New Girl

There's a new girl at the office.

She's cute.

I like seeing her face in the morning.

Kaso may boyfriend na.

After the Wedding

Not my wedding. Although I had hoped it would be me...

There's a fine, fine line between a lover and a friend;
There's a fine, fine line between reality and pretend;
And you never know 'til you reach the top if it was worth the uphill climb.

There's a fine, fine line between love
And a waste of time.

There's a fine, fine line between a fairy tale and a lie;
And there's a fine, fine line between "You're wonderful" and "Goodbye."
I guess if someone doesn't love you back it isn't such a crime,
But there's a fine, fine line between love
And a waste of your time.

And I don't have the time to waste on you anymore.
I don't think that you even know what you're looking for.
For my own sanity, I've got to close the door
And walk away...
Oh...

There's a fine, fine line between together and not
And there's a fine, fine line between what you wanted and what you got.
You gotta go after the things you want while you're still in your prime...

There's a fine, fine line between love
And a waste of time.

[Kate Monster, Avenue Q, The Musicale]

What to do with Annoying La Sallistas around me

Please take note of the qualifier -around me- since this is a comment about the La Sallistas that I normally encounter in my day to day life and not all DLSU people in general.

Kapag sila talo, daming reklamo. Sinasabi nila dapat the referee called that foul, dapat ganito, dapat ganyan. Kapag sila nanalo ang ingay ingay ang yabang yabang. Walang bad calls, walang excuses.

Annoying.

Sorry Baduy pero tagos sa laman

I apologize for the way this crappy singer looked. I couldn't find another material to show how the song goes...but this is my current song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f961kE31FBM

I went to your wedding
Although I was dreading
The thought of losing you
The organ was playing
My poor heart kept saying
"Your dreams, your dreams are through"


You came down the aisle, wearing a smile
A vision of loveliness
I uttered a sigh, whispered goodbye
Goodbye to my happiness

Your mother was crying
Your father was crying
And I was crying too
The teardrops were falling
Because we were losin' you


You came down the aisle, wearing a smile
A vision of loveliness
I uttered a sigh, then whispered goodbye
Goodbye to my happiness


Oh, your mother was crying
Your father was crying
And I was crying too
The teardrops were falling
Because we were losing you

Reasons to Watch TV

(or DVDs of American TV Series)


I first watched these TV Series for the Plots. But I got hooked because of the leading ladies.

LANA LANG

Okay so she's the lamest character in Smallville. The character development is so blah. But how can you resist a charming cutie like that? I guess the dilemma is how to let her character exit SmallVille to let Lois Lane be the primary love interest of Clark Kent. I'm sure she's got tons of fans.

I'm not really big on Kristin Kreuk's body, although she's got a hot one. I love her face. The chinky eyes, the great smile.

Angel Locsin's fans claim that Angel is the Philippines' Lana Lang. I don't know if that's true. I see some parallelisms, but there are only a few.

DR. SARA TRANCREDI

I know a lot of girls are going gaga of Michael Scofield. And I got hooked on the TV series because of the interesting plot of Season 1.

The second season got a bit boring, if not for T-bag's character. The third season doesn't seem to be very promising, as the focus is on the love story.

But who cares? Dr. Sarah is back. She kinda looks like Katherine Mcphee, don't you think?

MEADOW SOPRANO

Okay, she's not really a leading lady. She's the daughter of the lead character in The Sopranos.

I first got hooked into this TV show because of the "Gangster" plot. And when it first started, Jaime-Lynn was this innocent Teen. But I always had a feeling she'd grow up to be a hottie...and she did.

If you saw all the seasons of this TV show you'd see her move from different weight configurations. But whether she got thin or chubby, she remains to look cute. I love her eyes, her cheekbones, her smile, her relatively tanned complexion and her chubby face. It helps that she plays this intelligent daughter of a powerful fan. There's something irrisistably sexy about that.

As for this next TV series, I didn't really like the plot, but my sister likes the actress. I didn't really like her in "I know what you did last summer." I don't like her as a singer either. But something about her and the way she plays her character in Ghost Whisperer makes her irristable.


Melinda Gordon is a girl who can see and talk to ghosts. There's nothing really sexy about that. If anything, it's weird...and somewhat corny.

I don't like the sexy Jennifer-Love. It's not her body that I'm watching when I watch this show (Although she wears a lot of low-neckline shirts and have a lot of "in-bed" scenes).

There's something so nakakakilig about her smile, and the way she looks and jokes around with her supposed husband in this show. It's so sweet, so warm. Basta, I love her smile. Walang panama ang close-up models sa warmth ng smile niya. when she smiles, even her eyes smile.

I remember when someone used to look at me that way. It's nice.

And as I type on, I realize I'm into the dark-haired, well endowed petite (with the exception of Dr. Sarah) ladies pala.

Now, everyone's going gaga about the next TV series. So I got on board as well. But for me, who cares about Meredith and her McDreamy. Their lovestory is getting old and boring.

I just want to see Dr. Isobel Stevens. I like Doc Model so much, she's the only Blonde in this list. I've always liked Katherine Heigl, even when she was still the chubby sister of the lead character in Roswell.

And with a doctor like that, I couldn't blame Deny for "entrusting his heart" to her.

But to let her have an affair with George O' Maley? That was really gross. I don't know what the writers were thinking.

I wouldn't mind getting sick if I had her to care for me. Smart, sweet yet strong. I wish they'd put more meat into her character in the next season. And please, give her a decent love interest. No more of those George-types. I can deal with her grieving over Deny forever.

And finally...
What man wouldn't be desperate to have Gabrielle Solis as his housewife?

Theme Song for Now

For obvious reasons....

Let's Talk Food

[another friendster survey from James]

1. fave street food?
- Sweet Corn (may luto)

2. fave pasta?
- Basta white sauce. I'm not picky.

3.fave food pag summer?
- Halo-halo

4.fave food pag umuulan?
- Sinigang ng hipon

5.fave food pag nanonood ng sine?
- Popcorn and Coke?

6.fave shake?
- Ripe Mango

7.fave night-out drink?
-Johnny

8.favorite softdrinks?
- Coke

9.fave food pag nasa beach?
- Grilled food: pork, fish, squid...basta grilled

10.fave drink/food pag galit?
- comfort food??? sopas???

11.fave cuisine?
- Chinese/Japanese

12.fave dessert?
- Warm Flourless Chocolate wake

13.fave breakfast?
- Bacon, Eggs and Cereal (with Coffee of course)

14.fave kind of chocolate?
- Dark Chocolate = the only real chocolate.

15.fave food na iniihaw?
- Pork?

16. fave food na may sabaw?
- Sinigang

17.gusto mong handa sa birthday mo?
- Pancit Bihon

18.best place to have coffee?
- Starbucks along Temple Drive

19.saan sulit kumain pag gutom?
- Saisaki

20.best palaman sa tinapay?
- Peanut Butter

21.favorite ice cream flavor?
-Chocolate

22.milo or ovaltine?
- Milo

23.pagkain na hindi mo kakainin?
- Balot

24.lagi ka bang gutom?
- Yes

25.san ka willing mag spend para sa
masarap npagkain?
- Sugi

26.anong pagkain ang gusto mo iuwi from
lamay pero hindi pwede?
- i never really stay long enough to check-out the food, unless the dearly departed is a relative. But I never pay attention to the food.

27.anong gusto mong pagkain sa lamay mo?
- this is so morbid

28.anong food ang ipagdadamot mo?
- wala naman, unless scarce ang supply. Like a few kilos of lechon from Cebu or something.

29.sinong kilala mong kain ng kain pero hindi tumataba?
- a girl I used to date named Anne. Ako lang tumataba.

30.eh diet ng diet pero hindi pumapayat?
- I wont say who coz she reads this blog.

31.Anong sikat na pagkain sa lugar nyo?
- something to do with Bananas

32. Anong pagkain lagi mong pinupuslit?
- My sisters' doritos.

33. Lagi mong hinihingi sa kaklase mo?
- sweets

34. Gusto mong kainin ngayon?
- Chinese food from North Park

35. Kung isa na lang kakainin mo sa buong buhay ano to?
-This is tough...sushi.


....AND I'M STILL NOT CLIKIN.... :D

A few clicks

I took this personality test online. You just have to pick a few colors in order, and viola! It's funny how a few clicks can tell who you are and what you're feeling.

My existing situation:
Active, but feels that insufficient progress or reward is being made for the effort exerted

My stress sources:
Feels that life has far more to offer and that it is imperative that he should find the responsive and understanding relationship he is seeking; he therefore follows up any opportunity which presents itself. However, he maintains his attitude of critical appraisal and refuses to be swept off his feet unless genuineness and integrity can be absolutely vouched for. Therefore keeps a strict and watchful control on his emotional relationships as he must know exactly where he stands. Demands complete sincerity as a protection against his own tendency to be too trusting.

My Restrained Characteristics:
Able to achieve satisfaction through sexual activity.
Circumstances are forcing him to compromise, to restrain his demands and hopes, and to forgo for the time being some of the things he wants.

My Desired Objectives:
Seeks an affectionate relationship, offering fulfillment and happiness. Capable of powerful emotional enthusiasm. Helpful, and willing to adapt himself if necessary to realize the bond of affection he desires. Needs the same consideration and understanding from others.

My Actual Problem:
Needs to achieve a stable and peaceful condition, enabling him to free himself of the worry that he may be prevented from achieving all the things he wants.

Needs to protect himself against his tendency to be too trusting, as he finds it is liable to be misunderstood or exploited by others. Is therefore seeking a relationship providing peaceful and understanding intimacy, and in which each knows exactly where the other stands.

http://www.colorquiz.com/

Another Showbiz Entry

I just finished overhearing the interview with Ms. Galvante of GMA-7 regarding the rumored plans of Angel Locsin to transfer to ABS-CBN.

I'm not sure if it's a good move on the actress' part, I really don't care much. But I remember Angel Locsin was just a "secondary character" in the teen drama Click. She didn't really get much notice, but I had already noticed that she's quite pretty and quite sexy.



The first time people focused on her was when she was doing Mulawin, and her boyfriend Miko Sotto accidentally died. Since then, her career went on an upturn. She practically ruled primetime TV for GMA.

I must say I can't blame people for thinking her ungrateful for leaving GMA without giving her former studio the benefit of "right to first refusal."

Angel's camp outlined several reasons why they decided to leave GMA's camp. Some of the reasons were more of a Angel-said-GMA-said thing so we really don't know what to believe. But there's one thing that struck me. That Angel's manager complained that Richard Guttierez was getting much more than Angel.



Ms. Galvante's reason was that Richard was doing much more projects: Bubble Gang and SOP. She even commented: "But Angel doesn't sing or dance...she doesn't want to."

That's when I got irritated because I know Richard doesn't sing nor dance.

What's intriguing for me is that this wasn't the first time I heard news that some of GMA's big guns are paid much, much lower than Richard Guttierez. For instance, I read in some magazine last year that Dennis Trillo gets only 1/4 of Richard's talent fee. Of course the issue died, perhaps GMA resolved the issue offline.

But they really should look into the compensation schemes of their big guns. Richard Guttierez is one of the driest actors I've ever seen. From what I heard, Angel's Darna rated better than Richard's Sugo.And he can't sing nor dance either. I know Anabel Rama is scary...but losing the ratings to ABS is much scarier.

What I've Been Up to...

been having quarterlife crisis of sorts. went to the provinces and did some volunteer work, now i'm back and freelancing (kailangan ko ng pera).

Some interesting things:
First: ATENEO WON! My sis was screaming I love you Chris Tiu all throughout the game. But the dude did win it for us and I am extremely happy.

Second: I was hangin out with friends at Serendra a few weeks back and I saw my online crush. She was quite intimate with someone. Kainis. Pero kakilig pa rin kahit papaano. Ha ha! I feel I'm a complete weirdo everytime I get this kilig feeling about her. That's it. I'm officially a scary stalker.

Third: Everyone I know is getting married. Not that I'm in a rush, but I guess I must be getting old. I'm not ready for that marrying stage...I still have a lot to do with my life...a lot of places to travel to.

Crocs: I know they are uso. But they just look soooo BIG. I'm not buying one, at least not in the next few months.

Taking Responsibility

Two people hooking up after a drunken night in Ruffa Mae's Party.

I just think they should take responsibility for their actions, instead of sugarcoating or avoiding the issue. After all, John is annulled and Gretchen is unmarried, right?

I wonder how Tony Boy reacted though. It's too bad.

Where's the loud applause?

After much ado over who was the first pinoy to reach everest: Garduce or Abenojar or Oracion, with all the media coverage and hype and daily updates, another Filipino (or group of Filipinos) were able to set records not just in the Philippines, but in Asia and the world: Noelle Wenceslao, Carina Dayondon, and Janet Belarmino.


[Photo courtesy of pinaysoneverest.blogspot.com]

But where are the sponsors? Where's the media coverage? Where's all the talk?

Team Everest and Garduce (and the much-contested Dale Abenojar) were in it for the Glory of being the first Filipinos to be at the mountain. Sure it's a big deal for us, but maybe not for the world. And no doubt, their feat inspired the expedition of the first All-Woman Filipino team to climb the Everest.

But consider the achievements of these three women: they were the first ASEAN Women to climb the mountain. Plus they were the first women to traverse the two main routes to the world's highest mountain.

Truly they deserve much airtime, if not more, than the male counterparts.

Provincial Street

A sight of a street sign has got me singing

Dame tu presencia
Dame tu naturaleza
Dame alguna clave que me acerque ms a ti
Dame un mapa de tu cuerpo
Dame todos tus secretos
Que yo te quiero hacer feliz

Dame alguna prueba de amor
Que calme el dolor
Que queden para siempre
Mis besos vibrando en tu cuerpo
Dame alguna prueba de amor
Que calme el dolor
Que quede nuestra historia de amor
A travs de los tiempos
No me digas que no, que no vas a venir
Que yo te quiero hacer feliz

Dame seas de tu amor
Dale un rumbo a mi emocin
Para hallar el camino de tu corazn
Dame amor

Dame alguna prueba de amor
Que calme el dolor
Que quede nuestra historia de amor
A travs de los tiempos
No me digas que no, que no vas a venir
Que yo te quiero hacer feliz

Ven dame amor
Que calme mi dolor
No me digas que no
Que no vas a venir
Que yo te quiero hacer feliz

Vote for Mig

(Choosing the 12 Part 2)

I watched the GMA TV Show Isang Tanong last Sunday at 10:45 pm. It featured some of the senatoriables in an interesting show format.

The show format called the Senatoriables three by three. The first senatoriable sits on the “HOTSEAT” while the other two stay in a sound-proof booth (just like in the beauty pageants). The GMA anchor directs 1 question to the senatiorable in the HOTSEAT and he/she has 1 minute 30 seconds to answer the question. This will be the same question that will be asked to the other 2 senatoriables in the sound-proof booth. After that, the Senatoriable will be asked a specific question by one of the members of the media. The candidate has 1 minute to answer the question. The final question will come from the “ballot box”. The ballot box contains questions asked by the other senatoriables in the panel.

The following were last Sunday’s guests, with my opinion on how they faired. I think the remaining candidates will be featured next Sunday.

I was disappointed with the KAPATIRAN party candidates. I saw their platform through forwarded emails but the Senatoriables who were there last Sunday weren’t too impressive. Like they didn’t know what to do.

I was turned off with Chiz Escudero and Alan Cayetano. All they talk about is abolishing corruption, but they didn’t say how. How can you abolish something that was already there since Rizal’s time?

Noynoy Aquino was also a disappointment. I’m not sure if he’s good. But he was stuttering all the time.

Angara was pretty good. I might just vote for him.

But the one person that surprised me was Miguel “Migz” Zubiri.

He’s okay with abolishing the Pork Barrel, for as long as the money goes to projects for the 4th-6th Class Municipalities. He thinks that job generation in rural areas is one way to help alleviate poverty. As a 3-time congressman, he had perfect attendance in all the plenary sessions (sulit ang taxpayer’s money). He’s not the most eloquent man, but he speaks with enough confidence. He seems to be clear on what he wants to do, and he’s got enough experience to know what to do.

I hope to learn more about the other candidates (Villar, Pangilinan, Paredes- the last Kapatiran Senatoriable, and others) in tomorrows Part Two of ISANG TANONG. I suggest you watch it too.

For now there’s only one Senatoriable who gets a definite vote from me. And that’s my namesake: MIGUEL.

Choosing the Twelve (Part 1)

It’s so hard to choose 12 names to put in the ballot. I don’t even know all of the candidates, especially because I am always working. They don’t put posters in my neighborhood and I rarely watch local channels.

It’s sad really, if you think about it. middle class folk like me, who are supposed to be the agents of change for this nation are too busy with daily life to even care about knowing who the candidates are, and helping to educated the public about these candidates.

For people like us who have the means to reshape our destiny because of our education, because of the opportunities that were given to us, because of our mobility, we can work hard and possibly rise above our frustrations to achieve our dreams.

But what about those who weren’t as fortunate as we are? Who is going to sincerely think about them, after the elections?

So how do we really choose the twelve? Do we judge them by their skills and achievements? Do we judge them by their “hearts”? Do we judge them by intentions?

I wish we can be as wise as Christ when he chose his own 12 Apostles. Come to think of it, Senators and Public Servants…and so were the disciples. And what did the disciples do? What skills did they possess? Each of them had different skills: one was good at finances(tax collector), one was a charismatic speaker (the evangelist), a few were good in drawing in fish, another was a revolutionary. They left everything they had to follow the path that would lead to the salvation of mankind.

Then again I stumbled upon several articles on the internet hinting that the 12 Apostles weren’t exactly management material by today’s standards.


TO:
Jesus, Son of Joseph
Woodcrafter Carpenter Shop
Nazareth

FROM:
Jordan Management Consultants
Jerusalem

Dear Sir:

Thank you for submitting the resumes of the 12 men you have picked for management positions in your new organization. All of them have now taken our battery of tests; we have not only run the results through our computer, but also arranged personal interviews for each of them with our psychologist and vocational aptitude consultant.

It is the staff opinion that most of your nominees are lacking in background, education, and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking. They do not have the “team" concept. We would recommend that you continue your search for persons of experience in managerial ability and proven capability.

Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and given to fits of temper. Andrew has absolutely no qualities of leadership. The two brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, place personal interest above company loyalty. Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to undermine morale.

We feel that it is our duty to tell you that Matthew has been blacklisted by the Greater Jerusalem Better Business Bureau. James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus definitely have radical leanings. They registered a high score on the manic depressive scale.

One of the candidates, however, shows great potential. He is a man of ability and resourcefulness, meets people well, has a keen business mind and has contacts in high places. He is highly motivated, ambitious, and responsible. We recommend Judas Iscariot as your controller and right-hand man. All of the other profiles are self-explanatory.

We wish you every success in your new Venture.

Sincerely yours, Jordan Management Consultants

Even with these limitations, the not-so-favorable-managerial-candidates, or the remaining 12 disciples managed to lead an “organization” that, 2000 years later remains to be the BIGGEST International “Superpower”.

So what makes a leadership candidate viable?

Much Ado About Sanjaya

The moment that Simon Cowell has been waiting for has arrived. Sanjaya Malakar has been voted out of the American Idol contest.

I am not a big Sanjaya fan as well. He reminds me of this character in the American Idol parody: American Dreamz (Yes, I watched the film. The date didn’t work out fine, but I’m glad the movie was senselessly hilarious. At least I was entertained.)

The Mandy Moore starrer had a lot of interesting characters, including this clumsy terrorist named Omar, who joined the American Dreamz contest in order to kill the President of the United States. Omar had a gay cousin, who had been dreaming of joining American Dreamz. I found that character so funny, especially since I haven’t really seen a gay Arab in a film before.


Back to Sanjaya Malakar. He is admittedly, not the best singer in this season of American Idol, he doesn’t have the best moves, and he doesn’t have the best hair. Obviously, I am not a fan.

But Americans seem to be amused by him. And they seem to be upset that Simon doesn’t like him. Ryan even had the nerve to ask Simon if his comments were because the performance was so bad, or was it because it was Sanjaya. Simon got infuriated with Ryan’s comments and rightly so.

Simon wasn’t really appalled with Sanjaya the first time he heard him sing. In fact, Simon was impressed that he told Sanjaya: "[You are]A lot better than your sister... she has the stage presence and I think you have the better voice. You're like a shy little thing who's got a good voice." The problem with Mr. Malakar is that he wasn’t able to have a good follow through with this first impression.

There’s this one interview Ryan Seacrest did with this girl on the street and she said something about Sanjaya and William Hung.

But Sanjaya shouldn’t be compared with William Hung. Mr. Malakar CAN sing. He can sing pretty decently. If we look back at his audition, I’d say he was alright. He had all the reason in the world to audition for American Idol:


William Hung, however, cannot sing. He had no business auditioning for American Idol.


And that enlightened me as to why Americans are so amused with Mr. Malakar. I thought at first they liked him because of that whole “Michael Jackson” kind of aura he has. But I guess it’s because he’s undoubtedly Asian-looking. They think he’s a comic character, a funny guy. His “popularity” is borne out of America’s tendency to become racists: Dude, Asian guys are so hilarious.

I bet even if good belters like Dessa or Jed Medella make it to American Idol, they’d still be ridiculed. Unless of course they say they are from Hawaii and not dwell too much on their Filipino heritage: case in point, Jasmine Trias. Then again, what’s Jasmine doing now?

This is so true

Got this email about a softdrink ad in Mexico.

I don't know much about the Spanish language (maybe I should get private Spanish lessons with someone), but the narrator basically talks to the women in the ad, explaining the various indications on the truth that your (guy)bestfriend likes you.

Maybe the other Spanish-speaking people can better explain the commercial to us.

The Philippine Agenda

I was watching THE PHILIPPINE AGENDA, a show in GMA-7 last night and I couldn't help but be sad at the state of Education in the Philippines.

There is so much that needs to be done: new classrooms, books, training and compensation for the teachers. Our whole national budget is not enough to pay for what needs to be done in this country, as far as education is concerned.

The classrooms they showed in Masbate and Lanao were so dilapidated. And the classrooms in Manila were so crowded (120 students in one classroom) and they don't even have enough chairs and tables. For those who studied in Private Schools this situation is unheard of, but when you see it visually like that, it really doesn't make sense. Those classrooms and situations are not conducive to learning.

There are students and pupils who need to wake up at 3 am just to walk to the nearest school (at least 8 kilometers of walking). By the time they get to school they'd be so tired and unable to concentrate.

Some pupils in Manila have to work to help augment the family income and have allowance in order to go to school.

The teachers are paid so poorly, they need to take second jobs. Plus they teach a class of 120 children...how can they not have tonsil problems? The former USEC of DECS said that if we only invest training on public teachers in say a private school, we need about Php500million just to train 10% of the teachers for one day in a private school. And that's just training budget. It doesn't even include the budget needed for other things.

Education is particularly important, because it is a tool for the upliftment of the lives of many Filipinos. It affords them dignity with a kind of wealth that does not get used up.

There are so many charities that about handing out clothes, food, children's parties, etc. A lot of celebrities like Deither Ocampo and Ara Mina putting up their own foundations. I don't know what their foundations are about, but consider education. How about using that money to rehabilitate a classroom? Or buy books so that a class of 40 children will not share one book for the entire class.

I remember Oprah saying in one show on why she decided to put up a learning center in Africa, she was aghast when she found out that in some parts of the world, people needed to pay to go to school. For her, it was ridiculous! School should be free. Somebody please send that GMA-7 tape to Oprah! If she sees it. She'd panic!

I panicked. I certainly did. There is so much that needs to be done. How can you not take these elections seriously when you are exposed to how deep our social and economic problems are?

We need serious leaders. We need leaders that have heart. Not only that, we need leaders who have the brains and the hands, plus the will to really do something.

I heard the TV Show will be a series and every week, they'll feature another topic. This week was education. I don't know what next week will be.

I suggest we all watch the shows.

What? No Eye Candy?

So the good singers on American Idol 6 are still in the running. But must all the female contenders be so unattractive?

You can judge me however which way you want but you can check out the contestants yourselves.

I know the purpose of American Idol is to find the best singers, but sometimes, it's not necessarily the best singers who sell. He/she has got to be the total package. Look at what happened to Fantasia. And of course, Taylor.

Fortunately for the girls, there are still some okay guys like Beatbox Boy and the Justin Timberlake look alike. But I just wished they had a Carrie Underwood or Katherine McPhee who can match the look with an acceptable voice.

Antonella "her hotness" Barba, has got the look, but she just couldn't sing. And Alaina"her cuteness" Alexander has that Sarah Michelle look and might have had the voice but no Ex Factor.



While it's nice to watch a show with people with beautiful voices singing, it would be nice to have it visually appealing as well. So who do I root now? Maybe the one that looks like Ugly Betty. She's got a good vocal range, she's young, she's different from the past winners: Kelly, Carrie and Katherine because she's somewhat Latina. Maybe I'll root for her, among the girls. I still like the beatbox guy though.

Meanwhile, I feel for Antonella. Sure she's not the purest Jersey girl, but I don't think she knew that these controversies would come her way. She's not even 21 yet. Anyway, here's what she's got to say about those naughty pictures that came out.



How hard was it to deal with all the controversy that was going on around you when you were on the show?

It was definitely difficult and it wasn’t how I intended things to go, but I tried to block it out as much as possible and stay focused on the competition. All that other stuff was completely irrelevant to the fact that I’m here to sing.

Visibility is important – does part of you feel that there’s no such thing as bad publicity?

Yes, it’s true that my name is more well-known because of it, but I’m not known for the things that I would like to be known for right now. I wanted to make a name for myself in singing. The pictures that have been released of me – the ones that actually are me – they were very personal and that is not how I intended to portray myself. I’d rather promote myself in a more classy way. And, again, that was private – that was not for the public eye.

Were you approached to pose in Playboy?

I heard about it but I was never approached.

Would you do it?

No. Right now I want to look at all the offers I get and sort out what’s best for me right now. I’m definitely not opposed to acting or modeling or something. I would definitely do pop music, but I would add my style to it – you know, a little R&B-ish pop music, maybe bluesy, jazzy.

What makes a Freak?

It was a close call for Rob and Amber. I thought they wouldn’t make it because of the flight delays. Much as people dislike them, I am actually rooting for them.

I really really dislike Charla and Mirna, the cousins where one is a little person. I don’t even know who Charla is and who Mirna is. I still get confused but for sure I dislike them. I dislike them individually and I dislike them as a team.

The one girl, the taller one. She’s psycho. When the cab driver was trying to ask $20 from them she went crazy asking the driver to take all of their money plus their bags too. And the poor cab driver who didn’t understand English very well was confused and distraught. All he wanted was his $20 dollars.

It reminded me of this crackers commercial where the girl was being held up. She asked the robber to take all her possessions, but not her “pagkababae”. Turns out, the robber was only interested in her “Magic Flakes”.

And I didn’t like the way they argued with the beauty queens. The beauty queens were only trying to ask for directions and were even asking how much it would be to split the cab fare. And then the cousins went amok saying “no! this is our cab driver! No!”

After that, the little cousin had the nerve to judge the beauty queens and say: Beauty is more than Skin Deep. They are crazy! The beauty queens didn’t do anything bad to them.

The little cousin also talked about plastic surgery and had this self-righteous tone that really gets into my nerves. Add to that they passed by the CoalMiner and his wife, when the two helped them get out of the sink hole when they were driving the SUV.

Ang sama ng hitsura nila, ang sama pa ng ugali nila. What makes them a freaky team is not because one is a little person, but because they act freaky! I hope Charla and Mirna goes home next week.


Now I’m rooting for the Beauty Queens as well. I don’t really find them pretty, but I like that they are calm. Well, most of the time.

Best Time

1:02 per lap. What a happy birthday!

Inspired by my recent need for speed, and in anticipation of a really hot summer (grabe ang init pare!), I'm thinking of buying sun glasses for myself.

Why Vuarnet? Well, most of the endorsers are racers.

And I guess those PR articles that came out last December has a certain effect on my purchase behavior of sun glasses. What can I say? They chose the right Ambassador, even if I can't wear what she was wearing.

Did you see that hot contestant at American idol? The one who has a "bestfriend" that didn't make it to the final cut? I think she's hot. But there are not-so-wholesome pictures of her spreading on the internet.

I still think she's hot though! Ha!

She's Cuter in My Memory

I'm talking about Jill. The other half of the 9-11 couple of The Amazing Race: John Vito and Jill.

I remember she was the one I always looked forward to see during the Season 3 of The Amazing Race. I'm not sure if it was because she gained weight, or there just wasn't a lot of beautiful people in Season 3.

I was looking forward to a long time watching the couple in The Amazing Race 3, along with Rob and Amber. Unfortunately, they got eliminated last week. They had trouble looking for directions. They should've just paid Mr. Taxi Man to lead them to the destination.

As for Rob and Amber, they have gotten very very arrogant and I'm worried it may affect their performance. I still think they should've won, if not for the re-opening of the airplane that allowed Uchena and Joyce to get in.

I want Rob and Amber to win, but they really really need to be careful not to make any mistakes.

Not only are the couple such an eye candy. They also are fierce competitors. I remember the HillBilly Couple saying just meeting Rob and Amber already make them feel like winners.

I still dislike the cousins Charla and Marla(?) sorry I forgot their names. And I hope Teri and Ian make it far as well.

Obviously, I'm an Amazing Race Fan.

Cold February Nights

Did you guys ever catch the full moon last week? There was something both eerie and magical about seeing the big bright moon and feeling the February chill on a starless evening.

I wondered if the weather was comiserating with the chill in my heart or if the sky identified with empty soul.

One week from now, people, will once more scramble for reservations, flowers will be overpriced, the motels overbooked, and a flood of lovers will walk hand in hand in malls and other public places, seemingly inseperable.

Two and a half weeks from now, Ortigas will be laden with traffic as people commemorate a historic event -- while I am left to wonder if any good had come out of that event almost twenty years ago.

Years ago, an expectant mother pushed hard to give birth to a baby boy: the name carrier, the protector, the love-son, full of hope and promise.

Twenty seven years later, that's all there is still, a promise waiting to be fulfilled.

Fleeting Distraction

This is turning out to be an unexpected weekend.

I came here, not expecting to be bored to death; and I was. I found myself on the brink of sleeping sometimes. Fifty strangers in the room trying to find some learning out of all of this.

I scanned the room for something to amuse me. And there she was. She's cute. Chinky-but not so chinky eyed if you know what I mean. Her skin was glowing...nagpapaderma ba siya?

Okay some girls wear make-up to add to the glow. But this girl wasn't wearing much make-up and her skin was really glowing. I guess she's one of the more fortunate ones.

So i found myself focusing on her and not listening to the speaker. The more I look, the more she becomes cuter.

Then she looks back at me. I looked away. Nakakahiya. Nabisto pa that i was checkin her out.

I tried to listen to the speaker again. He's just so boring. So I looked at her again. She caught me...again.

This time, I did not look away. I kept looking. And she kept looking back. I smile. She smiles.

We do this for hours. The thrill is killing me.

Finally the talks are over.

We finally get to shake hands and talk. She makes green look good. And she looks better up close.

But as we talk and talk something was revealed to me. Much to my frustration. There was nothing much there.

Nothing much in common to talk about. Nothing much to say because she seems to have very little opinion about things.

Sayang.

After Edsa I, Gawad Kalinga Filipinos’ next gift to world

FILIPINO OF THE YEAR: ANTONIO MELOTO

Inquirer: 09:14am (Mla time) 01/28/2007

IN the 1980s, the Philippines gave the world People Power—a gift that came forth from Edsa that has kept on bringing democracy the world over.

In the 1990s, there began what the world has come to embrace as the next, necessary, follow-up to People Power as political action. If People Power was a means for reclaiming freedom, something would have to address the need to build a thriving, substantive democracy.

What began in 1999 with an effort to build a single house for the members of the Adduro family, who were living in a shanty of rusted GI sheets, cardboard boxes, plastic sheets and old tires, is now known as Gawad Kalinga. In this first decade of the present century, it has grown to represent the Philippines’ next gift to humanity.

Gawad Kalinga is becoming a global template for development—one that has expanded to Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Cambodia, and that will soon open in East Timor, India, Nigeria and Nicaragua.

And while Gawad Kalinga is about many people, its public face is that of one man: Tony Meloto.

Any person is not only the product of particular circumstances but also the result of institutional forces, of a history that is as much one person’s as it is a nation’s.

The Tony Meloto so proudly pointed out by fellow Filipinos today is the product of the influences of his time, and of previous times.

His circumstances have surely been duplicated in many others, yet are unique in having inspired a way forward for so many. It is a way forward others have tried to find for generations.



Building communities

In internal exile in Dapitan, Jose Rizal set out to build communities—the best preparation, he felt, for a new nation.

The Katipunero Pio Valenzuela claimed that Rizal had once told him: “Tell our countrymen that, at the same time that we are preparing for a war against Spain, I desire to see a college established in Japan which will be converted later into a university for Filipino youths. I shall be greatly pleased to be the director of said college.”

To the end, the First Filipino refused to be the Philippines’ first politician.

What would have happened if the great reformers—Raul Manglapus, Manuel Manahan, Francisco “Soc” Rodrigo, to name just a few—had refused to enter politics and done what Rizal set out to do, and Tony Meloto has done?

In the 1960s, the reformist was scorned (“clerico-fascist” was a term often used). In a sense, the same skepticism continues to reign in radical circles.

But in 1967, the year Meloto entered the Ateneo de Manila, a transformation was taking place. It had its first glimmerings in the “work a year with the people” program to bring doctors to far-flung barangays, which was begun by Manglapus, another Atenean.

And just as Manglapus’ efforts would find political vindication only decades later in the careers of barrio physicians such as Juan Flavier, so did the Gawad Kalinga of today find itself born out of the contradictions of 1960s Philippine society.

Genuine stewardship

Speaking to a younger generation of Ateneans last year, Meloto described the insight he had gained—and, thus, the core belief that now animates Gawad Kalinga.

“Because we love our children, not pity them,” he told his audience, “we do not give them charity and abandon them after doing so. We sacrifice and invest in their future. With the way poverty is growing in this country, they will not be safe or secure here unless we move from charity to genuine Christian stewardship and bring our people out of poverty. Neither will they be whole anywhere in the developed countries, where they will be seen or feel second-class even if they are rich or successful, as long as the Philippines remains poor and corrupt, because we are viewed collectively as a people.”

What Meloto did was to resist the urge to involve only people like himself; what he accomplished was to bring together those previously assumed as mutually incompatible.

When he first began, he worked not to change the nation but, rather, to improve the lives of a few—the Adduros.

In helping them, he did so with concrete goals in mind but a limitless vision nonetheless: If it will work for one family, it will work for many more.

And work for many more it has.

The Adduro model

The Adduros were composed of the father, Enteng, jobless at that time; the mother, Mode, a laundrywoman; and all five of their children. (In 1999, the children were out of school, and two of them were gang members.)

Gawad Kalinga provided Enteng a job. Mode became the head of the neighborhood microfinance effort, and all the children went back to school. Four have since graduated from college (two with a 2-year degree in computer science); the youngest is in his last semester.

The Adduros’ home has expanded through their own efforts to become a 92-square-meter house where once they were content with a 30 sq.m. dwelling of more permanent materials.

Their community, the first Gawad Kalinga community, sponsored by Filipinos from Northern California, has grown to include 2,000 homes in 18 villages in Bagong Silang, Caloocan City—places that provide a decent life for 10,000 Filipinos who thought seven years ago that their lives would never change.

And as Bagong Silang has gone, so has the nation: The 1,000 Gawad Kalinga communities all over the country directly affect the lives of half a million poor Filipinos regardless of location or religious creed. (For example, Christians and Muslims are working side by side in building the 25 Gawad Kalinga communities for Muslims in Mindanao.)

P8B in 8 years

And the army of volunteers who give their time and talents to the cause give so generously that their efforts can now be quantified.

Developmental experts estimate the total development generated by Gawad Kalinga at more than P8 billion in a little over as many years (P3 billion for houses, P0.5 billion for schools, clinics and other infrastructure, P2 billion for land and site development, P2.5 billion for social preparations, donated professional services and volunteerism, programs for health, education and livelihood).

The major sources of funds are corporations and sociocivic groups, the national and local governments, Filipino organizations abroad, schools and universities, and philanthropic families and individuals here and overseas.

While the sources are many, they have common characteristics— they are not subject to graft, are neither liable for misuse nor susceptible to abuse in aid of electioneering, and are devoted to the common good.

And the resources transcend borders. The government of Canada has been giving aid directly to Gawad Kalinga, especially for calamity victims; American companies like AIG USA, Fedex, UPS and Proctor & Gamble send funds from their head offices.

Neither does it for diplomatic or commercial advantage.

View the scale of the resources raised in these comparative terms. The entire budget of the Department of Agrarian Reform (P1.9 billion) plus the capital outlays for the Department of Education (P2.9 billion) plus the budget of the University of the Philippines system (P4 billion): The figure only slightly exceeds what Gawad Kalinga has raised.

Disproving truisms

To understand the significance of Tony Meloto requires seeing that he has disproved two truisms—that change can only come from reforms imposed from above, and that it can only be accomplished through a revolution from below.

He has dispelled an assumption central to both truisms—that change requires force, either political will or force of arms.

He has shown that brute force or pragmatic politics need not trump principles. He does so because he has harnessed People Power to fill in the gaps that politics can never fully address.

Gawad Kalinga is a potent force of 200,000 volunteers—a force that dwarfs the entire strength of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, which is 130,000 strong.

Meloto has mobilized those numbers because he knows that all mobilizations, if they are to last and have a beneficial effect, must appeal to the practical but be based on self-sacrifice.

Partnership, peace

The independent life of our nation has been a story of strife, but people like Tony Meloto have shown that an alternative lies in partnership, and peace.

To be sure, what Meloto set out to do is nothing new. What is new is that he has forged ahead and has something to show for it.

Turning principle into practice, and practice into a recipe for success, is his authentic, trailblazing, achievement.

Still in a Crisis

It was in 1997, when SouthEast Asia suffered what economists called THE EAST-ASIAN FINANCIAL CRISIS. This was two years after the Latin America financial crisis of Mexico, Argentina and Brazil. All US-dependent economies who pegged their currencies to the dollars and exercised liberal financial policies, even if they weren’t ready. Of course, each country had their unique circumstances. Nevertheless, all affected countries experienced economic downturn when western investors pulled out their hot money.

I remembered our Economics teacher in school lectured about this hot money. But I wasn’t really listening very well. I do remember she gave a comment that the government should’ve been prepared in establishing the Economic Fundamentals, instead of relying on highly liquid/transferable western investment money.

But that’s not the point of my post today. I don’t think I have enough credibility to discuss economics. Although I did manage to pass my economics class, I am far from being an economic analyst.

I had a chat with my friend who is based in Singapore and we started talking a bit about her life there. I was surprised with the currency exchange rate of Singapore versus how it was back in 1997. The value of their Singapore dollar doubled versus our peso. I remember, too, that back then the Thai Baht equaled one Peso, but not the Baht is stronger than our currency.

As I was driving to work, I realized it had been 10 years since that crisis. I decided to do some research on the countries affected by the 1997 and how they fare as they begin the year 2007.

Philippines:
GDP per capita/person: 1997 ($1700)vs 2006 ($1,060) or decline (-37%)

Indonesia
GDP per capita/person: 1997 ($3400)vs 2006 ($1,300) or decline (-62%)

Malaysia:
GDP per capita/person: 1997 ($4688)vs 2006 ($5239) or decline (+12%)

Thailand:
GDP per capita/person: 1997 ($2542)vs 2006 ($2930) or decline (+15%)

Mexico:
GDP per capita/person: 1997 ($4,250)vs 2006 ($6900) or decline (+62%)

I know I need to check on other countries before I can come up with a conclusion. But seeing some of the data above (I just gathered these from the Net, we still need to verify the accuracy of the figures) we can say that the Philippines is still directionally down. And while we’re slightly better off than Indonesia, no doubt our Malaysian and Thai brothers have already progressed to where they were before. So did our cousins in Mexico.

Malaysia celebrates their 50th year as a Nation, and already the country of 25 million gets up to three times as much as our GDP per capita. They only had 50 years of preparation. We had more than a hundred.

Please do take note that the figures above represent only GDP per capita. We know that much of the money is concentrated on 10% of the upper class. And while countries like Mexico have a few upper classes as well, half of their population naman is in the middle class. As for the Philippines, more than 80% are poor.

Recent events aren’t that encouraging. More and more I see in the news (although I rarely watch the news), Governors and Mayors being suspended a few months before the elections. The scandal-filled Arroyo administration is having a field day weeding out their enemies.

I am not optimistic that we will progress soon. Arroyo still has 3 years to rule this country and we do not have a viable opposition. While the major opposition doesn’t really represent anything concrete but the obvious desire to put the Erap-forces back in power.

I hope we learn how to take this coming election seriously and put serious people in power. This country needs change. And I am not open to an EDSA IV either. We, Filipinos, need to take responsibility for the choices we make (or our inability to guard our votes) and just deal with it.

It’s time to make our leaders accountable for real results. If companies look at the bottom line profit, our officials need to look at the bottom line too: QUALITY OF LIFE in this nation. All those press releases on the renewed strength of the peso, the GDP growth does not make any sense to the people who still have nothing to eat. It’s all marketing blah.

As for those who have nothing to eat. It’s also time to step up and do something productive. Hindi ko naman nilalahat. I know there are a lot of hardworking people who work and work and still have nothing. But then you just walk the streets of Manila and see TAMBAYS => those able-bodied individuals should get off their asses and start working, instead of just waiting for “hulog ng langit” or a magic prize from Wowowee.

I remember one of the campus politicians said in her campaign speech: the election should not be about a change of men (or women) but rather a change in men. I do agree.

New Life New Blog

I decided to switch to the new blogger. I haven't chosen an appropriate template yet, but this is it for now.

I haven't quite familiarized myself with the new features. So I guess I'll make more customizations soon.