Pamparelaks

"Kita mo dimple ko?"

Sa lahat ng litrato ng pamangkin ko, ito ang pinakapaborito ko. Wala sa focus ang kuha ng ate ko pero wagi pa rin ito. Para kasing naka-isa si CJ. Katatapos lang niyang kumain ng chocolate. Pinabayaan siyang mag-dugyot ng t-shirt niya. Pakiramdam niya mahal siya ng mundo. Kitang-kita sa ngiti at mata, di ba?

Please Join

Newsbreak and World Bank sponsor essay-writing contest

FOCUSING on the theme, “Development with Equity,” Newsbreak Magazine and the World Bank are sponsoring an essay-writing competition for Filipinos 18 years old and above.

Entries must expound on “Development with Equity” in the Philippines, or a particular aspect/issue of inequity in the Philippine setting—discussing its causes, effects, or manifestations, and directions for addressing the issue.

Essays may be in English or Filipino and should have maximum of 1000 words. Deadline for entries is Feb. 15, 2006.

A grand prize of 50,000 pesos will be awarded for the winning entry in English and 50,000 pesos for the winning entry in Filipino.

Entries will be evaluated based on the following criteria: depth of understanding, treatment of issue, and composition (flow, clarity, style).

Finalists will be notified by May 2006 and will be asked to join the Exhibit on May 26-27, 2006 at the SM Megatrade Hall, SM Megamall. Winners will be announced on May 27, 2006.

Winning entry in the English category will be published in Newsbreak Magazine. All finalist entries will be compiled in a "Panibagong Paraan" (New Methods) publication.

Please submit entries to: Panibagong Paraan 2006 Secretariat, 23/F Taipan Place, F. Ortigas Jr. Road Ortigas Center, 1605 Pasig City, e-mail: dimp at worldbank dot org.

For further information, please contact the Panibagong Paraan 2006 secretariat at telephone (02) 917-3047 or (02) 637-5855 local 3407. E-mail: dimp at worldbank dot org

37 Minutes Late

Sunday morning, Lung Center flea market. I thought it was him. Nah, can't be him. He's in the US.

I went around. Then I bumped into him. Tongue-tied, I mustered a smile. How can a smile be so painful?

He said hi. I said hello. He wanted to have coffee. My mind went racing, I said I had to go. I made some lousy excuse that sounded like "I have a previous engagement that I am about to make."

Years ago, I took pains dressing up for him one afternoon. We were supposed to shoot pool then have dinner then go out dancing. He was 37 minutes late. Then he arrived, sweating, huffing, holding three red roses, and said it was like looking for the holy grail looking for the perfect ones. Then a hug. In an instant I knew something was wrong. It hurt like hell, it felt like there was a hole in your heart, and something is gnawing at your insides. I wanted to slap him but I thought it would be nice to get even. Calmly.

I beat him at pool. I won 7 out of 10. I cracked jokes. I was just getting warmed up. Then we had dinner. I made him laugh. He laughed a lot. When he paid the bill and gestured for us to leave, I made him sit down. And then the speech.

"You rushed from a date before you came here. There's a strand of peroxide-treated hair stuck on your shirt. You smell of cigarets but you don't smoke. The receipts that you pulled out along with the money you used to pay the bill just now told me two things: you met her at the cafe five blocks from here. That cafe has a non-smoking area. She smokes, and you obliged. She smokes menthol, judging from the smell which I hate. The flowers, you bought at the flower shop downstairs. I saw the shop on my way up here, and I know the price. You didn't wait for the change, since you only have crisp, large bills right now.

I hope you marry her, because I know you'll be miserable. In six months, I know you both will have nothing to share aside from the fun that comes with ruffling the sheets. Knowing you as well as I do, you will start looking for someone you can talk to. It's not too far down the road when all you can offer women is stories and wit. I won't be there to indulge you. You'll be stuck with a woman whose language is best spoken in bed.

Don't try to call or email. Don't try to derail my plan to be rid of you. The minute you do, I'll respond with an embarrassing fax to your office for all the world to see. You made a mistake in dating someone who covered the police beat, and then trying to cheat."

It's been five years.

Tax Money: Expletives Deleted

(Tax money: for kids' health care too. Please naman.)

A special episode this Saturday. We have a good team working on this. (And they have yet to sleep or take a bath...pero "para sa bayan" muna)

Your taxes are (NOT) working for you.

Do you know where your tax money goes?

If you're a rank and file employee, your pay is automatically slashed by as much as 10 percent. They call it income tax. Those higher up in the corporate ladder pay as much as 30 percent, or higher. The money is then used to support governments basic services.

In an ideal world, thats what happens.

This Saturday, Imbestigador features various infrastructure projects in Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao and Metro Manila where taxpayers money was lost either due to corruption, neglect or inefficiency.

The hard-hitting investigative program also highlights how civic-minded people have begun to form groups to fight graft and corruption in their communities. Their battlecry? Pera natin ito! (It's our money!)
(I deleted expletives I added at first. It looked good, believe me. And it felt good to keep it there until I had to send out the decent version. Hehe.)

Imbestigador airs every Saturday 9PM.

Pardon the shameless plug. Nood ka ha? Pera natin ito, eh! (Expletives deleted)

Ha! Talaga!

After the rain...comes a rainbow.
In fact, I was given two rainbows today.
Ha! Yahoooo!!!!
Sabi ko na, eh!
Grin and bear it.
Then smarten up a bit lang.
May blessings na darating.
Yahoooo!!!! Wagi!!!!!

(I know you won't understand but waddaheck, be happy for me)

Haaayyyy.....

(Child abuse: I already called social services to squeal on my sister)

It's gloomy outside.
Your day off consisted of doing the laundry and worrying about the ratings and projects that are taking too much time.
The lines at Harry Potter are darn too long.
The time you spent at the mall was mostly to line up to pay your bills.
You're worried you may not get your car.
You're worried you may not be able to go on vacation this Christmas at all.

The programs' ratings are low.
You have a headache that won't go away.
Some projects encounter hitches.
Some people are hitches personified.

You take a walk to clear your head.
Then it starts to rain.
You run the rest of the way home.
Hounded by the neighborhood dogs.

There has got to be a rainbow for me tomorrow.
Ha!

Dr. Gregory House

I just love his character. Hugh Laurie plays Dr. House, who heads a department called "Diagnostic Medicine" in a teaching hospital in New Jersey. Of course it's fiction. Dr. House is a good, nay, great doctor, but if I am sick, I'd have second thoughts seeing him. He displays hostility towards everyone, even the chairman of the board. He uses common sense and easily finds out what's wrong. He won't wear his coat because "it's itchy." He loves his patients but he makes it look like he hates them for making him care. But his acts of kindess make him all too human.

Anyway, in the latest episode I saw had him tapping on his table and keyboard while the CSI theme was playing on the radio. My two favorite shows coming together. The song is called Baba O'Riley by The Who.

Out here in the fields, I fight for my meals
I get my back into my living
I don't need to fight to prove I'm right
I don't need to be forgiven
Don't cry, don't raise your eye
It's only teenage wasteland
Sally, take my hand, travel south cross land
Put out the fire and don't look past my shoulder
The exodus is here, the happy ones are near
Let's get together before we get much older
Teenage wasteland, it's only teenage wasteland
Teenage wasteland
Oh, yeah, teenage wasteland
They're all wasted!

White Flash

Sanay na akong minimenos-menos. Tinatawanan ko lang. Ilang beses na ba akong napagkamalang pick-up girl sa Timog? (Kahit hindi ako naka-shorts) Napagkamalan na rin akong bar girl at sa halip na sa opisina, sa bar ako inihinto ng taxi driver. (Linggo kaya naka-shorts ako noon) Akala rin ng maintenance staff dito sa building noong bagong lipat ako, prosti the snowman ako dahil kung minsan ay madaling-araw na ako umuuwi. Nangingiti lang ako, kahit pa tratuhin nila ako batay sa akala nila. Your ignorance is your reward, sabi ko nga.

Kagabi, nasa 24-hour store ako pagkatapos ng maghapong mastering. Bumili ng ilang bagay-bagay na kailangan ko para may makain ngayon na day off ko. Nagtanong ako sa cashier kung may gamot sila para sa sipon. Nag-mumble lang siya. Tanong ulit ako. Di ako sinagot. Tanong ulit ako. Tinarayan na ako. "Wala nga!" sabi niya. Galit. Sabay irap. Ngumuso. Tulala ako. Where the heck did that come from? Tapos tumingin siya sa isang lalaking parokyano. Ngumiti. Then everything fell into place. Nagpapa-cute siya doon sa lalaki, at my expense. Okinawa Japan!

Wala na. White flash. Wala na akong makita. Ilang buwan ko nang iniiwasan mangyari iyon. Pure anger iyon. Syet. Eto na. Hindi ko na naman ma-control. "Eh loko ka pala eh!...Kung hindi ka ba naman....Mag-iba ka ng trabaho kung mapili ka sa kausap..."

Lapit ang guard na nakakita ng lahat. Sori nang sori. Umuulan pa rin ng yada-yada ko. Pag nakita ko siya mamaya, magyayada-yada pa rin ako. Habambuhay ko siyang uulanin ng yada-yada ko hanggang lumipat siya ng branch. Yada-yada-yada. At yada-yada-yada ulit.

Noong minsan, sa tindahan ng red wine, nilapitan ako ng tindero. "Mahal po iyan," sabi niya sa hawak ko. "Dito iyong mga mura," sabay turo sa isang shelf sa gilid. Ayan, mang-menos ba? Ang ganda di ba? Nangiti ako. Tiningnan ko ang price. P875. "May Petrus kayo?" tanong ko. "Wala, ano ba iyon?" sabi niya. "Iyon ang super mahal na wine, 875 dollars ang pinakamura," sabi ko. "Mga mura lang pala ang tinda niyo," sabi ko na nakangiti. Sabay walk out.

Okay na sana kung laging ganoon. Yada na lang. Wala nang white flash. Hindi ko naku-kontrol ang kasunod ng white flash na iyon.

Things I Want for Christmas

I know no one can give me any of these. That's 99 percent of the fun.

1. A bottle of petrus.
2. A reason to open it.
3. A bottle of Duende cologne
4. A reason to open it.

Now that we're done with the dream list...

...I just want a good book to send me to sleep every night.

Sleepless

Why is the sky blue?
Where is hell? Is it really hot in there?
Why do things seem to get worse before they get better, if at all?
Do we really have to grow up and lose that refreshing innocence?
Why can't we all get along?
How did Noah fit all those animals into the ark?
How did Noah keep the peace in there for 40 days?
If The Big Boss Up There is good, why does God allow people to get sick?
Is God a he or a she?
Are there women with CEO-like roles in heaven? What about in hell?
Why is catsup red?
Why are firetrucks red, and school buses yellow?
Why are police uniforms blue?
If we don't cut our hair from birth to the day we die, how do we live with all that hair?
How come I don't see pictures of really long-haired stone age people in books?
How did they cut their hair?
Why are clouds either white, gray or black? Why not red? Or blue?
Why are there just seven colors to the rainbow?

Why can't I sleep?

Lost And Found

Did you recently take a tricycle...somewhere in this community that has tongue-twisting Tagalog street names celebrating Filipino virtues (that are mostly gone now, by the way)?

Did you leave behind something you (apparently) loved reading? I am guessing you love the item because you even tried to solve the puzzle. You have two pages of notes, painstakingly translating something. Which helped you solve it. You are one smart, focused cookie.

Tell me what the item was, describe the notes, leave an email address, I'll find a way to give it back to you. (And oh, thanks. I've been meaning to buy a copy. Nabasa ko tuloy nang libre.)

Why I Love Writing So Much

(CJ starting early)

"Why do you love writing so much?" a friend asks.

Here are some reasons, in no particular order:

1. I can't sing.
2. I can't cook. (Start praying, hard, when I cook for you)
3. I can't swim.
4. I can't dance.
5. I can't keep a man. (Otherwise I'd write "housewife" as "occupation".)

And then there are other reasons:

1. It feels great to come up with an original story idea every now and then.
2. It's a great challenge to keep people reading...or watching.
3. It pays well (read: good for one, pero hindi pambuhay ng pamilya) after years of doing it.
4. It's the only time I have a good reason to demand silence. (Kuwa-yeeeeetttt!)
5. Da Kevin reads what I write. And he loves it. (Or so he says. Walang kokontra!)

There's a saying that writers never get rich. Kaya nga di ako ma-accuse na may unexplained wealth hanggang ngayon. Pero akusado ako ng unexplained poverty.

Moment's Over!

(I'm taking a break from my parents...tee-hee!)

"We don't know how to enjoy ourselves!" someone declared.

We were in the middle of a planning session.

"Never mind enjoying," I said. "Just leave me alone when I'm on my day off and when I'm on vacation!"

My mind drifts back to those days when I was burning to a crisp in Guimaras or some other island, holding a line, feeling a bite, my catch growing. Like a kid I whoop at each catch. Then my cellphone rings. Then I run to my hotel room. Huffing and puffing.

"Hi. We need your help on something...."

I'm on VA-CA-TION!!! And it's just for a day and a half and it won't happen again this year!

Kelangan minsan, i-memorize iyon. Iyong moments na may huli kang Lapu-lapu. Iiitsa mo uli ang linya at pain sa tubig. Kumakabog ang dibdib mo. Baka mas malaki ang susunod na huli. Lilinga-linga ka sa paligid. Ang ganda ng mundo. Asul ang paligid. Ikaw lang ang nasa dagat dahil tanghaling tapat na at ayaw mo pang umahon kahit tustado ka na. Sa ibaba ng batuhan kung saan ka naka-puwesto, may nakikita kang mga pusit. Pers taym mong makakita ng pusit na wala sa hot plate. Ganoon pala ang itsura. Ang daming isda. Ang linaw ng tubig. Ang linis ng hangin. Parang musika ang paghampas ng alon sa batuhan.

"Krrrrriiiinnnnngggg"

Ok, moment's over!

"Miss, Upo Ka..."

(Wanna share my seat?)

The MRT is packed like a can of spanish sardines. It even smells like one. Hundreds of dog-tired workers on their way home. The smell of diesel fumes and office politics in the air.

I spotted her immediately. A pitiful figure in spiffy office garb and three-inch heels that are so tiny it would puncture the foot of anyone she steps on. She was pretty, and I thought out of place in the "masa" transport. Maybe her car broke down. Or her boyfriend failed to drive her home.

A good-looking guy stands up and offers her his seat. "Miss, upo ka," he says.

She eyes him as if he just made a pass at her. Then she sits down. No magic word. No thank you. Even CJ started using that magic word at eight months. ("Tatch yuuuuu")

Before I got off my stop, I went to the guy. "Salamat sa upuan, ha? Sana huwag kang madadala."

Ngumuso pa ang punyemas na babae. Gusto kong ituktok sa ulo niya ang matulis niyang heels. Ganda ng bihis, pero walang GMRC ang tinamanang lintek.

I don't expect chivalry or whatever you call it when I take the bus or train. We're all tired, no matter what the gender. But when someone offers you a seat, good manners dictate a "thank you."

Masasayang ba ang lipstick mo kung sasabihin mo iyon?

What's Up?

Posting a PCIJ blog en toto

In a legal first, Quezon City judge
issues TRO on PCIJ blog

November 4, 2005 @ 7:30 pm · Posted by Sheila Coronel
Filed under Media Issues

IN compliance with the order of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC), the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism has removed from this blog a post, dated August 12, 2005, describing the background and credentials of Jonathan Tiongco, the audio expert presented the same day by Environment Secretary Michael Defensor in order to question the authenticity of the "Hello Garci" recording.

The PCIJ was served the temporary restraining order (TRO) today after the court granted the request of Tiongco’s wife, Rona, who said that the PCIJ blog post was an intrusion into "my private life and happy 12-year marriage with my husband" and a "grave violation of my rights and those of my minor children."

In issuing the TRO, Quezon City RTC Presiding Judge Ralph S. Lee said that it had not yet ruled on the merits of Mrs. Tiongco’s allegations, but that an order removing the blog post was "the safer and more prudent recourse in order to safeguard and balance conflicting rights and interests of the parties/litigants."

The court also banned the PCIJ, for the 20-day duration of the TRO, from "broadcasting, publishing or posting or causing to broadcast, publish, or post articles and statements similar and related to, or connected and in conjunction with," that blog post. It is for this reason that we cannot repeat the facts about Tiongco that we had revealed in our blog post, nor can we say what Mrs. Tiongco found so offensive in it. (That post, however, is cached in Google and can be downloaded from the Google website, which is not covered by this court order.)

This is the first legal action, and the first TRO, issued against a blog in the Philippines.

The PCIJ plans to question the order in the Supreme Court as it violates the constitutional right to free speech. Morever, the Supreme Court itself, in an October 11 ruling, had already denied Jonathan Tiongco’s petition for a TRO gainst the PCIJ. The high tribunal, unlike the Quezon City court, did not argue for prudence but instead asserted that the constitutional right to free expression was paramount. For this reason, the high court threw out Tiongco’s petition demanding that the PCIJ take down the "Hello, Garci" recording from this blog.

"Free expression is guaranteed by the Constitution," the Supreme Court said. " Any deviation from this rule through judicial restraint can only be had after a proper trial of facts."

The Supreme Court also described Tiongco’s petition as "barely comprehensible" and "bereft of merit." It also rather pointedly said that Tiongco should have sought professional legal advice before filing his motion. (Read the PCIJ post on the Supreme Court ruling here.)

The Quezon City court, however, took a different position from that of the high tribunal. Instead, after a hearing on October 26, the RTC decided to grant Mrs. Tiongco’s request for a TRO even before "a proper trial of facts."

Jonathan Tiongco had already filed a libel case against the PCIJ and Teresita Ang-See for what was posted on this blog on August 12. That case is still at the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office.

The PCIJ, in a memorandum filed by its lawyers before the Quezon City RTC on October 28, had opposed the TRO and the request for a preliminary injunction on the grounds that Tiongco was forum shopping, having already filed a TRO with the Supreme Court and a defamation case in the Quezon City trial court. The PCIJ also asserted that that a TRO is only given in cases of "extreme urgency where great or irreparable injury" would result.

The PCIJ lawyers — the Yorac Arroyo Chua Caedo & Coronel Law Firm — argued in a hearing on October 26 that Mrs. Tiongco had failed to establish any actual injury that would result if the PCIJ blog post, which was on this site the past six weeks, were not removed. Moreover, Mrs. Tiongco herself, the lawyers said, presented the police dossier on her husband, which was the basis of the PCIJ article.

The PCIJ lawyers also argued that all the facts and allegations on Tiongco reported in the PCIJ blog were also reported in other websites, by major dailies, and by the broadcast media immediately after the congressional hearing in May 2005 (where Tiongco opposed the confirmation of Angelo Reyes as secretary of interior and local governments) and again in August, after he was presented as an audio expert by Defensor. But, the PCIJ memorandum pointed out, the Tiongcos didn’t file cases or ask for TROs against these media organizations.

Nonetheless, the PCIJ is complying with the court’s order, which was served today, a holiday.

yoga

bought two yoga CDs.

"inhale...exhale. breathe deeply...."

i was puffing away...while downing a mug of coffee.

yoga looks nice.

wonder how it feels to really do it?