Thank you, Madamme President Cory

Early this morning, I woke up with a sad news on TV. At exactly 3:18 a.m., Philippines’ 11th and first-ever lady president, Maria Corazon Congjuangco-Aquino passed away to be with her husband and our most loving Creator. Mrs. Aquino battled colon cancer for more than a year but officially died of cardiorespiratory arrest. So today, the entire Filipino nation is mourning for her loss.

Corazon Conjuanco-Aquino 1933-2009

If you have frequent my site for quite sometime, you would notice that I don’t talk about politics slash politicians at all. Well, simply because I little know about it/them. But this time, it’s no ordinary politician. She was in fact not a politician at all, not until the People Power revolt in 1986.  She was placed in power by the people to put an end to a dictator’s leadership that the country had been experiencing for more than 2 decades.

Back in 1986, I don’t have a clear grasp of what dictatorship and corruption meant. I was not even a teen during those times so all I know then were just things that involve my childhood. But the 1986 revolt which was lead by Pres. Cory and Cardinal Sin thought me meanings other than those two negative words. I started to learn about democracy, peace and love for one’s country. Even with a very young mind, I was able to participate in that rally in EDSA. I think I should thank my mom for dragging me there.

Pres. Cory’s presidency wasn’t an easy one. She had to transform a power-playing corrupt government into a God-fearing servant of the Filipino nation. Her ideas and plans were all good but some military and leftist groups were not with her that quest. There were a lot of coup attempts and I, living near the presidential palace, personally witnessed those scenarios. Tora-tora flying over our houses. Armed military men roaming around our place. It was really scary then. And yet, her government surpassed those threats. There were a lot more other things that made her term difficult. It was also the time when the country got badly hit with various calamities. And not to mention those intermitent power interuptions experienced nationwide. But still, she was able to extend help and provide solutions to  all these. Well, I guess the saying is true, no one can ever put a good woman down.

I have my utmost respect for Pres. Cory not only for being a good God-fearing leader of this nation, but also for being a fulltime advocate of peace and democracy, a person of humility and simplicity, and most especially a loving mother not only to her children but to the entire Filipino nation as well.

I tried to read more about her life and death. And there’s one article in time.com that I liked the most. It’s entitled People Power’s Philippine Saint: Corazon Aquino 1933-2009. Do read it if you have time.

Today, people mourn for her passing… I do, too. I don’t want to say goodbye to her though. I would rather thank her for the things she’s done for all of us.

I bet Mrs. President is happy where she is right now. She’s now back in the arms of her Creator and in the company of her loving husband, Senator Ninoy. Besides, she had wished for a happy death as laid down in a prayer she wrote back in 2004…. 5 years before she was diagnosed with her illness. Here is Pres. Cory’s prayer as posted in inquirer.net:

Prayer for a happy death
by Corazon C. Aquino

Almighty God, most merciful Father
You alone know the time
You alone know the hour
You alone know the moment
When I shall breathe my last.

So, remind me each day,
most loving Father
To be the best that I can be.
To be humble, to be kind,
To be patient, to be true.
To embrace what is good,
To reject what is evil,
To adore only You.

When the final moment does come
Let not my loved ones grieve for long.
Let them comfort each other
And let them know
how much happiness
They brought into my life.
Let them pray for me,
As I will continue to pray for them,
Hoping that they will always pray
for each other.

Let them know that they made possible
Whatever good I offered to our world.
And let them realize that our separation
Is just for a short while
As we prepare for our reunion in eternity.

Our Father in heaven,
You alone are my hope.
You alone are my salvation.
Thank you for your unconditional love, Amen.

Rest in peace, Madamme President!

A day off from work…

I was on leave today to run a personal errand for my mom. I needed to accompany her to have her passport renewed at the DFA in Pasay.

Well, my mom’s passport is valid until 2011. So, I don’t have any plans of getting her’s renewed this year. I was thinking of having it renewed after our Thailand-Vietnam trip this October. But some days back, as I was cleaning up my inbox, I came across a colleague’s email sent early this year about regulations on new slash maroon-colored machine readable passports.  The email said that all green-colored passport will no longer be accepted starting January 2010. And so, I panicked! Last Wednesday, I booked an online appointment for my mom’s passport renewal. I was suprised to get immediate response from DFA and they reserved her a slot today, just 2 days from my online booking, We were scheduled between 10 to 11 a.m. Special note to readers: I found out just now from dfa.gov.ph and pinoymoneytalk.com that the green-colored passport will be valid until the stated date of expiry. Well, maybe I should have researched first before making such appointments online. Panic galore kasi agad eh! Hehehe! Anyways, it’s better though as I wont have to be bothered by it next year. At least, pag nagBKK kami ni Mommy, parehong maroon ang passport namin! *palusot* Hehehe!

Mommy’s passport renewal was way easier than my renewal experience last year. The online appointment system is really one heck of an advantage as we went straight to the processing window (read: no long lines). But my Mom has an additional advantage because there’s a special window for senior citizen applicants. We need not transfer from one location to another just to complete the processing. After paying the P500 renewal fee, I went back to the same window and we were given a stub indicating the claim date of her new maroon-colored machine readable passport. My Mom and I just spent 30 minutes inside the DFA office for that. Ok di ba?

So, my Mom said goodbye to her green passport. Her new copy will be delivered 2 weeks from now.

Since it was nearing lunch time (at ang nag-aaklas na ang mga alaga ko sa tiyan), I opted to have lunch at the nearest mall. Where else? But MOA! I saw my Mom’s face smiled with gladness when I mentioned MOA. Prima lakwatsera talaga! Mana sa anak!!! Hehehe!

I was really starving to death when we reached MOA so we did not go through the hassle of looking for a nice resto or foodchoin. We opted to have lunch at the first resto that we saw… Kalye Juan. It was our first time to eat there. Well obviously, based on the resto’s name, it’s something Filipino. And this is what we ordered:

That’s Green Mango Salad (Ensaladang Mangga). Lechon Kawali with Adobong Kangkong and Lumpiang Ubod. Looks like a nice lunch, eh?! The food was fine alright. Not too extravangant tasting though. And the prices are somewhat affordable. Well, this simple cost me P500. Expensive yan sa amin ng Mom ko kasi usually P250 to P300 lang ang meal namin when we dine out for lunch or dinner. Hehehe!

The entire afternoon was spent inside MOA, strolling back and forth. I tried not to shop for anything for myself. But as always, I failed.  I failed big time as lots of stores were on sale. I ended up buying this nice pullover from Terranova,

Quite a steal at P450. LOL.

Hay, ang mga sale talaga! Pasakit sa buhay!!! Hehehe!

 

Photo credits: pinoymoneytalk.com and Winkie’s mobile phone cam 😛

Rejection letter gets rejected!

Earlier today at work, one of our senior officers requested me to draft a pro-forma rejection letter for our clients. Not that I don’t know how to properly write a business letter, but it has always been a habit for me to check on the net for some updates before I do something. Well,I think that’s the right thing to do so I’d do every task more than expected.

And as I was browsing from one site to another, I came across something  at chaosmatrix.org. It was entitled “The Ultimate Rejection Letter”. When I started reading it, I instantly knew that it wasn’t the right sample I was looking for. The first paragraph alone made me smile so I continued to read on and ended up LMAO.

Here’s the “Ultimate Rejection Letter”: 

Herbert A. Millington

Chair – Search Committee

412A Clarkson Hall, Whitson University

College Hill, MA  34109

 

Dear Professor Millington,

 

Thank you for your letter of March 16.  After careful consideration, I regret to inform you that I am unable to accept your refusal to offer me an assistant professor position in your department.

 

This year I have been particularly fortunate in receiving an unusually large number of rejection letters.  With such a varied and promising field of candidates, it is impossible for me to accept all refusals.

 

Despite Whitson’s outstanding qualifications and previous experience in rejecting applicants, I find that your rejection does not meet my needs at this time.  Therefore, I will assume the position of assistant professor in your department this August.  I look forward to seeing you then.

 

Best of luck in rejecting future applicants.

 

Sincerely,

Chris L. Jensen

So, in any case you receive a rejection letter one of these days or in the future, try replying with something like this. LOL

Ex-AI Auditioner Got Killed by a Car

First and foremost, I’d like to apologize for not regularly posting lately. There have been a lot in my hands these past view days. Mostly work though. And I am normally tired at night after work so I just opt to sleep earlier than usual.

Anyhow, I was checking my mail just now and one interesting headline caught my attention. It’s about AI’s former auditioner named Alexis Cohen who apparently got killed in a car accident. Cohen was one of the rejects featured in the said reality show 2 years in a row, Seasons 7 and 8 that is. I guess, it was her extreme hatred to Simon Cowell that made her famous. Well, here is the complete article of this tragic incident as reported via yahoo news:

SEASIDE HEIGHTS, N.J. – Authorities say a 25-year-old former two-time “American Idol” contestant has been struck and killed by a car in a New Jersey shore town.

The Asbury Park Press reports that Alexis Cohen, of Allentown, Pa., was killed early Saturday in Seaside Heights.

Deputy Chief Michael Mohel of the Ocean County Prosecutors Office says an autopsy indicated she suffered chest, head and abdominal injuries. Mohel says investigators are seeking more information about the collision.

Cohen auditioned in Philadelphia for the popular Fox singing competition in August 2007, and the episode was aired in January 2008. She tried out again during the show’s eighth season.

A video of her angry rant after being rejected by judges went viral on the Internet.

For those who are not AI followers, here is Cohen’s first AI audition in Season 7:

Weekend Freebies and Discounts

Don’t you love to get things for free? Or save a lot on an item that you have been dying to buy? Well, I was blessed to have-slash-get both this weekend.

Yesterday morning, while I was lazy being a couch potato, I heard someone someone from the outside called my name. I knew it wasn’t one of our neighbors as I heard my full complete name out loud. Then I thought, I was just one of those mailmen who delivers me credit card statements and/or utility bills. I instantly went out and the man asked me to present an ID. Then I thought again, it must be something more important than my credit card statement or utility bill. But what could it be? The courier guy then asked me to sign on a small document and  and afterwhich, he handed me this package:

I then remembered, I got qualified to a credit card promotion last month. And this is what they gave-slash-sent me:

Yes, dear folks, it’s an original Mango Ladies Watch. Per the courier guy, it’s worth something like P4,000 (around US$80). So much for freebies, eh?! And this is how it looks on my wrist:

Cute, isn’t it? LOL.

It then reminded me of a similar gift from the same card company some 2 years back. This was their come-on freebie to encourgage people to be a part of their card holders’ population:

At that time, this cool Timex diving watch cost a bit over P2,000 (around US$40). Not bad for free stuff! Hehehe!

This morning, on the other hand, I took my mom to the mall as she wanted eat at this nice ice creme slash crepe parlor in Robinson’s Manila. I didn’t plan on buying anything so we just proceeded with our usual tour inside the mall. Before going home, we decided to pass by Rustan’s thrift shop where all items are on sale. It’s called the Red Tag. And as we were strolling, I browsed some sandals at a Crocs stall. Since it’s rainy season here in Pinas, I have been dying to buy myself a pair of plastic shoes so I don’t have be in slippers whenever I commute from home to the office and vice versa. Initially, I was thinking for buying a pair of nice Brazilian-made Grendha sandals since I knew Crocs is way too expensive for me (pero ‘wag ka, ang Nanay ko eh may red Crocs! hehehe!). It would force me to shell out more than P2,000 a pair. But not this one:

I got this pair of plastic (or is it rubber???) wedges for just P730 (around US$15). Isn’t that nice?!

So, that was my weekend. How was yours? 

My idea of love… decoded! (Contest Entry)

For the past 3 days now, I have been trying to write an entry for Mon’s recently launched 8th month anniversary contest. But I can’t seem to gather my thoughts. Well, I have been disturbed (again!) by some uber personal things lately. Plus, the contest requirement is to write something about love. I think, maybe, I’m too inexperienced when it comes to love that’s why I can’t write write about it that easily. (2x pa lang kasing na-inlove! Hehehe!)

I tried to browse my old posts though and I realized that I have already written something about love some 2 years back. I got it titled “My Idea of Love… decoded!”. Apparently, it was a follow-up entry to something that happened to me and my friends during a short kita-kitz. Since I find it more fitting for the contest, I want to make some parts of what I have written in that post as my official entry to Mon’s Love-Themed Article Writing Contest.

 (just click on the pic for the detailed entry about the contest)

Here goes:

Let’s get the ball rolling with my kick-ass statement:

 

“Believe it or not, I do not want to indulge myself on love.”

 

Hah! Such strong statement there, eh?!

Of course, I have my own reasons why I have that statement in mind. As I may have written in one of my entries, I have my share of love stories in the past. And mine were not the “ideal” kind of relationships a simple girl would/could ever dream of. My stories are rather exceptional and are known only to people who are very close to me. So, if you have a crystal clear idea of what I am trying to say here, well then, close friends tayo!

For me, love is a not a game to be played. Love is and always will be a serious thing. Love is such a strong word. People would rarely hear me say those 3 divine words. And when I say them, it only means one thing… I am dead serious of what I feel.

Love entails a lot of things. Happiness. Companionship. Acceptance. Commitment. Responsibility. Sacrifice. It gives a person a sense of belongingness. It allows a person to do things unexpectedly and lets that person do things unselfishly. Love gives an unexplainable feeling of sensation.

Love has its drawbacks though. Pain. Hurt. Resentment. Heartache. Most of the time, it leaves a person devastated. Sometimes, it makes a person feel so low, wasted and so damn worthless. But these things actually make love more valuable and make a person stronger. Somehow, these drawbacks turn a person to be an expert on love and makes people understand love a little bit more… in a hard way though.

But how ever which way we think about it, love is such a wonderful thing.

Being involved with someone without love is such a useless feeling. Yes, I have tried this once some years back and it’s not a nice feeling. I only felt emptiness. It was just a waste of time… such a waste of my precious time! And I promised myself to never do that again… not in this lifetime. Anyhow, it’s also good to have experienced such thing. It further confirmed my thoughts and ideas on love.

I don’t want to indulge myself on love simply because I don’t want to play with my emotions. I don’t want to put my heart on the line. Yes, I’m no risk taker. I want to stay in my comfort zone. I want to keep myself intact first before I enter the complicated world called love. Because when I fall in love, I just don’t give my heart to certain person… I give my whole being. I give him my present and my future. I give him all of me.

Maybe, just maybe, I’m overly careful not to experience those negative things love brings. I’m too darn afraid to feel pain, suffering, resentment and heartbreak. But despite this I-really-don’t-want-to-indulge-myself-on-love mindset, my heart is in fact open for a new love… IT ALWAYS IS.

And now, I will leave you with a song so familiar to most of us. May this song give you an idea how is it for someone like me to fall in love. 🙂

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Monz Avenue’s

Love-Themed Article Writing Contest

 Monz Avenue has now reached its 8th month in the blogosphere! Thanks to you.

As my way of showing gratitude for the continued support that you have shown to me and to my blog, I am running a contest. Oo na, gaya-gaya na ako. Peru eto uso ngayon eh. Hahlols. ^_^

The Rules / Mechanics:

• Make a post about love, too much love, unrequited love, unconditional love and any kind of love that you could think of.
• Put this shirt design image (see above picture) anywhere on your post. The shirt image must have a link towards my blog. Note: Failure to do so disqualifies your entry.
• Include the links of the sponsors in your entry/post.

 Criteria for judging:

• Number of comments on your entry/post. (30%)
• Number of incoming generated links from your blog to my blog through that T-shirt image in your blog post. Let me know if this is not clear. I’m using getclicky.com to get this info. Will give update every 3 days. (40%)
• Number of votes: I will put up a poll in the sidebar with the names of the participants after the 10 is completed. (20%)
• Relevance to the Theme / (T-shirts design) (10%)

This contest is co-sponsored by the following generous bloggers:

• Chad of Coolbutsmokin.wordpress.com who offers cash through Paypal
•  Rhona of Kofistains.com who offers cash through Paypal
• Reesie of Reesie.net who offers cash through Paypal
• Jehzeel of Jehzlau-Concepts.com who offers cash through Paypal
• Jerick of Rickspot.com who offers ad space at his site
• Bogcess of TechnoChase.com who offers cash through Paypal
• Mars of OrphicPixel.com who offers cash through Paypal
• Winkie of WinkiesWorld.wordpress.com who offers cash/E-load
• Cris of www.crisiboy.com who offers cash/E-load
• Ghie of Confessions who offers cash through Paypal

(Funny, I’m both a sponsor and a contestant! Hahaha!)

(Note to Mon: Yung dried mangoes ko ha! And my shirt size is either small or medium… or basta 15 inches ang shoulder width. Parang sure win ako noh?! Hahaha!)

(Note to all readers: I need comments for this entry. Mag SPAM comment na kayo please!!! NOW NA!!! 🙂 )

My Happy Thoughts

Commercial break first:

Allow me to thank all of you, my blog and online friends, who posted comments on my last entry. Every smile, wink, kiss, hug (may malisya man o wala), encouraging word and sweet thought really put a smile on my face. Even I am far away from you all, I felt loved and cared for. Thanks so much.

Today felt light and better than before. That sadness thing will be off my head and chest anytime soon. Besides, they say that happiness is a choice. So I choose to be happy for today and worry about the problems of tomorrow as I encounter them in the future.

 It then reminded me of what Wendy once told Captain Hook, “You just think happy thoughts. They lift you into the air.” And so, to add to that things Jesse a.k.a. Mr. Nonsense listed in his comment on my last post, I wanna share to you some of my happy thoughts and other things make me happy, in random order though:

• A relaxing back massage… and I want a hard one! I’ll definitely have one soon!
• Any mango-flavored dessert (ice cream, crepe, cake, etc.)
• Mall tour a.k.a. gala moments inside the malls
• Shopping moments… shoes, clothes, bags or whatever my heart desires!
• My beloved nephews and nieces
• Foot spa… I sooo love this!
• Online moments… blogging, blog hopping or simply browsing
• YM chats… especially those I enjoy talking to.
• Disneyland
• Lazy walking moments in Hongkong
• Mommy’s birthday trip in Singapore
• White sands of Boracay
• Roaming around Baguio… and shopping at ukay-ukay shops there!
• Strawberries
• Chocolate Flakes… I like Mikasan!
• Videoke… solo or with friends 😛
• DVD marathon
• Watching movies at the cinema house
• Havaianas
• Text messages, email or any form of communication from old-time friends
• Yung ngongong kapitbahay namin… I freaking laugh whenever I hear him talk!
• My iTouch
• My 2-piece collection
• Watching Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo and Little Mermaid
• Running alone in CCP during weekends
• Day dreaming about being at the Eiffel Tower or the Golden Gate Bridge
• My college graduation
• Accomplished projects at work
• My promotion 2 years ago (kelan kaya ang kasunod?)
• Salary increase, profit sharing or anything that involves money (mukha akong pera! hahaha!)
• Being in love… and loving back someone special
• Those tunganga moments in Tagaytay with a very special person
• My special moments with Tatay (I really miss him every single day)

There are so many things I am thankful for in my life and my list of happy thoughts slash blessings is endless, but one thought that really really makes me happy is…

• My mom… she’s my only strength and source of inspiration

 

 

How about you? What is/are your happy thought/s?

Why I don’t post much lately?

I haven’t been posting anything lately. What could be the reason?

 Am I too busy with work? I guess not. Because I always blog at night.

 Nothing interesting to write? Maybe. My life has been pretty routinary these days and I think I’m kinda less of an observant on things around me so I can’t think of any topic. Minsan nga, nagwiwish ako nang may madapa sa harap ko para naman may ma-iblog ako! Ang sama ko talaga! Hehehe!

 Busy with other things? Kinda. But with what? I will just keep that to myself for the meantime.

Feeling kinda gloomy and down lately? And the answer on this one is a big YES.

Yep, you read it right. I have been freaking sad for the past few days weeks. It’s about a lot of things, actually. Work. Home slash my mom. Heart matters. And a lot more other things. And whenever I’m having this kind of feeling, I normally shut myself out from things but still try to look and act as normal as possible (read: happy face and jolly dispositions) so other people wouldn’t get a clue of what I am feeling.

The online world was my only consolation these days. Although I haven’t been active posting some entries, I still try to visit the sites I frequent and leave marks as I usually do. I also go online on YM as I normally would but just sit invisible and hope for some friends to go online.

Some weeks back, I was online with a friend and we were on cam. I did not tell him what I was feeling then. I realized my eyes couldn’t hide my emotions when he said, “Why are you so sad? Please don’t be sad. Tell me what’s bothering you.” Still I didn’t tell him what was inside of my head and why I was feeling that way. That friend though tried to entertain me with some happy topics.

A couple of nights ago, I was online with another friend (oo noh, marami akong online friends!) and I kinda opened up what I was really feeling. Although it made me cry, I was so glad with that chat session as I was able to unload the things inside my heart. I was able to talk out what was really bothering me. And I was happy for that friend for making me feel better.

There are still a lot of things in my head right now, but I feel better than before. Anytime soon, I will be smile back again like this…

 

 

 

Waiting for Mr. Right?

My Cosmo magazine June 2009 edition has been sitting unread in my magazine rack for more than a month now.  It was really unusual for me  to sort of neglect my magazine that long. Well, I just got a bit busy with other things lately. So, to my Cosmo mag: Sorry na, please!

This morning, I had my chance to flip the pages of my precious fashion companion. Since it was a June issue, most of the topics featured were about love, weddings, marriage proposals, dating and whatever you can relate to for the month of June. There is one column though that caught my attention. It was entitled “Waiting for Mr. Right?”, an excerpt from the “Prayer of Patience” by Rissa Singson-Kawpeng.

When I first read it, I felt it was really perfect for women who have patiently waited and is still patiently waiting for Mr. Right. It was perfect for someone like me. 

Lord, today I ask of You, teach me to be patient…

Help me realize that there is purpose in waiting, It is not a waste of time. You are preparing me for what it is to come. And I believe Your plans are beautiful and beyond what I can dream of or imagine. So, mold me and make me into a woman who is pleasing in Your sight and in men’s. And when the time is right, send me the man who will be my partner for life.

Credits:

Cosmopolitan Magazine June 2009

http://abstract.desktopnexus.com

July Calendar

 

In Thy Wounds

This painting is a remake of Caravaggio’s Incredulity of St. Thomas. In this modern retake, Thomas touches the Hapag and scrutunizes it. This reminds me of a 2nd year college student who visited my exhibit a year ago in the UST Fine Arts Department. She approached me and said in a soft voice, “Sir, I am an atheist.” Not sure of what I heard, I asked her to repeat. Again she went, “Sir, I am an atheist.” Pointing at the Hapag painting, she followed through, “But sir, if that is what God si all about, it has awakened a part of me.” I just smiled.

Six months later, I mounted another exhibit at the UST Museums. My heart stopped when I read a message in the guest book, I will never forget those words: “I am the atheist student who approached you the other time. I have been visiting your new exhibit five times already hoping that I would meet you, Sir. I have been baptized already.”

– Joey Velasco