hours to give

hiya sis.

i've been spending time in white space, which is beside our office.

it's great to be there in the morning when there's not too many volunteers and tons of work to do...

here's a human chain passing down some deliveries... this happens all the time.

here are the messy bessies repacking rice...

our lunch?  cibo pasta.  what a treat!

here's another treat -- chickout the bathroom. so nice!

and to my surprise, look at the soap and sanitizer!  repacked messy bessy items!  so coool!

we'll head back tomorrow...

we'll keep on donating work hours until the operation is over..

i haven't heard from one of our staff though :(  please pray for him...

tokyo cafe

hey sis :)

missed you at our annual support-the-sis bookfair...

(where i bought these half tagalog-half english books for our office library :)  what library?)

the highlight was eating in this resto after the visit...

i think it's a franchise from japan...

think japanese food meets italian...

there's pizza, pasta...

all pastas use only yummy san remo pasta...

some classic japanese dishes like tonkatsu and unagi...

this was one of the dishes we tried (it's like twinpophub's dream dish):  gyoza burger...

then, of course the dessert!!!

think crepes, cakes...

parfaits (with red bean ice cream)...

wish you were there!!!

domo arigato gozaimashtaaa!

breakfast

on a lighter note...

just wanted to share what the 7-day fruit diet has jumpstarted for me...

THEY say to stay healthy (and thin), we should eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper... so that's one of the things that came out of the diet.

so from no-breakfast mornings, i've come to this...

fresh tomato and eggs and whole wheat bread...

or local cereal bars and coffee...

steel-cut oatmeal...

but if i had my choice, i'd eat these bacolodian cheese putos...

the day i bought this, i ate 10!

until i forced myself to give it away...

yun lang :)

sad news

i know we are all trying to stay positive here, but i just saw this article from the inquirer and had to share. tsk tsk tsk. so sad. talk about a step back!

Catholic schools seeks women’s law exemption

MANILA, Philippines—Insisting on their religious and academic freedoms, Catholic educational institutions are seeking exemption from a provision in the new Magna Carta of Women banning the dismissal of unwed mothers from employment or school.

Monsignor Gerardo Santos, national president of the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP), said the CEAP would ask that a provision on such an exemption be inserted into the new law’s implementing rules and regulations.

He said the chairman of the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd), Emmanuel Angeles, has said he would support the CEAP’s participation in the writing of the IRR.

“It is important that we respect the religious affiliation of these institutions, the schools, or company the persons [concerned] belong to,” Santos told the CEAP national convention at the Manila Hotel.

Women’s rights activists have said that under the new law, unwed mothers who are kicked out can file a civil case and sue for damages while government officials who dismiss them can be sanctioned under administrative and civil service laws.

Santos insisted on the Catholic schools’ right to have an unwed pregnant student or employee go on leave “after due process,” or to enforce other disciplinary action.

and this is exactly WHY i have issues with the catholic religion....

with honors

a few days ago, i got this email from a friend...

in it, she said:

I was angry, sad, inconsolable -- all at once. This kind of violence didn't -- shouldn't -- happen to soft-spoken, generous, kind, down-to-earth people like Alexis and Nika. Maybe you've heard of them on TV or in the papers. They were staunch supporters of art, especially the local indie film scene. They were believers and lovers of this country."

she went on to say:

They weren't Filipino citizens but they stayed because they believed they could make a positive change here. They believed the Philippines could be great again. They loved this place.

And then they were gone. Just like that. Murdered in the land they loved, in a manner that they truly didn't deserve.

and she ended it by saying:

And although I know Alexis and Nika are gone, I want to honor them by continuing to love, to hope, to dream -- and to appreciate friends like you.

sniff...  so in their honor, let's continue our support for all things positive, creative and filipino.

i really feel this is the way to honor a lost loved one.

this is how i chose and continue to choose to honor dad:

1. to be generous
2. to be unassuming
3. to be genuine
4. to be entrepreneurial
5. to tell jokes, no matter how corny

sniff, sniff.

i am but a small voice

i dunno why...

but sometimes i feel like i'm turning someone opposite who i was when i was younger...

i'm definitely more vocal and confrontational now...

and i seem to be more into politics.  when before, i was as apolitical as anyone could get.

case in point:  carlos celdran's blog.

there's this discussion about noynoy and i've been quite active.  here is one of my 4 (?) comments in the discussion:

(this was in response to someone else's comment...  i know you don't agree but anyways... :) )

Pres. Cory was an honest, simple transparent leader. Was she a good leader? Did she curb corruption? Not really -- or not at all.

So, let's stop assuming that incorruptibility = good leader. And also stop assuming that great credentials = corrupt.

Let's think of the genius of the "and"... Let's look for someone with both good character, AND good leadership skills.

Too idealistic? Perhaps. But it seems too early to just say "eh wala nang iba eh. He would be the best. He's the ONLY clean politician." It's a bit cynical and unfair.

Read the rest of the discussion here.

anything's possible!

thanks to uber generous tana, yesterday was our first day of english lessons.

here we are slowly going through the first chapter of a book...

this is the middle-school book we're reading... a true rags-to-riches story about a chinese (boy) ballet dancer...

a story they all relate seem to relate to... since they're all dancers (some hiphop, some at men's clubs)... and of course all struggling like the character.  

(one of the girls even cried during the reading, because she could relate to a character who was maltreated)

i'm so happy they were quite engrossed and wanting to finish the book in the future.

(oh, by the way, did you notice their shirts?  woohoo!)

anyway, teaching them english... and even more, getting them grade school and high school diplomas is an uphill climb... but i'm taking it.

maybe that's why i'm enjoying the new show recommended by twinpopbro...

it's about musical high school outcasts... a musical dramedy with very tina fay-esque humor.

anyway, here's to believing in those who many gave up on.   naks.

your reward!

CONGRATULATIONS! I had NO DOUBT in my mind that you would do it :) It's great that we are influencing other people to try it... it really does give you a great feeling after, right?! :)

One of the things I craved for during my fruit diet was this....


Yup, you read it right... VEGETARIAN CHICHARON! It actually does taste like the real thing, with just the right amount of salt and vinegar - minus the guilt. YUM! Its basically made from dehydrated peas and potatoes. YEY! .... Well its still junk food I know, but its a lesser evil :)

Do you wanna try it? Can buy us a bag for your reward. HAHA!

my seven days

it's day 7 of my fruit diet :)

thanks to you (and the thought that you DID it), i made it too!

here are my post-diet insights:

1. i feel SUPER! i'm so proud of the accomplishment. i feel so CLEAN. plus, my skin is so NICE and baby-soft now...

2. although losing weight was only a secondary goal, i lost 3 pounds. not much really. but i'm thinking in the long-run, i'll lose more, and maintain better... since i've learned to RESIST, and to eat less really... just to eat to get by, not to binge!

here's what i RESISTED in the past 7 days:

TWO spanish family dinners

ONE birthday dinner at chilli's

ONE home-cooked dinner thanks to sing salsa

ONE dinner in one of my fave japanese restos

ONE vodka-flowing party (tonight)

i feel like superwoman!

3. i'm so excited to jumpstart my healthi-er living... here are the changes i'd like to make:

- daily (healthy ) breakfast -- no more skipping

- very light dinners

- fruit for merienda everyday (?)

4. i feel like i can go on with this diet... but sashimi and SOY SAUCE sounds really good now...

need... salt....

green ideas

i like how these cigarettes are straightforward... none of the 'surgeon general's warning blah blah...'

this one says: SMOKING KILLS

or SMOKING SERIOUSLY HARMS YOU AND OTHERS AROUND YOU

these ones say: SMOKERS DIE YOUNGER.

in hk, it's now under the law to have to PAY for plastic bags. cool huh? it's 50hk$ each, (approx 3 to 4 pesos)

this poster explains how even bags for chilled delivered items will be charged.

i think we should do that here!!!

take a picc

on a lighter note, we had dimsum at the hk cultural center...

doesn't it remind you our own cultural center?

i actually like ours better... so kudos to imelda? *GASP*

errport 3

it took us 30 minutes to get into our airport... lining up in this chaotic queue in the heat...

in another long queue, we had to pay P550 for the fee -- a bit much for such a crappily run airport, i thought.

and then of course, we get to this...

clean, simple and super convenient... (think flying from the flintstones to the jetsons)

with the convenience of checking-in in a mall!

and in the meantime, we've had this for quite some time... sadly, everyone has just learned to live with our underutilized overspent airport...

i've never enjoyed griping about our own country... but the crazy queues in the airport just got to me!