. I read it somewhere from the Internet while asking google to confirm of the airing date and to my surprise it was already beamed last night. I definitely missed it. I could have watched and analyzed who really brought the Philippines to its current state, and blame him or her or all of them. Hehehe. Just kidding. I heard there would be one-on-ones with the four living presidents and one first lady; of course, Marcos cannot speak for himself (imagine the shiver and cold air?). With this infotainment produced by no other than the bunch of the best journalist in town, untold stories behind all the major groundbreaking news of the last few decades will be revealed. This is very interesting. I know politics is a very serious topic but it won’t hurt to know what is happening, what is current, what have happened and what can we learn from the past that may greatly affect the future. This awareness, at least for my viewpoint, would not give history its force to repeat itself, once again. Darn it, I missed this. I wonder if this is in youtube. Title of the documentary — Newsmakers: the GMA News Special.

Have you ever played or at least heard about a Filipino strategy board game called Game of the Generals? This is also known as Salpakan and if you have no idea of what it is, wikipedia has something to say: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_of_the_Generals.

I used to play this game way back in college during breaks usually while waiting for our next class. Me and my barkada would go to our favorite hangout which is either Mang Tolit’s or Mang Tony’s and play this. In this game, there need to be at least 3 people – 1 for the black camp, 1 for the white troop and an arbiter who acts as the judge. While writing this, I cannot escape the memories of the past flashing back. My college years and my friends… It’s all coming back to me now… Am I right, Celine? Wahehe.

Seriously though (Seryus to, Dudung!), I came up with this topic after browsing through my emails for an inbox cleanup yesterday. I went across one mail from a friend and it’s about the joy and the kickbacks of being senators of the Philippine Republic. Only in the Philippines, as they say.

I do not know if this is true but sometimes when you think about it,  there is a great probability that it might be. One interesting question – Why would a senator-wannabe spend millions of pesos during campaigns and battle their ways up against one another for a 35K-salary per month? An average and experienced office worker employed on a reputable corporation and who works diligently to the point that he renders lots of overtimes can have the same monthly rate or even higher but where are his expedition and benz and mansions and swiss accounts? I used the Boolean operator ‘AND’ here to signify that all of those things can belong to one person – a senator. True, there are politicians who come from prominent families (who might have done the kickbacks before) but how about the others?

Okay, let me give you the offer, as per the email. When elected one senator is entitled with 200 Million pesos of pork barrel (the so called CDF or countrywide development fund) plus monthly allowances of 500,000 pesos for Maintenance and Operating Expenses (Rental, Utilities, Supplies and Domestic Travels) plus another 500,000 pesos for Staff and Personal expenses plus plus plus the under the table agreements that usually have money involved. Well, how about that?!!

Now, imagine yourself working your butt out everyday, exerting every pure effort you have just to earn for a living. When monthend comes, your earnings will be deducted. Consequently, your contributions will reach the hands of these men who just sit there doing nothing.

I have always been interested to watch Kara David’s and Howie Severino’s documentaries featuring our fellow citizens living at remote places in the country. Come to think of this, with those pesos alloted for supposedly livelihood projects of the government, why are there still these poor families in places not even reached by basic services such as water, electricity and medicines? Where oh where have our taxes been? No wonder lots of Filipinos left the country just to escape this sad reality. The Philippines has been left behind by our neighboring countries. The reputation of the Philippines back then of a very promising future had long been gone with Singapore and even Thailand overtaking.

I agree, it is not right to blame others but when you analyze it, their work are just certainly questionable. In the end of this game, it will always be the people who lose while those in position will enjoy their winnings. Nonetheless, in the true end of life, there is still one Arbiter who will make the final judgement.

While some guys were busy making their own pizzas, RJ Ledesma who hosted the event prepared a pizza box design making contest. The aim of the game is to come up with a nice pick up line for their pizza. The bloggers had very good entries and everyone who participated received a gift check. I cannot recall all the cool ones but this ‘Wanna taste my pepperoni?’ line from one of the bloggers.

The event lasted for more than 3 hours since everybody took turns in making their own pizzas. I needed to leave early because I had to go back to my office for a meeting at 12AM with the US people. Even though I was not able to make my own, I enjoyed eating the pizzas my friends made. It’s very interesting to know the different varieties, appearances, ingredients that can be combined together to make a unique flavor that will truly entice not only your taste buds but your eyes as well. One example of this is the Tricolore Salad Pizza – Caramelized Parmesan pizza crust topped with chilled arugula, baby red leaf lettuce, radicchio, diced tomatoes and shaved Parmesan cheese with our homemade Dijon balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Also available with grilled rosemary chicken breast, sautéed salmon, or grilled shrimp. It’s like a fresh vegetable salad with the a great flavored dough substituting for bread. A very healthy option. At CPK, you get to taste what the stars from Hollywood are enjoying back there in California while you are just here in Manila.

I will definitely go back to CPK next time. I’ll try the other flavors. I haven’t tried their bestseller yet, the BBQ Chicken Pizza which I heard is one of the original recipes used by Rick Rosenfield and Larry Flax, the founders of CPK. I’ll bring my loved ones with me. Till then when I share with them the taste of California in a box.

The crowd was shouting ‘Third-Eye-Blind, ‘Third-Eye-Blind, ‘Third-Eye-Blind” on probably the last “parlor game” of the evening during the Oktoberfest Kick-off party last September 05, 2008. It felt like there was a rally of some sort with arms thrown up in the air in sync with the band’s name being called out loud. For more than 4 hours of waiting, with games squeezing in between performances, the crowd impatiently shouted asking for the band of the night. They even booed the sexy girls doing a dance number depicting their demand to see 3eb perform live. Minutes before midnight (this is Linkin Park’s newest album, by the way), Derek Ramsey who hosted the show had no other choice but to obey the command of the crowd. Third eye blind came out and the audience went crazy.

This was the first Oktoberfest kick-off I have ever attended. The last time I remember going to a party like this was in year 2003 in Sta.Rosa, Laguna with my college friends but we went there around 10 minutes before the last band performed so what the heck, did we miss anything? I was really excited to attend this one because 3eb was coming.

Bad news. A week before the gig, we found out the ticket price for the main event was 1500 pesos. Wow! I thought I’ll settle with listening to them from afar with a 120 peso gen admission ticket instead. With that set, I went to San Mig Ave in Ortigas at around 7pm with 2 of my officemates and one friend from my previous work. The gen admission pass went with two bottles of beer with entrance to the longest bar stretching the whole of San Miguel Properties compound. It’s fine with me, I don’t drink beer and I was really aiming for the bands.

There were lots of people, sweat, line piling up, beer, emo-styled youths, etc. Far from the main stage, my friends were enjoying the band and the beer while i was headbanging with bottled water. We thought it could have been nicer if we could be on a good spot near the front row but we only had the 120-buck pass so we could not get in and only stay at the perimeter fence.

Then a miracle happened, we managed to get a pass to get through and voila we were near the stage standing at less than 10 rows from the front. I won’t tell how we got the pass but thanks to our friends who had the power (they know who they are and thanks a lot, next time will be payback time). It was a great experience. Cool music plus the perks. For 120, we had drinks, watched various performances, saw cute girls, and enjoyed 3eb live.

Unluckily, we had to leave early during the performance for we had to attend a friend’s birthday blowout in Makati. My friend had been calling me since 12 MN but 3eb had just started so I could not leave. At 1:30 AM, we left 3eb still playing Jumper. I didn’t learn of their last song but it could have been How’s Its Gonna Be. We arrived at the birthday party in Kamagong at 2 then left at 3. Wow, a sulit gimmick night. Lagare. Well then, till next time.

I didn’t have anything to light the room, no candles, no flashlights, not even ‘gaseras’. Good thing I had my mobile phone to give out some lumens. And desperate enough, I even had to keep my door open just to keep the illumination from lightning to get inside the room.

It’s a given, I live alone by myself and come the time I go home from office to my apartment on a weekday , I do not have anyone to talk to… This is when I realized what my friends are talking… about blogging. They say it will feel like you are talking to someone… telling stories of what happened the day it was… with somebody you may or may not know…  but will surely listen to anything you want to share.