Avada Kedavra...NOT!!! :(

November 23, 2009, probably a date that will go down to history books. This was the day Efren Peñaflorida was awarded the CNN Hero of the Year. A day I was joyous about…until the Maguindanao massacre happened. :(( Amidst the triumph of Kuya Ef, a bigger news came, only it wasn’t good news. It would not even be right to brand it as sad news. It was terrible news. The CNN Awardee was mightily overshadowed by this news.

The start for filing of election candidacy is already on. As politics was such a hot “commodity” in Mindanao, they would literally kill for it. That was what happened in Maguindanao. Ampatuans and Mangudadatus were known political rivals in that part of the Philippines. Think Montagues and Capulets. If Romeo and Juliet came from rival families, Ampatuans and Mangudadatus are from different poles. Nemesis.

Everything is still under investigation but witnesses have given their affidavit and they’re pointing at the Ampatuans. After all, the victims were the Mangudadatus. Who else in this world would do that to them?? The Ampatuans gave their word that all those suspected were not in the area nor in the province when that happened.

For some strange reason, I have a strong feeling WHO did it. For the obvious reason that it happened in a famous “balwarte” of the Ampatuans, the backhoe had their name on it, I mean come on! But still, we have to let the justice system do its work. I just hope that they would be fair and square. Let those perpetrators deserve their time!

Fifty-seven people were brutally killed. Some say it’s fifty-eight but they have not seen the last body yet. 57 or 58, that is still quite a number to waste in just one blow. A total waste for the simple reason of politics. Goodness! People would really kill for power. It’s such a disgusting, pointless thing to do! Mind you, these lives were all innocent. Media people who wanted to cover and deliver news were killed as if they were vermin. I could not imagine there are soulless people walking this earth. :(

I wish they had not died. I wish that given the reality that they were killed, the manner of killing would have been fictional. Avada Kedavra. An unforgivable curse in the wizarding world would suffice. It would still be killing but rather “humane”. I remember Wormtail blowing up an entire street with that curse. It’s a killing curse. You say “Avada Kedavra!” point your wand to the person you want to kill and BOOOOOM!!! Green light flashing and then the person just drops dead, literally. I wish it was like that. Fast and no pain.

What they got instead was a slow, agonizing death. Some women were said to be raped before they were killed. The wands they used were called guns which when pointed and used against you, would be painful! Unless they showered them with bullets, it would have been a slow death, bleeding like crazy and gasping for breath.

All I could do is pray for all the souls that have departed for this useless thing. Pray for their peace and strength for their families to continue the fight for them. Pray that justice will prevail in a land where it is elusive…and if it doesn’t, I know there is that ONE God who will make sure that justice will be served when Judgment Day comes. Pray that all those responsible die of guilt or lack thereof.

My heart bleeds and weeps for everyone that died. My blog shows pain, hatred and revenge. I know that if the other side would get to read this (if they come across it…unlikely!), I could be charged of libel (what the heck!) but I know deep in my heart that this is true. YOU did it and it wasn’t Avada Kedavra. :((

Mabuhay ka Kuya Ef! :D

Once again, a Filipino brought pride to all of us. Efren Peñaflorida was one of the ten nominees for CNN’s honor award. All ten had very awesome advocacies but of course I supported our very own, Kuya Ef. More known as Kuya Ef to people, he educates little kids with the use of a kariton. Together with the DynamicTeen, they go to areas in Cavite and give lectures to kids, all for FREE using a kariton as a mobile classroom. I truly believe that the key to success is through education. Yes, Bill Gates has proven that you can actually succeed without a college diploma but how many Bill Gates do we have? I was truly inspired by Kuya Ef that I want to join their team someday…or maybe I could start my own kariton education, Las Piñas Chapter. ;p

I read about his advocacy and voted a few times with the limit per day. I’m elated that Pinoys and foreigners too voted for him. Since it was net voting, I believe that the Filipinos played a major role and voted for him. But I’d like to believe that foreigners around the world had their attention on him too. How could you not appreciate someone who is as simple as you are and make a BIG difference?

It was such a great feeling to see him, anticipating if he will receive the award. Boy, I was very happy when they called his name. :) Wearing our very own, Barong Tagalog, together with his mentor (?), he got up, beamed and went up the stage to get his well-deserved trophy. The trophy was just an icing on the cake. To be acknowledged world-wide would be the best feeling in the world. Mind you, the guy never wanted to be exposed. He only wanted people to know that if you want something, nothing will ever get in the way. If there was one thing that he wanted, that was probably to let all the people know about his advocacy. Inform the people of the advocacy but not to make himself known.

“Be the change this world needs you to be”. Collectively, all our small changes will make a big difference. I am just a simple person but Kuya Ef’s victory speech struck me and made me desire to become a better person. Man for others as the Ateneo tagline would say. You can JUST be an ORDINARY person but you do EXTRA ORDINARY things to other people. I think that’s what matters most. :)

Kuya Efren, maraming salamat dahil lalo akong naging mas proud maging Pinoy. I couldn’t really put into words my joy because of you. Thank you for being an inspiration of dreaming big and of change. I am considering of volunteering for Dynamic Teen and I want to educate kids as well. Mabuhay ka Kuya Ef! ‘til then… :)

Because the chic is now a man :))

Veintiuno. Such a pleasing word to my ear. Meaning the chic will be a man. My coming of age as a gentleman. =)) I am the chic with three balls remember? ;p

Vi and I had this awesome idea last June that we’ll throw a party together to celebrate our twenty-first. We only turn 21 once right? So why not go grand all the way? We had these cool plans. As in we had Plan A, Plan B and Plan C so in case the first doesn’t work out, we still have other plans to execute.

We had five months to plan out. Come November, vi said she wouldn’t celebrate anymore. I didn’t want to celebrate either. We both felt that we shouldn’t be celebrating after all the calamities that the country went thru. But on second thought, I felt that this was our only chance to celebrate our coming of age. Next year would be different and the next years to come. We wouldn’t be twenty-one by then.

So I pushed thru with the plan. Though there were a lot of changes from the “grand” celebration we had in mind. I decided to go with a bonggang simpleng party. Meaning, bongga pero in reality simple lang. Get me? ;p

Vi connection worked tirelessly for this party to be a success. :D Special shout out to pebs, driver, wongki, tuki, dawn, q and naj for all the moral, physical and financial support. A gazillion thanks lovies! >:D<
But before I tell you about our wickedly awesome party, let me tell you about my awesome birthday. That’s a totally different thing guys. =))

I was born November 17, 1988 at 10:05 am under Caesarian section (now that’s what I call trivia). Who would believe that this little piece of heaven can’t get out of you-know-where? =)) Twenty-one years of awesome life that I owe to mama and papa. My siblings are totally cool that I wouldn’t exchange them for anyone in this world. My extended family’s always there for me all the days of my life. My friends have been exceptionally fantabuloso! Thru thick in thin talaga. :D

 To ALL of YOU, I sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart. :D

Sideline kwento: I was on my way to bed, when I got this message from a dear friend. It said, “Rach, sorry late yung greeting ko. Pero promise di ko nakalimutan. Kakauwi ko lang kasi tapos nagloko yung fone ko kanina. Happy Birthday!”

That would have been really heart-warming… Only it wasn’t November 17! It wasn’t even November yet!!! My dear friend, di, greeted me on October 17! So I give her the excited much award! =)) Dude, November not October. You’re not late, but rather too early for a greeting. Hindi ako yung may birthday nun. Yung dati kong crush yun. hahaha!

Next one, yzuelte couldn’t wait for the clock to hit twelve so she greeted me three hours earlier. I totally understand and thanks a lot for remembering all these years chica. :D

Then it hit midnight. Here’s a rundown of all the awesome people who greeted me.
Veintiuno greeters:

Of course mi familia! Mama, Papa, Kuya and Ate thanks a lot for making me feel special each and every day. Indeed, I am a princess. :D
Then here’s the list of all my texters, facebookers, callers and what-nots… (top 17 only then it’s random)

1. Kath aka q
2. Ton aka bestfriend
3. Jay
4. Itchan
5. Jasper aka photogriver
6. Sam aka sammy
7. Cassey aka bestie’s yet another bestfriend…kidding! ;p
8. Kat aka ket
9. Brad aka ding
10. Meg aka baru :D
11. Mara aka student
12. Nicole aka tuki
13. Rhaiks aka rako
14. Christheart
15. Carlos aka wongki
16. Paola aka soulmate
17. Kirae aka insan

Ate jean
Awee
Nes
Syd
Ave
Jayme
Marv
Kuya Jan
Lucky
Maike
Patek
Gen
Bea
Christel
Mario
Mother earth Tina
Bene
Mae
Riza
Annie
Alberto
Andreas
Andrew
Tito Cap
Nikki
Janelle
Ate Maan
Mother earth Lolit
Kuya Carlof
Tito Ed
Dawn
Mikee
Wilson
Thea and Jude
Isabel
Nathan thru Isabel
Patrick
Inna
Ate Pia
Kim
Emong
MC
Tenten
Kat
Ate Daisy
Titan
Bom
Di
Eka
Mik
Ate Pleng
Ate Kaz
Sandra
Ekay
Ate Irene
Kuya Josh
Ate Gina
Ate Iyah
Chrisma
Ly
Jester
Cilla
Joicey

Special shout-out to Joicey for being the in-the-nick of time texter-greeter! :D To my bud, cilla, thanks for dropping a call. I’m really touched that you called me all the way from Toblerone land just to greet me. You’re my last caller-greeter. :D

Of course if there is an excited much type of greeter, there’s also a better-late-than-never greeter…

Nishi
Karl
Mai
Nikkie
Margie
Mommy
JT
Ate Tin
Trisch
Cielo

I hope I didn’t miss anyone. IF I did, I’m really sorry. =( I’ll treat you to buko. ;p

Our party was totally rockin’. Since I wanted to help out the typhoon victims, I made it to a party for a cause. Friends were so game to help out. Maraming maraming salamat sa pagtugon sa aking munting hiling. :D


Vi brought her friends from bene and apc and I brought my college friends. So it was like a soiree! :D It was indeed wickedly awesome! That’s all because the chic is now a man. =)) ‘til then…

Huling hirit :D

My last blog was about my YE Weekend Experience and the day after that was pure bliss. I got all the sleep I was “deprived” of. No big deal since I enjoyed my weekend. =) Binawi ko naman yung kulang kong tulog. I had fifteen hours of sleep but still felt bitin.

I was infront of the pc idling away when I got messages from vi and driver. They had the same message so I knew WE must be going somewhere. Fast-forward… I took a quick shower, dressed up and driver was waiting for me at the shortcut. Picked up vi in bicutan and TAGAYTAY here we come! :D

Tagaytay, my favorite place down south. I wanted to go there for weeks long before we decided a trip to go there. So when driver told me we were off to tags I didn’t hesitate even if that meant a sermon from mum. I even asked bene to drive to tags after the YE Weekend kaso pagod na daw siya eh.

So there, TA-GAY-TAY!!! :D I am a happy, happy kiddo! Met up with caf and had late lunch at mang inasal. Caf saw this boat ride to Taal so we inquired and BOOM!!! Money flew outta our hands. =))

Boat ride and then 40 minutes of hell hiking. I was wearing my flippies for crying out loud! Poor havs. =(

Wallets considerably lighter and tiiiiired, it was all worth it when we reached the top. What a sight to see. Ah, nature! I love you! Pictures left and right and then we descended before it got oh sooooo dark!

Horses, grabe hindi namin kayo ma-reach! Sobra sa mahal!Kaya ayun napagod na lang kami. Hahaha! Takutan blues pababa ng bundok! Boat ride back was awesome! I didn’t get scared practically because I can’t see anything. It was too dark to see the water.

Vi wanted to celebrate. We celebrated and got tired hiking. Hihi! I wanted to unwind and I got to “work-out”. What a way to celebrate my last day as twenty.

I was really tired but I enjoyed every second of it. =) Thanks fellas for making it oh so memorable. What’s up for next year eh?

So there goes my huling hirit as bente años. ‘til then… =D

Just For YOU :D

If there is one reason why the start of November was busy for me, this is it --- The YE Weekend. It happened last November 13-15. A lot of preparations were made so I had half of November devoted to it. No regrets since I had a B-L-A-S-T!!! :D

I had a few opportunity costs for the preparation of the YE Weekend and during the YE Weekend itself. Let me enumerate them for you.

Moving the birthday weekend to a later sked

Puyatan blues

Missing my 8am-5pm class (don’t tell my mum I skipped class)

Missing the Pacquiao-Cotto fight

Magastos sa load

That’s the list of things I had to forego. Here’s the things I had in exchange…

Closer to HIM

Precious bonding time with YE friends

A loooot of new friends :D

Kitikitext

Tons of fun

Awesome experience

Creativity unleashed

Fun Wednesday nights in SDSA

Extrovert

Yummy food for three days

It’s double of what I had to forego. I’m pretty sure the list will go on and on but that’s the first ten things that came to mind while typing. :D

I really had an awesome time serving. Just for YOU, I would go anywhere. Just for YOU, I would do things I barely do. Just for YOU, I would sacrifice things that matter to me. It is never enough for what YOU did for me, for us. Because of YOU, that I am saved, alive and blessed. :D

The YE Weekend has taught me a lot. It taught me to be patient, friendly, innovative, talented in sleeping and a loooot more. But what I enjoyed the most was that I felt God’s presence and love once more. I was able to talk to Him directly. My heart is filled with soooo much joy. It’s an awesome birthday gift! ‘til next year… :D

Iskul-Bukol

This came as a surprise to me and to everyone close to me. This wasn’t part of the plan. I had intentions of taking my Masters two years from now. So why now?? I am currently a bum and time is ticking away. Mum had this brilliant idea of why not go back to school and fill my brain with knowledge. I thought about it and came up with a decision that I’ll take the exam and see what happens.

I had a lot of exams in my twenty years of existence. I took a few different exams these past months. So you can’t say that my brain’s getting rusty. But this exam was tough!!! Modesty aside, nahirapan ako. Usually, I tell mum if my exam’s easy. This time, I told her it was very difficult and it would be a shock if I passed.

I patiently waited for the result. I was getting anxious and even prepared my sorry speech if I didn’t get in. Ganun kahirap. I accepted defeat before it actually came.

So when mum said it’s posted online already, I asked her to check. I just turned off the pc that time and was sluggish to turn it back on. When minutes passed by, I felt really nervous. Mum didn’t call back. So I thought that I really failed.

I turned the pc on before anxiety killed me. I checked the site and my heart was hammering inside my chest. I didn’t see my name. POOOOF!!!

But as I was going through the list, I found out that I was looking at the wrong list! MBA pala yun. Wala talaga dun ang pangalan ko. =)) Then I found my name. :D Sweet success! It wasn’t really difficult after all. Uyyyy, ang yabang!

I immediately called mum and the first thing she said was, “Congrats!”. My mother knew but she wanted me to see it for myself. Alam naman daw niya na papasa ako at titingnan ko rin kasi hindi ko matitiis.

So I’m back to school, only on certain Sundays. Some would think it’s too early but I say nothing’s early for an eager mind.

From USTedyante to PUPpy. A lot of change. But I am thrilled with the idea of going back to school. Sanayan lang yan. Iskul-bukol na naman ako. yippie! ‘til then… :D

The Case of The Needles

*A series of blogs will be posted so please bare with me. Sorry for the super late blogs. It’s my first time to blog for this month…last day pa ng month!tsk!

I did this blog over a month ago but the fool multiply wasn’t able to publish it. I didn’t save it as draft so no back-up. L BOOOOO!!! So now, I’m doing this in Word so it’s sure that I can retrieve it in case of any fortuitous events. =))

Anyway, back to my story. Over a month ago, I went to the doctor to ask for a medical certificate. I needed it for my requirements in grad school. The doctor could have made me one in an instant but no, she wanted me to submit my stool and urine samples. She also required me to have CBC. I suddenly went crazy! CBC equals NEEDLE encounter!

I am not a fan of THE needle! My tolerance for pain is below zero. :S My first memory of THE needle encounter was during 4th grade. The school gave free vaccine for whatever and my mum signed me up. :S Brutal din ang nanay ko. Sabi niya, para naman daw sakin yun. haaaay! The nurse said, “Para lang kagat ng langgam ‘to”. Indeed it was. Yung langgam nga lang bullet ant. Toinks!!!

Since then, I literally avoided needles. That’s the main reason why I try not to get sick. Ayoko ma-ospital at lagyan ng dextrose. Aguuuuuuy yun!

But some things can’t be avoided as much as we want to. I had my next needle encounter when I was fourteen. The meanie pricked my finger. Ang tagal pa bago kami natapos kasi hinihila ko yung kamay ko. Hahaha! A tiny prick could bleed so much! It hurt a lot!!! Tae talaga.

So I included it in my to-do list before I turned 18. I had to face my fear. Fear of the blood and fear of the NEEDLE! They asked me to prick my finger. My heartless friends weren’t so heartless since they thought it was too much. So they asked me to prick someone else’s finger with a lancet.

Poor lj had to be the victim. He volunteered himself since needles are not his enemies. haha! The mere thought that I would cause someone pain is a torture for me already. Tapos little brother ko pa. Double torture. The foolio didn’t mind getting his finger murdered! Hassle talaga. Why can other people can and I can’t?!

Then the time came when I got sick. I wasn’t feeling well and they had to check if I had dengue. Meaning they needed my blood sample. Talaga nga naman! I had my eyes closed the entire time. I felt the needle in my skin right thru my vein. As soon as the procedure was done, I was all pale and clummy. I asked my sister if I can cry. She said I can if I wanted to. At talagang humagulgol ako doon! Yung batang katabi ko kinunan rin pero wala lang. Steady lang siya. Hanep!

So when the doctor said I needed to have CBC, she became my personal nightmare. Okay lang naman na wala na yun eh. Mother assured me that their medtech is very good and that I wouldn’t feel a thing. I did. I felt the needle out of my skin but it was done. I survived…or I spoke too soon. I had chills. It was a sunny day but I wore my jacket because I felt cold. I turned pale and felt sick. Okay ako nung pumunta, uuwi akong masama ang pakiramdam. Very good doc!kidding. Pinakain ako ng nurse ng candy kasi bumaba daw ang sugar ko sa kaba. Sure enough, when I had a candy, it felt great. Parang Honeyduke’s kay Harry after a dementor attack. =))

I seriously have a bad case of the needles! I might subject myself for the med students’ experiment…on second thought, ayoko pala! ;p Di bale nang takot kaysa naman maging human pin cushion! ‘til then…