Once again after the Philippines were struck by severe rain followed by flooding, the Filipinos showed a very essence of resiliency. A lot of families in Metro Manila and nearby provinces suffered from the two-week monsoon rains causing major flooding. It was noted that, as of August 9, 91 people died and nearly 300,000 remained in temporary shelters according to disaster officials. 

It was my first time to experience such flooding in Metro Manila. I am currently renting a space in San Juan City. Some of the areas near my residence experienced severe flooding where some of the residents have to be evacuated in nearby schools. It was also my first time to do “panic buying” because ready to eat foods, canned goods, noodles, breads, bottled water, among others are running out from the stores. Some groceries were closed because of the flood so there is really no option but to stock food as it was reported that the monsoon rain may last for days thus the flood. Government offices suspended work on August 7 and resumed August 8. It was still raining very hard that day. I had a very hard time going to work because of the rain. There were no buses en route to my work place. I had to walk just to reach the jeepney station going to EDSA. I had to fold my pants up to my knee and wear slippers. Sad and effin’ hard. 

Despite the dreadful Filipinos still managed to smile. I managed to smile. They managed to smile. I have to. We have to. The Philippines is one of the happiest countries in Asia and in the whole world measured by the Happiness Index. We are 25^th based on the Happy Planet Index ranking.

The palpable spirit of Bayanihan was felt through the rescue missions and relief operations. A lot of Pinoys contributed to the packing of relief goods, donating cash or in kind, ravaging the flood to save lives. I was moved by the news report that in every problem that a Filipino encounters we see a solution. We always believed that the sun will come out tomorrow. The problems will melt away and we will be stronger as can be. We always move on very fast and in times of great need we always have a helping hand and a resilient hard. One of the more reason why I’m proud to be a Filipino. 

• Kahapon, stranded ako sa bahay dahil walang pasok ang opisina. Nagstay ako sa bahay kasi wala ring mapupuntahang mall dahil sa baha. 
• First time kong maranasan ang baha sa San Juan area. Kahit na below the knee ang baha it was still something na winiwish kong hindi ko maranasan sa aking tanang pagtatrabaho sa Maynila.
• Panic buying ako kasi wala akong food supply sa bahay for emergency purposes. Nagkakaubusan naman kasi sa malapit na bilihan sa aking bahay. Mahirap naman mastranded at magbuwis buhay sa baha kahapon just to reach an open mall or supermarket. 
• Isang realization lang though ngayong ako ay grown-up na: Dati masaya ko pag nabaha at nabagyo kasi suspended ang classes but then ngayon yuppy na ako, hindi na ako masaya sa ulan at bagyo kasi hindi naman agad nagsususpend ang mga offices. 

Just One Summer. Malapit ng ipalabas! I like the team-up. I like it when they sing together. I get kilig when I see them on-screen. I guess, they really have that chemistry which make the fans going nuts. I hope this chemistry translate into big screen. I have to say though, that the poster for the movie is not that good for me. I don’t know if the shoes of Julie Anne should be like that and the facial reaction of Elmo is hmmm… I just don’t know. Does it work? Maybe. I think I am just being critical. They are not fashion models so they could be not that good in posing or it could be the photographers fault because he/she did not give proper instructions. Well, what the heck! Manood na lang tayo! :P 

Isa na namang biktima ng hazing ang namatay kamakailan. Si Mark Andrei Marcos, law student ng San Beda ay namatay dahil sa hazing na isang prosesong dapat pagdaanan ng lahat ng mga neophyte. Last February 2012, naging biktima rin si Marvin Reglos mula sa parehong unibersidad ngunit hanggang ngayon hindi pa rin nasasagot ang hinaing na hustisya ng kanyang pamilya. (Ano ba meron sa San Beda fraternity? Pamatay ang proseso nyo ahh) 

Sa interview ni Eta Rosales ng Commission of Human Rights, sinabi nya na ang Anti-Hazing Law (RA 8049) ay hindi bungi kundi bungal. Ito ang naging sagot niya ng sabihin ni Igan na tila pinagtatawanan lamang ng mga Kapatiran ang Anti-Hazing Law dahil sa dami ng mga lumalabag sa nasabing batas. 

I came from a university where there are so many recognized fraternities, sororities, and con-frat where hazing is not a big secret. I, for one at least, have an idea that hazing is big part of the process that a neophyte would have to go through in order for them to be accepted in the fraternity or sorority. I am not a frat man but it does not require me to be part of the fraternity to know the processes of recruitment. It has been subjects of gossips which are actually true based on friends with siblings and close friends who were a member of the fraternity or sorority. I even have a sister who told me the hell she’s been through to join the sorority. She told me the number of slaps and paddle she has gone through. Hearing it was painful, more so experiencing it. 

I joined an academic and socio-civic organization in our university. Although, the organizations never practiced hazing, they still have some process that I as a neophyte would go through to be accepted as member. Hindi naman ganun kahirap. We don’t have “physicals” that we define as hurting like slapping or using paddle. We only have the getting to know you stage where the neophytes would “report” to the resident member. The resident member would sometime ask the neophyte to do this and that. At the end of the week, we have the “Finals” Stage where the neophytes will be formally accepted to the org after going though some “not-so-physical-challenges”. It was not that hard-hard but it was hard. It’s just that the level of difficulty of joining the org was incomparable to the process of frats and soros.

Well, on the note that the Anti-Hazing Law being toothless and ineffective, it would remain as such because our honorable legislators themselves are members of fraternities and sororities. They know for a fact what are the process that a neophyte should endure. They even know what fraternities practices hazing, which schools have frats and soros that practice hazing, where the hazing are usually held, who the leaders are, etc. They know every single detail of the frats and soros so the Anti-Hazing Law would not be implemented properly because it is backed-up and even protected by our legislators. A guest kept on saying that this incident should be a wake-up call. I’d say na buwisit! Ang dami ng naging biktima! Ilan pa ba ang kailangang maging biktima para magising ang ating mga mambabatas? Ilang wake-up call na ata ang umalingawngaw at mistulang wala pang nagigising mula dito. WTF! 

I am not against any frat and soro that practices hazing. I am not even against someone who would like to join orgs, frats, and soros. I would even promote joining groups that someone think would help them grow as individual. Dapat lang na maging maingat ang mga leaders ng frat and soro sa kanilang ginagawa. They should have a way to measure if the neophyte can endure the pain or not. As part of the recruitment process, the frat and soro should have school representatives that would shoulder the responsibility of ensuring the safety of the neophytes at hindi lang parang underground ang process na hindi na nagiging makatao. 

The point of joining an organization, frat, and soro is to be part of something that shares your ideals, a group that you can identify yourself, a group that you can develop your leadership and not to die or suffer pain just to become member. Hindi naman maiintidihan ng mga “Barbarians” ang hirap and joys of joining an organization, frat, or soro. Hindi rin naman nila maiintidihan ang sense of “brotherhood”. Sana lang wala ng mamatay sa proseso makasali lang sa isang samahan. Sana wala ng madagdag sa linya ng mga pamilyang humihingi ng hustisya para sa kanilang anak na nagsisipag-aral at yun pala binubugbog lang. 

Kailangan ng ngipin ng ating batas pero bago yun kailangang mabigyan ng matibay na toothpaste ang ating mga mambabatas upang hindi na magkaroon ng tar-tar ang ating batas at ng sagayon tumibay ang ngipin nito at ng makagat ang lahat ng lumalabag dito.

Justice for Reglos! Justice for Marcos! 

Been regular to Spaghetti Factory at Glorietta 5 because of the awesome and uberly delectable Italian foods. I love the taste, the ambiance of the restaurant, the service, and of course, my friends who gets to eat with me. :)

Of course, there are tons of bad things that I can identify when I am sick but for a change I counted some of the good things that I can say is good when I am sick. I was sick for almost 2 days but it was nothing serious though. It was just diarrhea. I had to file a day off my job and stay at my boarding house for the whole day. So, here are some of the good things I discovered when sick:

1. Rest. A lot of rest. Nakahiga lang ako buong araw sa aking higaan doing nothing. I had ample sleep. My body was able to recuperate and recover.

2. Free from stress. Walang stress. As in. Well, ang nakakapagpa-stress lang naman sa akin ay ang aking trabaho pero mabuti na lang that I was not called by my boss thru my phone to ask for something about office matters.

3. Knowing who cares. Although, I did not inform the majority everyone that I was sick, some people extended their concerns. Alam naman ng parents ko ang nangyari and I am so thankful that my mom frequently texts me get follow-up on my status. A few friends also called and texted for me to get well and recover soon. Thank goodness that we now have cellphones. Malayo ako sa parents ko but I appreciate it when they text me asking how I am.

Getting sick away from my family was hard but because of the right medicines, water, fruits, lots of prayers, and frequent text messages from my mom all made me well. Medyo magaling na ako. Slowly getting there. Nonetheless, namiss ko ang maging busy at ang magtrabaho.

Free Lunch!!!

Treats coming from my boss is like once-in-a-blue-moon. He seldom treat us for lunch nor give us pasalubong whenever he was out of town or the country. Well, he’s a Chinese which are known to being so frugal. That once-in-a-blue-moon occasion happened today when he treat us for lunch at Figaro Company. I can pretty much pay for my lunch but opportunities like this should be grabbed immediately.

I ordered Figaros Tuscan Chicken. It comes with a Tuscan Chicken with tomato sauce, pasta, some salad, and an iced tea. I liked the serving. It was not that large for a hungry eater but it was enough to satisfy one’s hunger. It was not that heavy despite the combination of the chicken and the pasta. I love the tomato sauce on the chicken. I can really taste the tomatoes. The chicken was perfectly grilled. It was not oily. I like the pasta but I think it was a bit dry. Next time I’d try getting pesto.The salad was okay. It was not plenty and I think I should have ordered the garden salad.The ice tea seemed to look like a gulaman(a drink with sago and a lot of ice) but it tasted very good. I love it.

The price was reasonable given the food, combination of meat and vegetable, presentation, and the very nice surrounding.

Hmmm, the experience with the food is great. It is highly commendable for a person on diet who prefers to eat high protein, some vegies, and slightly low carb meals. Yummy, delectable, affordable.

Thank you Boss!

Photo source: chefwardskitchen.com

Lately, President Benigno ‘Noy-noy’ Aquino III has been receiving harsh comments from his critics on his inaction on the pressing issues happening around the country. As explained in a website ‘Noynoying’ is a term coined by youth protesters, as a means to protest Aquino’s supposed inaction in several social issues such as increasing prices of fuel, state of education, among others. ‘Noynoying’ is also associated with idling on the job or simply doing nothing.