sarap saya sa sea

It’s the start of summer and the adiks thought it’s the perfect time to go on a picnic. Kaya nag-outing kami sa Al-Bahar kahapon. Ega took on the responsibility and organized everything kasama na ang mag-abono sa mga expenses! Hehehe….

It was about 5pm when we hit the Al-Bahar picnic Area 4. Dami food including Raoul’s yummy kare-kare, Tito Bong’s sisig, Orgee’s beef adobo at syempre ang Ren and Romme’s grill – churning out delicious hotdogs, pusit and chicken. Kaya ang mga adik, hindi swimming ang inuna, kain muna!

At saka lang nag-swimming. I thought I was brave enough to join Ren, Tito Bong, Irwin, Eton, Matt, Ega, Ricky and Orgee who took a dip. Pero hanggang hita pa lang ang nababasa, I had to scamper back to the shore. Malamig pa rin ang tubig and the wind is a bit chilly. Kaya pala panay ang sigaw ni Orgee! Akala ko nakagat ng dikya ang curvaceous butt! Hehehe… At ang ibang nagsu-swimming, umahon na. Hindi tuloy umabot si Raoul eh pinag-hirapan pa namang hipan yong isang malaking salbabida! Hahaha…

With the swimming part cut short, nag-games na lang kami courtesy of Game Master Ricky. Riot ang first game (was it pinoy henyo, adik version?) where I failed miserably on two geographical challenges – Bataan at malay ko bang Malaysia yon! Talo tuloy kami ng team ni Raoul.

The second game was even wackier – (charades, again, adik version!) where we’ve seen a couple of adiks showing off their hidden talents – Ega his dancing skills and Eton his butt! Riot talaga at ang ingay siguro namin umaabot sa industrial area! This is the kind of fun na kahit anong gawin ng isang pathetic bystander eh wala kaming pakialam!

At about 8:30 pm, we left the area with most of the adiks saving my tuna and salami sandwiches for baon! Marami pa po yan, pwede pa for another picnic!

Anyways, here are a few unofficial shots. Galing lang po sa camera ko while Matt is still processing his shots. See how the adiks enjoyed it to the max!

from bees in apples to a chinese in the gulf

last wednesday, out of the blue, nagka-yayaang mag-dinner ang apat na adik sa applebees, the latest addition to the dining choices in jubail. actually, galing na ako doon with three friends the wednesday before. medyo hindi maganda ang experience ko having seen some ufo - unidentified floating objects - at the bottom of my iced tea.

though i don't wanna give up on the place easily kaya niyaya ko ulit ang mga adik and as i said to the kabayang waiter, i'm giving them a second chance.


but it looks like it will not rank as one of my faves dito sa jubail. kahit si kabayan was just too eager na makabawi sa negative impression ko during my first visit, there were other small things that just doesn't fit my criteria of a favorite dining place.


idagdag pa yong hindi magandang narinig ng grupo while we're being ushered in. hmmm... matatagalan na siguro akong bumalik dito. unless may ibang maglilibre sa akin! heheheh...

here's a few pics from that place anyway, by matt who fortunately has got his camera with him that day. buti na lang magaganda yong flowers sa harap ng panda...


kahapon naman, kasi sweldo, nag-treat na naman si ega. back to gulf royal chinese restaurant naman ang mga adik. na dahil maaga pa, ayan, nag-hintay sa labas ng restaurant na parang naghihintay sa pagbubukas ng audition ng american idol! inip na inip si raoul na hindi na natuloy ang pagpunta ng saco. on our way home, eton gave us a demo of his hidden talent! we were blown - literally! hahahaha!

OWWAwang OFW

Back in December, I posted somewhere here one reaction sa isang news report where an OWWA official made some stupid remarks while opposing the idea of giving special exchange rate to OFWs. Eto yong kainitan ng issue ng paghingi ng mga OFW ng tulong sa gobyerno dahil sa patuloy na pagbaba ng palitan ng dolyar.

Judging from the e-mails I received expressing their support and sympathy to what I wrote, I think it reached a large number of OFWs. Marami ang nag-email sa akin saying they share the same sentiment towards the situation.

I also sent it to the source of the news report – GMA Tv hoping that it would reach not only OFW’s but anybody in the government na may natitira pang awa at konsensiya para sa mga tulad nating nagpapaka-hirap magtrabaho sa ibang bansa. Kaya lang, pagkatapos kong ma-send yong mail ko, I never had the time to check back and find out what happened to it. Nagbakasyon kasi ako.

Ngayon ko lang naalalang tingnan yong GMA site and I was pleased to find out that my mail was published along with feedback from other angry OFW’s na iba-iba man ang ginamit na salita, iisa pa rin ang pinupuntahan – disgust over the insensitive OWWA official who started the whole brouhaha. (see http://www.gmanews.tv/story/71343/OWWA-exec-rules-out-special-forex-rate-for-OFWs)

What made me check on that message is the latest news about OWWA-POEA officials who were found by COA to be stealing from our funds – something to the tune of 40 million pesos! At halos 800,000 pesos na ginamit para sa cell phone allowances.

Gusto ko ngayong balikan yong OWWA official na si Devanadera na nagsabi ng kung ano-anong ka-istupiduhan. Things like teaching our families to spend wisely tapos yon pala, nanakawin lang nila ang pondo natin para gamitin sa cell phone nila to download ringtones and games!

OWWA fund is said to have hit the $10billion mark. Dapat bantayan na natin ito dahil siguradong mapupunta na naman ito sa mga bulsa ng mga kurakot sa gobyerno natin. Ayan nga at nag-umpisa na sila. 40 million pesos stolen from us na wala tayong kalaban-laban. Samantalang maraming run-away abused OFW’s ang naghihintay ng repatriation sa mga consulate sa Saudi. Hindi raw maka-uwi dahil walang pang-bili ng ticket ang gobyerno! Yon pala ninanakaw lang ng mga masisibang buwaya!

Ang tanong ko ngayon, totoo kayang 40 million pesos pa lang ang nananakaw sa atin? Hindi kaya mas malaki pa, at bago pa natin mamalayan, totoo palang wala nang pondo ang OWWA dahil nakurakot na? Nasaan nga ba ang OWWA fund na ito? Is it safely tucked in some reputable financial institution in the country? Or is it already under an escrow account in the Cayman Islands under the name of several OWWA officials?

Sa tagal ko nang OFW and having paid so much that contributed to that fund, I’d prefer na ibalik na lang sa akin ang payments ko. Not in any kind – cash. Kesa mapunta sa bulsa ng mga walang puso, ganid at mga swapang na opisyales ng gobyerno.

the latest... and sizzling hottest

Past 1am na nang makatulog ako kagabi that’s why I feel a bit grumpy today. With just 5 hours of sleep, ayaw mag-work ng utak at katawan ko in unison. Blame it on the blogsite I picked up from one of the tabloids. Balak ko sanang usyusuhin lang kasi I was so intrigued why such a blog would have an average of 36,600 visits a day! That’s 1,500 hits per hour na halos 2 months hit ng blog ko no!

Well, visiting that site at 10:30pm turned out to be a huge mistake. Coz the posts and comments sucked me in completely and before I knew it, super late na. Eh regular workday pa naman. Ironically, I was reading up on people who doesn’t have to wake up early just to go to a day job. Maybe not many of them has a day job. And I can bet my life none of them has ever had the experience being an OFW. They’d probably cringe just hearing the word.

I’m talking about Brian Gorrell’s blog http://delfindjmontano.blogspot.com/ . Brian who? Well, he’s the HIV positive Australian who put up this blog basically to drum up attention (bad, that is) towards his Filipino lover, a certain DJ Montano, who, according to Brian, fleeced him of US70,000 (more than 3 million pesos!).

Ang kwento ni Brian, he and DJ were lovers and he was duped by DJ into financing a restaurant business somewhere in Makati. Kaya nahuthutan sya ng $70,000 dollars. However, lumabas na walang restaurant, nawala na rin yong pera. And now the poor Aussie is asking DJ to give him back his money which he need to sustain medication for his rather expensive illness.

But beyond the fights, fits, police arrests, crying and loads of drama, it is more than a story of gay lovers gone gruesome. Kasi si DJ – as pictured by Brian – was a social-climbing jerk, kaya ang pangalan ng mga kaibigan ni DJ na nasa high society were unnecessarily dragged into the melee.

Figuring prominently is Celine Lopez who is DJ’s best friend. Kasama sya sa mga himutok ni Brian for siding with DJ. Kaya may mga kwento rin si Brian plus pictures ni Celine putting her in a rather embarrassing situation. Damay-damay na dahil nasama na ang iba pang millionaires and socialites na mga kaibigan nila (Celine and DJ). Collectively, they are tagged “Gucci Gang” na dahil jologs naman ako at hindi ‘belong’ to the crème de la crème of Manila’s finest, iilang names lang familiar sa akin like Amanda Griffin and Tim Yap. Miachael Crespo is vaguely familiar.

And although Brian’s intention was to humiliate DJ to get his money back, umanak na ng umanak yong issue. Pag may nagpo-post at nabanggit ang isang pangalan na porke kaibigan ni Celine o kaiban ng kaibigan ni Celine, ayun na, umaatikabong dissing na ang ginagawa (I don’t really know kung mga sosyal nga ang nagpo-post kasi ang spelling ng iba ay dishing! Duh!).

So it turned out na kaya hit yong blog, for two main reasons.

First is the usual Pinoy notion of pakikiramay dahil lumabas nga na agrabyado si Brian. No matter how unverified his story is, ang mga kababayan natin are more than just willing to hug him and lend a comforting word or two. Readily disowning, lambasting and heckling DJ na galing daw sa isang prominenteng pamilya in Cavite.

The second, and most controversial reason why netizens flock to the site (mind you, karamihan talaga Pinoy ang visitors), is the fact that it offered a venue where our kababayans, lalo na yong mga tulad kong intrigued sa lifestyle of the rich and famous, get juicy bits of nasty rumors tungkol sa mga taong ito courtesy of people who are supposedly in the know. Ito yong mga chismis na hindi pwedeng i-print ng kahit anong lifestyle magazine or else they will end up with multiple libel cases.

Along with those nasty rumors is the chance for our kababayans, ke jologs din silang tulad ko or talagang mga elite din, the chance to bash these socialites freely, and most importantly, anonymously.

Eto na yong opportunity to get back on these self-aggrandizing creatures who must have stepped on their toes while dancing wildly at The Embassy. O yong mga nag-taas ng kilay at umisnab sa kanila nang magkasalubong sila sa Power Plant. Or those brandishing their Louis Vuitton bags in front of somebody na can’t afford bumili kaya lumuluwa ang mata sa inggit.

And get back they did! Ayan at umuulan ng mga kwento na si ganito eh cocaine junkie, si ganitong asawa ni ganito eh bading who will do anything just for a gram of coke or a pill of ecstasy. Mga kwento at accusations na ke totoo o hindi are sure to cause sleepless nights for the names mentioned. Explosive anecdotes that can shatter someone’s reputation and destroy his/her social status.

While browsing through the comments, I realized one thing. Malalim na ang galit ng mga Pinoy sa mga mayayaman. Specially to these breed of young millionaires who are enjoying la dolce vita amidst the poverty that’s killing their fellow countrymen. The social divide can no longer be ignored. It is a reality waiting to explode right into the faces of those in both sides of the ever-widening gap.

Magpo-post sana ako ng comment just to commiserate with Bryan kung totoo nga na naloko sya. But then I had second thought. Baka hindi commiseration ang gawin ko. Pagagalitan ko pa sya kasi nagpa-uto sya ng ganon-ganon lang. Hindi na sya minor at hindi naman siya illiterate to have trusted someone with that amount of money. Or siguro, talaga lang trusting soul sya. And that trusting has now led him into the pits.

Kung totoo ito, dagdag kahihiyan na naman sa atin. Kahit lesser evil ang embezzlement compared to graft and corruption, magkaka-mag-anak pa rin yon. Iisa pa rin ang ibig sabihin, na tayo ay mga pusakal, dupang at gahaman pag pera ang pag-uusapan. Boy, what a reputation we are making at the international scene, really.

As for the socialite-bashing, well, I really don’t care. Kung may kakilala lang siguro ako sa mga name na sinasabi nila, makiki-join ako. Mudslinging at it’s finest, saan ka pa! Kaya lang I was looking for one name na sabi kamag-anak ni Elvira Manahan, hindi ko naman nakita! Pasalamat ka Orgee! Hahaahahah!!!

what i believe in... or don't

I have a previous posting somewhere in this blog that deals with the story of the crucifixion as presented by a BBC documentary program. It basically said that in all practicality, Jesus wouldn’t have been nailed to the cross the way it was depicted in images widely used by the Christian populace.

The argument is that if Jesus indeed took the form of a normal person, then his weight will not allow him to stay suspended in that position for an extended period of time in the cross as the Christians were led to believe.

I wouldn’t want to sound blasphemous nor sacrilegious, but let me say I have the slightest tendency to somehow agree with that documentary. Maybe because I have been analyzing and probing things about my belief since the time I’ve started relying on my own discernment.

You see, I’m a Roman Catholic by birth. But I’ve been exposed to several other faiths while growing up. And even if I chose to remain a Catholic, these exposures allowed me to question things, find reason, and in the end, come up with ideas that I would rather believe in instead of blindly swallowing what has been shoved down my throat since my grade school catechism classes.

I kept an open mind on teachings that offer better explanation of things that are unclear to me. Or ideas that offer answers to question that were rather left to mere faith and thus, unresolved.

That is why I’m not a great fan of the crucifix and religious figures. If these figures represent holiness to most Christians, to me, it represents an outright disregard of what the Holy Bible said. I’m not sure what book, verse or chapter it was but I know for a fact that somewhere in the Old Testament, God said He is a very jealous God and He is not happy to see people worship idols and figures. That is why he destroyed what the Israelites were worshipping while waiting for Moses who came back with the Ten Commandments.

That is why I don’t understand why the church came up with photographic renditions, paintings and sculptures of saints and hundreds of other figures that devotees kiss, touch and worship. I’ve read the scripture in just a few occasions. But I clearly remember not seeing in any page that we should be worshipping anything or anybody else but God.

Also, I’m not a firm believer of memorized prayers. I can recite only a couple of them because they were mandatory morning prayers while I was in my grade school. And I admit I just mumbled through most of them. Coz I never felt any sincerity in whatever I was muttering. It’s because it was something memorized. Nothing any different from The Daffodils or the Invictus or the patriotic pledge of allegiance during flag raising ceremonies.

Whenever I pray, I communicate with my own words. I don’t go through kilometric preludes. I just say it simple and straight. But with all the sincerity, honesty and faith coming from my heart. Afterall, in all His omnipotence, He will see what’s in your heart even if you don’t speak. So to me, reciting these prayers, not once, but over and over and over is not just a waste of your time. You’re also insulting God and His intelligence by mumbling words you don’t even feel in your heart.

I also don’t subscribe to the idea of the Holy Trinity. I don’t exactly know where it came from. Maybe it was from the Bible but I don’t recall having read this as well. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit? Again, there’s some great conflict here. Why would I bow my head to the Prince and the Magistrate if the King demands sole, undivided loyalty and devotion?

And these are just major beliefs I have trouble believing in. I wouldn’t go into details of stories we’ve been told like that of Jesus’ birth and death. Otherwise, you’ll end up calling me a radical. Or a bad seed.

Call me what you want. But as far as I am concerned, I am a thinking Christian. I believe in something that, to me, is right. Afterall, faith is one of the most subjective matters in this world. And I know you would agree with me when I say that every faith, religious sect or order claims they are the true and right religion. In short, everybody would believe what they want to believe in. And that’s exactly what I’m doing.

Having said that, I’m still a Christian and I believe Jesus came into this earth with a purpose. And if that is to remind us year after year that he suffered extreme pain and punishment just to save us from hell and condemnation, then let me wish you a blessed Lent. I just hope that we remember these days not only once a year. But in every day of our lives. Coz that’s what we should really be doing if we call ourselves Good Christians.

need a laugh?

i've read about this in one tabloid the other day but i never really took notice. but when ega mentioned it again, it started to intrigue me so i decided to check it out. and sure enough, it made me holler... my housemate must be wondering why i was laughing out so loud - all by myself!!! here... enjoy miss ken lee!

welcome back, chairman

sunday saw the adiks, well, just a handful of us, back at the ribbons to welcome the chairman who just came back from a two-week vacation. sponsored by ega (again!), we had pepperoni pizza minus the pepperoni! here are some shots from matt who still works wonder even with his n73 cam phone....