rain rain go away

Today, upon serving breakfast, my daughters were singing "rain rain go away" and I found myself singing with them, and I was so carried-away. "come again another day-come again another day". Our singing became a chant now. I even pictured myself as Sarah Geronimo in the movie Special Love doing the sun dance.

Hindi naman ako galit sa ulan. Actually, the first song that I taught my youngest daughter is "Basang Basa sa Ulan" by the Aegis and my daughter is scoring 89 at our karaoke when I can hardly score 83 hahaha. I also knew that ulan is good for mother earth, it is also the nature's way of filtering the air. Tapos, if there's typhoon, of course, not just classes are suspended but sometimes even works too, then it's so sarap to eat champorado and tuyo and sarap also to cuddle in bed with the kids habang bumabagyo (c'mon Mikah give that unan to Tala, that's hers!)

Kaso lang sometimes ulan is so LABO talaga. (I'm sorry ulan, it's not you, It's me.) Cge its ok for you to come, but please not now, cguro some other time na lang, bsta not now kc schedule ng buhos ng flooring ng house renovation ko pano na titigas ung semento wahhhhhh. Now i'm starting to sing "Sunshine, my only sunshine". But wait, uyy tumitila na!!! Yipeee. I hope the sun will shine in all its glory in the next few hours. If not, lagot na, my target date for the house renovation to finish will be moved from October 15 to Oct 16, which means another 1,600 will add up to the labor cost. Eh pano kung umulan bukas, at sa isang bukas, at sa isa pang bukas?? hayyyyy. C'mon kids lets do the sundance.

are you ready?

I was sitting in front of my computer when I saw my cork board shaking a little, then it stopped then I felt a little dizzy. First I thought maybe this is caused by my last night's lack of sleep due to the usual work overtime. After a few minutes, it shakes again, stronger this time. I can now feel our office building shuddering. I think it lasted for a few seconds. This strange, wild thrilling motion and rumbling, I could not be mistaken, we experienced an earthquake, and now we're on panic mode.

The first thing that came to our mind is to call our loved ones at home, to check if they're ok. Although we're not sure if it occurred in the entire Luzon, we still checked the online news. Thanks to GMAnews.tv, they kept us updated. Phivolcs recorded at 11:04am, Sep 27, a magnitude 5 quake with epicenter at 72 km southwest of Batangas, 73 km west of Calapan in Mindoro, or 146 km south-southwest of Manila.

No matter where you are, know how to protect yourself and your family during an earthquake. Here are some simple tips that will help us during earthquakes:

1. Practice taking cover as if there were an earthquake and learn the safest places in your home and work.

2. Practice getting out of your home and check to see if the planned exits are clear and if they can become blocked in an earthquake.

3. Practice turning off your electricity and water.

4. When in a HIGH-RISE BUILDING, move against an interior wall if you are not near a desk or table. Protect your head and neck with your arms. Do not use the elevators.

5. When OUTDOORS, move to a clear area away from trees, signs, buildings, or downed electrical wires and poles.

6. When on a SIDEWALK NEAR BUILDINGS, duck into a doorway to protect yourself from falling bricks, glass, plaster and other debris.

7. When DRIVING, pull over to the side of the road and stop. Avoid overpasses and power lines. Stay inside your vehicle until the shaking stops.

8. When in a CROWDED STORE OR OTHER PUBLIC PLACE, move away from display shelves containing objects that could fall. Do not rush for the exit.

9. When in a STADIUM OR THEATER, stay in your seat, get below the level of the back seat and cover your head and neck with your arms.

A little knowledge and a few precautionary measures can enormously increase your chances of surviving an earthquake - or any other type of hazard. The keys are education and preparing in advance. These earthquake safety tips will not make you an expert. However, they could make a life-saving difference if you find yourself in an earthquake situation.

does it matter?

This item was in Yahoo News, and I wanted to share it with everybody:

Outing gives Potter passages new meaning

By HILLEL ITALIE, AP National Writer Sun Oct 21, 2:06 PM ET

NEW YORK - With author J.K. Rowling’s revelation that master wizard Albus Dumbledore is gay, some passages about the Hogwarts headmaster and rival wizard Gellert Grindelwald have taken on a new and clearer meaning.

The British author stunned her fans at Carnegie Hall on Friday night when she answered one young reader’s question about Dumbledore by saying that he was gay and had been in love with Grindelwald, whom he had defeated years ago in a bitter fight.

“‘You cannot imagine how his ideas caught me, Harry, inflamed me,’” Dumbledore says in “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” the seventh and final book in Rowling’s record-breaking fantasy series.

The news brought gasps, then applause at Carnegie Hall, the last stop on Rowling’s brief U.S. tour, and set off thousands of e-mails on Potter fan Web sites around the world. Some were dismayed, others indifferent, but most were supportive.

“Jo Rowling calling any Harry Potter character gay would make wonderful strides in tolerance toward homosexuality,” Melissa Anelli, webmaster of the fan site http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_en_ot/storytext/books_potter_dumbledore/24904963/SIG=113415unb/*http:/www.the-leaky-cauldron.org, told The Associated Press. “By dubbing someone so respected, so talented and so kind, as someone who just happens to be also homosexual, she’s reinforcing the idea that a person’s gayness is not something of which they should be ashamed.”

“‘DUMBLEDORE IS GAY’ is quite a headline to stumble upon on a Friday evening, and it’s certainly not what I expected,” added Potter fan Patrick Ross, of Rutherford, N.J. “(But) a gay character in the most popular series in the world is a big step for Jo Rowling and for gay rights.”

Gellert Grindelwald was a dark wizard of great power, who terrorized people much in the same way Harry’s nemesis, Lord Voldemort, was to do a generation later. Readers hear of him in the first book, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” in a reference to how Dumbledore defeated him. In “Deathly Hallows,” readers learn they once had been best friends.

“Neither Dumbledore nor Grindelwald ever seems to have referred to this brief boyhood friendship in later life,” Rowling writes. “However, there can be no doubt that Dumbledore delayed, for some five years of turmoil, fatalities, and disappearances, his attack upon Gellert Grindelwald. Was it lingering affection for the man or fear of exposure as his once best friend that caused Dumbledore to hesitate?”

As a young man, Dumbledore, brilliant and powerful, had been forced to return home to look after his mentally ill younger sister and younger brother. It was a task he admits to Harry that he resented, because it derailed the bright future he had been looking forward to.

Then Grindelwald, described by Rowling as “golden-haired, merry-faced,” arrived after having been expelled from his own school. Grindelwald’s aunt, Bathilda Bagshot, says of their meeting: “The boys took to each other at once.” In a letter to Grindelwald, Dumbledore discusses their plans for gaining wizard dominance: “‘(I)f you had not been expelled we would never have met.’”

Potter readers had speculated about Dumbledore, noting that he has no close relationship with women and a mysterious, troubled past.

“Falling in love can blind us to an extent,” Rowling said Friday of Dumbledore’s feelings about Grindelwald, adding that Dumbledore was “horribly, terribly let down.”

Dumbledore’s love, she observed, was his “great tragedy.”


If JKR declared that Dumbledore is gay, then he's gay. Afterall, she created them.

attack of the "susong hapon"

Since our house renovation started, we've been sleeping at my Aunt's house for about a week now and everyday I've been awaken by their shoutings at their garden. But because I cant hardly sleep at night (namamahay daw - my ninang's term) I always woke up late and always in a hurry attending to my kids daily morning needs, I didn't have much time to ask them what's going on.

Today's a little different, though. I woke up earlier than usual. It made me feel a little better. At least I don’t have to rush my kids on taking their breakfast and they wont miss their school service again. And i can also ask my ninang what's the early-morning-garden-noise is all about.

As i came to look at my ninang's garden, I was shocked to see what's making my ninang so upset. There were snails all over her garden! When I started counting them, they're almost near to 140. And they're everywhere! On the grass, hanging on walls, branches and leaves, some sticking on the flowers, driftwood and even on my ninang's cactus plants. And they ate almost everything that passed their way. My ninang said that these snails climbed their way through the walls from the adjoining vacant lot beside them. She said that everyday, although she spent hours in removing these snails from her garden, she wondered "bakit hindi maubos ubos ang mga lintek na ito".

Well here are some slugs facts I read that would answer all my ninang's questions.

Snails' bodies produce a thick slime. Because of this slime, they can crawl across the edge of a razor and not get hurt.- that's why they reached my ninang's cactus plants.

Snails are hermaphrodites which means that they have both male and female reproductive organs - that's why hindi sila maubos ubos ;D.

Snails cannot hear - kahit mautas si ninang kakasigaw, snails continue to raid her garden hahahaha

Snails can retract one or both of their tentacles at a time - now you see them, now you dont

Because of the suction created by their slime, a snail can crawl upside down - kaya pala pati sa bubong nakarating sila

Snails are nocturnal animals which means they are more active at night - apo ni dracula?


The garden snail is cooked and eaten as a delicacy called escargot - ewwwwww


My ninang is planning to buy some pesticides this afternoon to get rid of these slugs so hopefully tomorrow morning, no more shoutings at my ninang's garden hahahaha.

raymund marasigan

This is the letter of Mr. Raymund Marasigan right after the Reunion Concert.

"SKATE OR DIE"
skate or die
Posted by: “raymund marasigan”
to whom it may concern
i dont usually rant but ive been hearing reports about people questioning why we played saguijo after the concert.
first things first. when marlboro pulled out and cancelled the show a week ago, the band was free of all obligation to play the show. if it was about the money we could have just walked away fully paid no explanations to the press or anybody. free from the contract. the band decided to play nevertheless. the tickets and the prices was for the new promoters to buy out the production from philip morris to put it simply. contrary to what some people think it takes money to stage a concert. stage, lights, and video screens don’t magically grow out of the ground. that’s what the ticket prices were for. the band was not in the negotiation meetings between the the two promoters and we did not want to be in the meetings.
personally i said just call me cos i’m ready to rock. no extra pay no contract negotiations. as far as the eheads was concerned were out of the contract.
but here’s what you dont understand. playing music is what we do. we play when we’re happy, play when we’re sad, play when we’re angry, play when we’re sick, play til we die.
painters paint, writers write, my skateboarding friends skate or die. when u ask nba superstars what they do in their spare time. they play basketball. us musicians, we play. thats what we do. getting paid is a bonus. i will not apologize for that. when we don’t get paid we still play.
we played saguijo because we wanted to, we needed to. our hearts and souls dictated it. we could just go home and sleep. we did not talk about it. there was no invites there was no plan. we did not get paid. we borrowed equipment.
yes ely knew about it. buddy told him the next day. yes pupil was in saguijo too.
yes marcus buddy and i have lost a parent. we know how it feels.
ive been playing music for more than 30 years. professionally since 1993.there have been a few times when it was me who was unable to continue the set due to illness. albeit it was a lesser scale and (thankfully)never reported. it was nonetheless life threatening.ive had a run in with losing my voice, food poisoning, diarreah (embarassing) and a few more i do not care to mention that involved blood and bones. i had to drop out of the set from the eheads, cambio and sandwich. thankfully there was always someone there to finish the set for me. and i am thankful that they were there. i did not feel bad. ive also saved a few shows from other bands when shit happens. we dont plan this and we dont complain but we still play.
my bmx friends ride with broken bones.
if we finished the eheads show that night you would STILL have found us in guijo playing after.
yes i visited ely in the hospital yesterday. i hope he recovers soon. we have a show to finish.
music is life ill only stop playing when i die.

feel free to replace music with your own passion.
ever since grade 3 when i discovered the yamaha portable keyboard .i never stopped playing music.and before that i played records on my portable turntable.
before school, after school, summer and christmas breaks, when i was alone, when i was with friends i found time to play music.
like all the kids in my street i played street games. i could kick anybody’s ass in sipa (betamax vid) i was good in tumbang preso but i sucked at jolen.
in my little barrio, we played everything plus more (than the city kids) we climbed trees, swam rivers, walked railroad tracks and rice paddies, hiked hills , everything rural kids do.
there was also street basketball, bmx, breakdancing and girls.
in between all of this i always found time to play music.
i knew from that early age that it flowed in my veins.
so don’t judge me when i want to play.
with or without an audience, with or without pay.
i play when i fall in love, when my heart gets broken. playing music healed me when i lost my father. i played when my daughter was born. (sandwich played baguio the next day).i wake up in the middle of the night to record tracks in my undies. paradiddles help get me through road rage.
it sounds corny but music really is my life and most of my friend’s lives.
i find it upsetting that i’m ranting and trying to defend myself from insensitive people hiding under a pseudonym.
the next day after the concert i was still blue but i managed to finish a remix for bagetsafonik.
today, to get myself out of a blue funk in bed. i worked on 9 tracks for a hip hop project with rock ed.
last night. i skated with mong at the fort. i don’t call myself a
skateboarder. i just cruise and try to pop some ollies but the real skaters skate with swollen ankles, bruised wrists and (mong) murdered toenails.
i bumped into them tonight after dinner. they were smiling and full of life at midnight. not injured and defeated.
like me, they can’t stop.
zappa said “shut up and play yer guitar”


make no mistake. i’m not shoving my music to everybody. in fact my neighbors are probably tired of it haha. some of my closest friends and family have no desire to listen to it. my daughter didn’t even know who the eraserheads were when teachers were asking about reunion rumors. as far as she knows, the good thing about that big show was trashing my hotel room with buddy and marcus’ kids, the big swimming pool and the air conditioned tents backstage.
if you like what you hear, thank you. if you don’t, feel free to try something else. i don’t like anchovies myself.
i was admittedly hesitant about the first reunion. i was not sure if i could handle the pressure and crap that came with it.
at this very moment. i’m actually thinking of doing it again. (when ely gets well and strong of course)
i watched a kid fall after trying to kick flip a 7 step stairway in u.p. he failed 5 times. but kept getting up. dusted himself . made some adjustments until he finally nailed it. we all cheered and went home smiling.
somehow i know how it feels.

99 days more

"I don't want a lot for Christmas there is just one thing I need.."

As this song of Maria Carey keep on playing over and over again in my ITunes, I can't help but get exited. In barely 99 days, Christmas will be here. And people will again be sending gifts and wishing each other "Merry Christmas". Thinking of what gift to give to people who almost have everything that money can buy is hard and even harded when you don't have enough resources (as in my case). Between high gas prices and consumers’ fears of a financial squeeze, it seems as if a nice Christmas is out of the picture this year. But we can try something different like giving something more personal which the receiver will get to appreciate more than buying expensive and boring gifts from the malls. And the only way to prevent yourself from the "Christmas Burden" is to plan ahead of time. Here are few of the things I wish I could to to save money:

Avoid Buying Gifts, Except For The Kids- hehehe, how about not buying gifts for the folks? Anyway, Christmas is not just buying stuff anyway (hehehe I hope makaya ko ito)

Open a Savings Account - with all the company bonuses, 13th month pays, tax refunds, and money gifts that we can get from generous bosses, we can start saving up by opening an bank account. After the Christmas Rush, all of us will end up broke due to the "walang patumanggang paggastos" and this savings account will back us up on the coming year.

Make a wishlist to avoid unwanted gifts and stick to it. OK, this year, we, adults are not buying gifts for each other. We are only buying gifts for the kids. So, when we did buy gifts we would give a list of ideas of gifts we would want. Therefore, no standing in return lines the day after Christmas, every kid got what they wanted!

Go Potluck! When celebrating Christmas with the whole clan, you buy the spaghetti, have everyone else bring the side dishes and drinks. Anyway, I think other family members will gonna like this idea too.

Break up gift sets. (OK, I can't avoid giving gifts to folks hehehe). If you find an item that comes in a gift set at Christmas, give parts of it to different recipients.This is great for stationery set, mugs, toy sets and towel sets.

Make memories - Keep the gifts small and inexpensive and give to them while singing a Christmas song substituting your gifts for the lyrics. (kahit sintunado pwede na at least you tried). In this case, it really is the thought that counts. Have fun with your ideas. Humor is mandatory. Your loved one will be so impressed with your efforts that the lavishness of the gift will barely matter.

Gift-giving shouldn't be stressful. Christmas isn't about fighting crowds at the mall or lavishing children with toys they'll lose interest in someday. At kahit palasak na at corny pakinggan still, it really is the thought that counts. So, put down your ATM/Credit card and start thinking creatively. Spread the love, not the consumer goods, this holiday season.

Advance Merry Christmas!!!

enlightened

Many of us consider job as not a work but more of an income. It's an important part of who we are. So a career transition of any kind can be one of the most unsettling experiences you can face in your life.

This morning, least than what I expected, we were called for a meeting by the company's president. Although I do have an insignificant idea why, still I chose to be clueless. The meeting brought us news, one good, and one - well not so bad.

Not so bad news first. We were given individual letters. And from the enlightenment of the president, it said there that the company has engaged the services of a certain CBRE, to , what else, manage the affairs of the company and for this matter, we are now being terminated for the reason of job redundancy. Wasn't it awesome??

But here's the good news. We will be given a separation package equivalent to one month of service +++++ net of applicable government taxes. And will be given to us the soonest time possible. Wasn't it so good then??

I am a very optimistic person and its not yet the end of the world for me. Optimism has given me the drive to search for alternatives so I will never run out of open doors. If I can't make it through one door, I'll go through another door, or I'll just make another door. I know something tremendous will come no matter how dark the way is. You see, positive thinking is the key to success in work, life, play, anything that you can mention. So, wish me luck.

can't be with romeo

meeting again after moments or lifetime is certain to those who care...




I just had to share this with people that believes and understands.

I met him 11 years ago. I wasn’t really looking for anything and he wasn’t either except for someone to talk to and listen and maybe help with some advice seeing how he had a bad marriage. We did become involved and no matter how we tried to fight it we just couldn’t. But since it put me in a very compromising situation, we decided to part ways after a year. Then I got married, had kids, and for some reasons, incompatibility and pride to mention a few, the marriage didn't work well too. And it ended earlier than I expected.

Many years passed and I never heard a word from him until a few days ago when I got a message on Friendster. All it said was "I just wanted to say hello and let you know I am ok". I was floored because I felt in my heart that he still cares for me. I wrote him back and I was amazed to find out that for so many years, he still had the same feelings he once had for me and how miserable his life living the same bad marriage he once mentioned. He said that all he wanted in his life was to be with me. I told him that the same crossed my mind once. But things are different now and trying is not an option. Right there and then, i said goodbye. And saying goodbye maybe isn’t the hard part, it’s what we leave behind that’s tough. Maybe even thougher when goodbye was said the second time around. Until this moment, I never understood how hard it was to lose something you never had. And the chances of finding your soulmate are so slim but to lose them and then get them back just to lose them again-"regret" and "hurt" may not be the right words to express how it felt...

what's your star

I'm not into astrology but as what it said about being born under the Leo sign, there are some points that really match he he he ;) wonder if it is coincidence or just my thinking.. whatever.. he he anyway, here it is.




LEO (23 JULY TO 22 AUGUST)
(THE LION, FIXED, FIRE, SUN)

Fun to be with. Secretive. Difficult to fathom and to be understood. Quiet unless excited or tensed. Takes pride in oneself. Has reputation. Easily consoled. Honest. Concerned about people’s feelings. Tactful. Friendly. Approachable. Emotional temperamental and unpredictable. Moody and easily hurt. Witty and sparkly. Not revengeful. Forgiving but never forgets. Dislikes nonsensical and unnecessary things. Guides others physically and mentally. Sensitive and forms impressions carefully. Caring and loving. Treats others equally. Strong sense of sympathy. Wary and sharp. Judges people through observations. Hardworking. No difficulties in studying. Loves to be alone. Always broods about the past and the old friends. Likes to be quiet. Homely person. Waits for friends. Never looks for friends. Not aggressive unless provoked. Prone to having stomach and dieting problems. Loves to be loved. Easily hurt but takes long to recover.

tolerance

it's been almost 6 years since me & my husband separated and its not too short of a time to say we haven't moved on yet. indeed i moved on. but few days ago when me and my eldest daughter were going to a local store nearby, we came pass a lady neighbor. my daughter then asked me something that's so deafening. "mommy, what is a broken home?" i asked her what made her ask that. she said that this lady neighbor that we passed by once asked her how she felt now that she has a broken home.. My goodness, how can people be so cruel!? i knew that one day my daughter is going to ask me about my status with her father, but i'm not expecting that it will be that way. we'll at my calmest self, i just answer "baby, maybe because the house is damaged or the people living in it have broken arms and legs that's why it is called a broken home. is our house damaged? are we broken?" my daughter just laugh, i don't know if its about the idea of having broken limbs but i know eventually she will understand...

expressionless

i've been a reader of blogs for quiet sometime now and i've been itching to have my own. but what kept me uncertain about it is my friend/boss/mentor that kept saying that blogs are for KSPs only (kulang sa pansin for that matter). well, if pinocchio was a real thing he might envy my nose when i told my boss that im no KSP & i have no plans of having one :p

hah! the hell! im starting to have my own blog now and nobody's gonna stop me :D

im so exited, i just hope that i can keep this up regardless of all the pressure hehehe (pressure daw o!)

why prettystepdaughters? that you will know when the right time comes. so now im giving you reasons why you should watch out for my upcoming posts hehehehe. (my sadistic nature strikes again tantaran!!!)

but for now, i think i need first a little help on this html thing. i wanna design my blog to make it look at least well uhm-wholesome.