It's 34 days before Christmas!

In the Philippines, Christmas is the most celebrated event of the year.

And, since I'm living in a Christian country, the Philippines, one of the values that was instilled in our minds was to give importance to family. After all, the family is the one you go back to when everyone turn their backs on you.

So, no matter what the distance is, no matter what the hurdles you had and had not conquered, it doesn't give anyone an excuse to say no to family reunion celebrations during the Christmas season.

To everyone in the world, here are the station IDs of the local TV networks in the Philippines:

And since I can't find the newest Christmas Station ID of TV5, I had put their old one instead.

So, Merry 34 days before Christmas!

Bangon Pilipinas

I'm such a balat sibuyas. I get sentimental when I see pictures of the typhoon Haiyan's destruction.

I had been one of those people who cannot stop criticizing the government but amidst my personal sentiments, I still believe that they can do better if they give focus and heart to the issues at hand.

Maybe, the Filipinos are still inexperienced in handling the after effects of a very strong typhoon. Yet, I believe that we get to learn valuable lessons after this, after everyone has recovered.

As the saying goes, "There's always a rainbow after every rain."

So, let me leave you with this revived song that is very applicable to the current situation we're facing now. Let's do our share. Let's help.

Babangon tayo Pilipinas. :)

Come out, come out wherever you are....

Yes, tomorrow marks the 7th day after the strongest typhoon, which was named as Haiyan internationally and Yolanda locally, hit a portion of Visayas.

Social media networks can't get enough criticisms against the government. And yes, I'm one of those people who had been criticizing a lot basing on the response that the government gives to ease the situation in Visayas.

I can't say that we don't lack equipments because we do. We don't have enough high-tech facility that can make the government's job easier.

We don't have enough funds to, at least, give enough food for all the victims from the typhoon.

But the lack of attention on this situation is really unacceptable.

If you're wondering why I can't stop from posting my complaints against the government, then allow me to tell it to you.

• Master plan, rescue missions, reinforcements were late. I don't know why they could put these on hold when these should always be the first step in alleviating the grief of the victims. It's not as if typhoons cannot be predicted. When a typhoon shows up on the weather system, rest assured that the weather people know its estimated time of landfall, the intensity of the rain and wind, also the "possible" after effects of such typhoons. Hence, master plans should be prepared ahead of time from the hourly weather images they see. From the master plan, they can already prepare "possible" rescue missions and reinforcements in clearing the road, collecting bodies and giving out food. It's such a disappointment to see that the first people to arrive on ground zero were the aids provided by international governments. We're supposed to be the first people to respond to the situation. And, since the LGUs aren't available because they themselves are victims, the national government should respond immediately. The question is, where's the national government?

• No supplies until after a few days. It's understandable that roads have to be cleared. What I couldn't understand is why they didn't use the government choppers to drop off goods in different areas even in just a small proportion? 

• Lack of body bags for the casualties. I couldn't blame the people for being so angry about how the government on how they handled this situation. After every calamity, it's expected that the number of casualties will rise. Majority of the Filipino people expected a swift response in clearing all the bodies, identifying them and initiate a mass grave for the burial. It's just so sad that there wasn't even a plan on this. Mass burial was unsuccessful at the first attempt. Government representatives are telling everyone that they don't have enough body bags. Are they just going to stop there and keep on making excuses? I hope they remember that the bodies are decaying already. In my knowledge, formalins will be deemed as useless in preserving the bodies because the water in the body will just eject the chemical. Expect a lot of bacterias in that area because of decomposition of not only bodies but also garbages as well. 

• No alternative evacuation sites. Yes, that's the saddest part. Victims are left sleeping on the streets, at the airports and even beside dead relatives. Tents can be very good alternatives if only they're ready to dispose them to the affected families right then and there. But, according to the interviews, these tents are still not made. Tsk tsk tsk.

I wonder how much the victims will have to sacrifice after the typhoon, after losing their friends and family.

I remembered reading an FB post about an open letter from one of the victims who was pleading for the presence of the President on this situation. Pleading for the President to be at ground zero.

Natural disasters cannot be controlled. These are nature's way of telling people that we contributed to its wrath.

Nobody's blaming anyone for these disasters. But, the presence of the government, they need it the most.

I hope that the people elected would, at least somehow, show that they sympathize with the victims instead of just answering questions, assuring them that they are doing their best, counting death tolls, making statements of donations, etc.

At this time of crisis, even if we're not victims, we feel the need of a reassurance from the government officials, especially the President, by being there at ground zero and showing that they give a damn.

Haiyan na naman sila!

It's really disappointing!

Palpak na nga sa announcements at hindi naibigay ng tama ang inpormasyong "storm surge", hindi pa nagpapakita sa panahong kelangan sila ng mga biktima sa trahedya.

Sa lakas ba namang 250 kph na hangin na nakita na ng pag-asa, pati impormasyong delikado na ang epekto ng "storm surge", hindi pa naibigay ng maayos.

Ngayong tapos na ang bagyo, tapos na ang trahedya, madami ng bangkay sa daan, wala pa ring ginagawa ang mga taong nasa posisyon.

Tumulong na nga't lahat ang iba't ibang bansa, ni anino ng mga opisyal na nagpapa interbyu sa radyo at telebisyon, e wala! NAMAN!

Ke daling lumabas sa telebisyon at mag apela ng tulong, pero ni simpatiya lang sa mga biktima, wala. Ngayon na kelangan nila kayo, lugmok, umiiyak, pinanghihinaan ng loob, walang makain, kayo naman ay parang sabon na kung buhusan, nawawala.

Magsikilos naman kayo at hindi lang pasasa ng pasasa sa pag eenjoy sa mga buwis na pinagnanakawan pa. Hindi lang sa pag aanunsyo na mag rerelease kayo ng 13th month ng maaga.

Punyeta naman! Nakakahiya kayo! Kapwa Pilipino, hindi pa matulungan. Inuuna niyo pa si Napoles sa usapan e wala naman kayong maipipiga diyan kundi "I invoke my right" at "hindi ko alam".

Sana lang sa katagang "Babangon ang Pilipinas" e talagang may ginagawa kayo at hindi lang pabandying bandying sa palasyo, naninigarilyo, nagpapa picture at nagpapa interview lang.

Nakaka HB! Hay naku! Kelan pa kayo titino!

Naway maging aral to sa lahat ng tao. Bumoto naman kayo ng mga taong sa tingin niyo ay karapatdapat ilagay sa pweste at hindi kung sino ang nanay at tatay o kamag-anak.

Matamaan na kung matamaan!

Proposal

If you can relate to the local showbiz couple, Zoren and Carmina's wedding, then you certainly agree that all women, at one point in their lives, wished of having a dreamy wedding. A wedding that even if it's not so extravagant and expensive, it would be special, sweet and with a lot of heart.

But just before a wedding happens, there's the "proposal". Just like weddings, we, women, also want to receive the best proposal a man could give.

So, without further ado, watch this video:

 

The birth of typhoons

For those of you who still don't know, typhoons are born in the Philippines.

Have you ever wondered where typhoons come from? Take a look at the diagram below:

So here's a simple explanation:

Our science teacher had taught us that hot air rises when cold air comes. And, the ocean, being hot as it is, contributes heat by transferring it to the air. When heat is transferred to cold air, then it would literally mean that there will be a lot of hot air that will go up when cold air comes. Now, if cold air comes rapidly, it will push the hot air up in the same manner also. If this cycle repeats, wind will be created. Now, imagine if this cycle will be repeated infinitely, thus, we will have typhoon.

Now, natural disasters can't be controlled. All the government could do is monitor and give announcements, then, as human beings, we should respond appropriately to every warning.

To make this blog entry short, here are a few tips that had been repeatedly given that I wanted to give out again.

• Prepare clean drinking water.
• Prepare easy to open food and food that requires no cooking.
• If you still have an old radio that could function with dry cell batteries, then, make sure you prepare them as well so that you will be updated of the weather forecast even during power failure.
• Charge your mobile phones and if you have extra batteries, make sure that they're fully charged also. You will never know when you will need them to contact government agencies or people that can help you.
• If there are warnings for an immediate evacuation, do not hesitate. Leave your things behind. Don't compromise your safety.
• If water rises quickly, look for a higher ground that's stable. Second floor or roof tops are usually the easiest to access.
• Look for floating devices that you can use. You can always be creative and make a raft out of empty mineral waters.
• If you're stubborn and you insist in staying at your home, make sure your children (if you have any), are already brought to a safe area.

Superheroes don't exist in real life. And, usually, people who pretend that they're heroes are the ones who are facing a higher risk.

Remember, it's always better to be safe than sorry.

Oh, and don't forget to pray.

Oh life!

Wouldn't it be nice if there's just this one day that you would be able to disappear from all your problems?

To be honest, if only someone could beam me up to another country or even just to some place where I don't know anyone, I would gladly take the opportunity. 

It's really hard to be fair in all situation. I can do only so much.

Take this instance when you did a lot of things in the past that's still not heartily accepted by people close to you and now you're trying to patch things up. Yet along the way, there's this crossroad and you're trying to do the best you could to decide which road to take. And no matter which road you choose, one is bound to be deserted.

That's how I feel. That's how I had felt for a couple of years now.

Right now, I really think that the win-win situation is just a piece of crap.

If only Papa God could whisper to me on how to do things correctly, on what I could do to make things easier for everyone, I will right then and there do whatever I could to make things right.

But that's just life. It's not always a bed of roses. It's just, yeah, complicated.

No regrets

The course that we are going to take is something that we should look forward to. Never look back or you might miss a lot of things while you walk to your destination.

If you fall, stand up and be proud of yourself for having the courage to move on.

If there's a missing piece to the puzzle, analyze and solve the problem and be thankful that you're given a brilliant brain to think.

If you go through disappointments, frustrations and heartaches, smile like there's nothing wrong, move on and be thankful for God gave you a heart that can feel joy and pain.

Never regret for it can bring you nowhere near your goals.

Be happy and thankful always that you are still breathing and that there's hope, love and forgiveness that comes with every release of Oxygen from your lungs.

As I always say to people I know, "problems are meant to push you forward, make you strong and see that somehow there's hope to every situation."

By the way, this song is not related to this post. I just felt the need to put this in this post as this is one of my favorite songs. *wink*

The way I feel tonight

Dear Papa God,

Is it too much to ask for extreme patience, understanding and optimism? Because it's literally running out already.

Lately, I had been experiencing a lot of heartaches from someone whom I expected to support me in every decision that I make, be it good or bad. After all, it's for a long term goal. Yet much to my disappointment, my day always start and end with a lot of painful words being thrown at me. Now, I'm not even sure what "through thick and thin" really meant anymore.


I never regretted making mistakes in life, even if it meant falling and standing back again. I never regretted going through a rough road, even at times when the road is full of piercing stones and the only choice I have to move on is to walk without any shoes on.

To be honest Father, even if I had no regrets, I still can't take off the thoughts of giving up and going back to the place where I feel that I really belong, home. If only I didn't have any children to think of or any responsibilities to face, I would be glad to just leave everything behind and go back to where I started.

At times that I'm at my lowest, I try to put on a poker face and smile like there's nothing wrong. At times, I wanted to drown myself with beer just to cover the pain that I feel even if it's just a temporary solution.

Right now, Father, I feel lost, drained and empty. But I am going to choose the greater good: move on and assure myself that I'm doing the right thing.

Please help me understand all these things Father.

Love, Sweepz

Happy Teacher's Day!

This photo was taken from www.imfunny.net.

 This photo was taken from strawberrypearlstudios.blogspot.com.

Teachers are the most patient being in the entire world and this blog post is made especially for them.

Thank you teachers for being our second parents. 

Let's face it, being a parent is really hard. Taking care of our children is never easy and when we're asked, we always say that they're a handful. Being a second parent to somebody else's children is even harder. Imagine controlling more than 40 children for at least 8 hours, five days a week. I'm sure one would go crazy on the first few weeks of the school year.

Thank you teachers for handing down your knowledge.

Teachers are gifted with a super stretched patience, answering all the questions thrown by the students, sometimes students even laughed at mispronounced words and extremely funny answers. Hey, admit it! We had been naughty once. We laugh at our teachers' backs, placed our attention to something else, draw cartoons and God knows what others did during school days. For this dear teachers, I think you are supermen and superwomen of this days' generations.

Thank you teachers for bringing us to where we are now.

Yes, we wouldn't be who we are today if it weren't for you. Year after year, they face different challenges, especially on how to convey with students. Reaching out to each one of the not so innocent faces sitting in front of a teacher's desk is very hard especially since we're brought up in our parents' unique ways.

So, thank you dear teachers for everything. It's just right that you were given the credit even once a year for all the hard work that you had done in raising the future doctors, teachers, engineers, nurses, politicians, etc.

 This photo was taken from doblelol.com.

Life is just....

Life is really complicated.When you want to do things for the benefit of everyone, sometimes, you get heartbroken.

I had always dreamed that I would be able to be very successful career-wise. I dreamed that I will be able to provide the best for my kids: a very good school, beautiful clothes and even the things that I was deprived of when I was still young. I dreamed that aside from being successful, I will be able to balance my family, career and spiritual life.

I'm working on it now and I'm not even halfway. But according to my boss, "thoughts become things" and that's what I'm contemplating about. That's why I often tell myself that "I will succeed, I will succeed". Hard but I'm trying my best to reach that state. *whew*!

And yes, it's heartbreaking. Especially if people around you and close to you looks to you as if you'll fail. Good thing, I'm optimistic and I can stretch my patience over a lot of disappointing things.

Oh well, anyway, I seriously would want to tell someone what I feel right now but I'm not brave enough to do so. Deep inside I feel that he knows how I feel but he just shrugs off his shoulder. Do not dare ask who this is because I'm not going to say a word.

For you:

 I am scared to share a lot of my dreams with you because you are the type of person that will not listen, not to me anyway.  I tried sharing some of them with you before but it seems as if I'm talking to a wall. You don't respond, none at all. But I know if your friends share their dreams with you, you listen intently, sometimes you even give a tip or two.

I hate it when you say that "it's okay" and you just keep it inside you that you're not. Please say a word. I can explain my point and if you still think it won't work, I will accept it and maybe pursue something else. Please put in mind that your opinion is highly important.

Whether you read this or not, I will still do what I think is right for my family, for me.

Today is a Cloudy Day

After a couple of weeks, it finally rained last night. It felt so much cooler. Thank you Papa God for the rain.

Today's a cloudy day. As most people would say, it's bed weather. However, my ideal bed weather would be a cold and rainy day.

Anyway, after mass and lunch, we had a chance to walk in the new building of Abreeza Mall. It's still almost deserted and the people that would go there are those who are either going to jeep stop or making it as an entry to the old building.

As for us, we were on our way to the jeepney stop when we passed by the new building. And we saw a backdrop for "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs". Kids were jumping up and down with excitement and of course, a mother couldn't refuse a photo shoot. So, here it is.

Phoneblok: A Phone That's Worth Keeping

I ran across this video via Facebook news feed and I clicked it and watched the entire thing. I totally agree that the electronic waste is one of the greatest contributor to our garbage.

Imagine the number of people who are mobile phone users. You then multiply it by two since most people these days carry more than 2 mobile phones in their pocket. That's the number of electronic wastes expected to be thrown out in a few years' time.

Imagine if we can keep a mobile phone for a lifetime. This will mean lesser electronic wastes and lesser garbage. That, I think, will be really cool and Mother Earth will definitely be proud of us. Watch this video.

So, if you want to support this cause, you can do so by going to the Phonebloks official webpage.

Phonebloks Official Webpage

Oh, and I already did. :)

Sa Tuwing Ako'y Nasa Loob Ng Dyip

Inaamin kong ako ay isang mareklamong tao. Sa tuwing sasakay ako ng dyip, andami kong kwentong baon sa pagbaba ko. Marami akong naoobserbahan at sangkatutak naman ang aking komento pagdating nito.

Kaya kayong mga pasahero, kung hindi niyo namamalayan kung ano ito at manhid kayo na para bang mantikang nilagay sa pridyider, aba e, oras na para bumangon ka sa iyong kahibangan. Huwag kaligtaang mag-isip kung tama ba o hindi ang iyong mga ginagawa sa tuwing nasa loob kayo ng pampublikong sasakyan.

Sa tingin ko naman, pagkakataon ko ng magparamdam sa mga taong walang pakiramdam. Tabi tabi po at baka kung saan kayo tamaan, bumagsak at lumagapak kayo sa kung saan. tsk tsk

Di ko na pipigilin pa, eto na ang aking obserbasyon, opinyon at "wild reaction" kung sa Ingles pa.

• Ika nga ni Pnoy sa halos lahat ng kanyang talumpati na hindi niya kinakalimutang ibanggit ang tungkol sa "daang matuwid". Nalilito ka kung ano ang koneksyon nito sa pagsakay ng dyip? Simple lang, ikaw ay nasa daan kaya umupo ka ng matuwid. Naiintindihan ko naman kung ang suot mo ay maikli gaya ng pekpek shorts o mini skirts. Pero kung naka pantalon ka naman, di naman siguro kelangan tumagilid. Mas lalong di ko mapapalagpas kung sumandal ka pa sa katabi mo. Ginawa mo pang suporta sa likod gaya ng silya at kung makasandal ka e relaks na relaks pa na para bang nasa spa ka lang.

• Hindi ikaw ang tinutukoy ni Mariah Carey na butterfly sa kanyang awit na noong panahon ay hit na hit. Hindi ka rin agila na kung lumipad e matulin at lalong lalo ng hindi pakpak ang mga legs mo para ibukaka ng higit pa sa 90 degrees. Pwede bang isara niyo naman ng konti ang mga legs niyo. Hindi naman siguro nakakabawas yan sa pagkalalake ano?

• Sige na nga, maganda na ang gamit mong shampoo, maitim, mahaba at hindi kulot ang buhok mo. Di mo na kelangang ipagyabang sa paglulugay nito habang nasa dyip ka. Pwede naman sigurong ligpitin at ayusin at di natatamaan ang katabi mo, di ba? Kasi, kung nagkataong ako ang nakaupo sa iyong tabi at di ako makapagpigil, baka, iipitin ko ng pasimple yan. Naman!

• Si mamang drayber ay tao din at hindi aso na susutsutin upang ang atensyon nito ay mapunta sa'yo. Paalala lang po, tayo po ay mga tao at biniyayaan ng Diyos ng iba't ibang parte ng katawan. Isa na dito ang bibig kaya gamitin natin ng maayos ang biyayang ito. Para naman ke hirap sabihin ang "para po", "sa tabi lang po" o "bababa po ako".

• Hindi magnet ang ating mga pwet. Nakakainis talaga kapag punong puno na ang dyip at mahirap maglakad papuntang dulo at hindi man lang umuusog ang mga taong nasa bandang huli. Mas nakakainis kung ang dyip na ito ay maliit gaya na lang ng multicab na usong uso dito sa Davao. Mas lalong nakakainis kapag ang mga taong ayaw umusog e maraming dala na nakakadistorbo sa gitna ng daan gaya na lang ng mga palanggana, karton karton ng groceries o di kaya'y mga pinamalengke nila. Kaya pasensya na, kung naapakan (ng sadya) ko ang mga paa niyo ha? tsk tsk

O siya siya, ako ay hihinto na at baka di ay aatakihin ng highblood nito.

Pero bago ko tatapusin to, sana man lang po ay maging sensitibo naman tayo sa ating mga katabi. Hindi lahat ng tao ay nakakaintindi sa bawat galaw mo. E kung di niyo naman kayang maging sensitibo aba, mag ipon ipon na kayo ng pambili niyong sasakyan. Sa ganoong paraan, hindi kayo nakakadistorbo kahit nakahilata kayo. Di ba?

Megastoon what?

I'm sure a lot of my social network media friends were wondering if my accounts were hacked. I kept on posting a link about online earning through Megastoon.

So, to answer your question, no, my account isn't hacked. To be honest, I was also as skeptical as you were before I started. I saw this link from one of my facebook friends, Zsa Zsa Ong Sai. She told me that she had been generating dollars after dollars of doing nothing.

When she confirmed that she joined this and this wasn't a spam, I had to check it out. Ok, so here is another screen capture I did. The earlier one was posted 2 blog posts earlier than this.

 

So, I now have a total of $373.00 and counting. If you're asking how this thing works, I'm also posting below the FAQs found on the member's page.

So, right now, I'm still waiting for this account to reach $1000. That will be the time when I can tell you if this is legit or not. LOL!

Anyway, I do hope you'll click on the link I'll post below. The sooner it will reach the max amount, the sooner we'll find out if this thing really works. ;)

Megastoon Link 1

Megastoon Link 2

Today, I learned: death

* That life is really short. We must learn to appreciate even the smallest things that come our way.

Just last week, we learned that one of our closest friends passed away from a car accident to Bukidnon. From the stories they told us, this friend was on his way to CDO with his boss who was driving the car at that time. When they reached Bukidnon, his boss tried overtaking his car and noticed that another car headed the opposite direction was doing the same. He swerved and their car fell over a cliff. Our friend, who wasn't wearing any seat belt, was found a few meters away from the car. They said that his stomach had a long scratch because of the broken window.

We still can't believe that this happened. He wasn't even 30 yet. It was just so sad.

* That life should be spent on things that matter the most.

* That we should stop worrying about a lot of things. Worrying is like cancer, it robs most of your time away without you noticing it.

* That we should always be positive. Problems are natural. Sometimes, it takes time to find a solution and that prayers to Papa God are the best answer to this problem.

The last few items are not in connection to the story by the way, well, except for the first bullet.

Sometimes, there are people who continuously put something into someone's heart and if these people leave, the hearts are left empty.That's how it feels right now.

To you Sam, may you rest in peace. The kids remembered you when you asked for Momay. Tata even shared to the kids that you helped him carry them when they were still little. God bless you on your journey. We hope you're now in a better place.

Something From Online

I really don't know how this thing works but it's actually generating an income from the number of clicks someone does on the link that they wanted you to post somewhere. And since, it looks profitable and you don't need to shed out even a drop of sweat by advertising it on social media network accounts, so, I decided to give this a try.

Here's a photo I had captured from my so-called registered account with Megastoon.

 

 And, if you want to take a chance on this too, click on this link. 

--- Megastoon Link ---

I'm a teacher!

I would certainly love to blog about online teaching but, right now, I'm still at a loss for words except that it had been and always will be an overwhelming experience.

It's completely new to me, yes, but I'm enjoying every bit of it. If my co-teachers could read this blog, I'm sure they will understand what I'm talking about.

It's like teaching and learning at the same time. Of course, there are unforgettable chitchats during lessons. Sometimes, it's amusing and hilarious. Well, this I can say for students who has a lot of opinions on different things.

Well, 6 full months and still going. I'm now getting the hang of this.

 Oh, by the way, we're hiring! If you want details, comment away. :) Oh, also, I think, this is only for Davao City.