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| A LIBRARY FOR THOSE CUTE LITTLE KIDS WHY NOT??? WITH YOUR HELP, THIS WOULDN'T BE AN IMPOSSIBLE DREAM please visit http://www.kaeskwela.org/ for more details on how you can help :) |
Thursday, September 23, 2010
LIBRARY: a possible dream
Thursday, September 16, 2010
from me to me: congratulations!
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| CONGRATULATIONS SAKURA! you made it! see? i was right, you can do it without loosing your grip. i know you'd do well but... you just don't believe in yourself the way that i do (belive in you) why is that? when you know that you have prepared for that and did your best (as you always do). has the world been so unkind that you just can't trust it fully anymore? keep on believing sakura. keep on doing your best and keep on wanting to make a difference in this world the way you knew how. |
Monday, September 6, 2010
despicable me @ RWM newport 3D cinema : semi-emo fun fun movie night
"One big unicorn, strong and free, thought he was happy as he could be.
Then three little kittens came around and turned his whole life upside down.
They made him laugh, they made him cry.
He never should have said goodbye.
And now he knows he can never part from those three little kittens
that changed his heart."
that changed his heart."
(a bedtime story, as told by gru)
[many thanks to wanderlustful ria of http://www.sugarsmile.blogspot.com/
for the pretty pretty pretty pictures- yes, that's pretty written 3 times]
for the pretty pretty pretty pictures- yes, that's pretty written 3 times]
Sunday, September 5, 2010
braving the rain for the bestest-ever pancit and fresh lumpia
i can't even remember when was it. but i have clear memory of the heavy rain pouring that sunday afternoon. after my usual sacred time (at my cell), sorting things both physically and spiritually, friend irene called- asking if i still am up to our plan of having authentic chinese 'merienda' at binondo (manila), the rain then is showing no signs of stopping. without further thinking, i said 'yes of course, give me 10 to 20 minutes and i'd be at the meeting place'. she was quite worried 'coz the place was somewhat unfamiliar to me, hence she decided to meet me at the church where i have less probability of getting lost, it's an old famous church in manila (name that church) anyways.
paying 50 php (a little more than a dollar), i asked the driver of a tricycle to bring me to that church. he didn't hesitate to bring me there passing by flooded streets (only on rainy days do they get to ask for higher fares. on normal weather, a ride from dapitan-where my cell is-would just cost 10 to 15 php). and so i arrived. irene was waiting and somewhat amused by my go-go attitude. we walked the streets of binondo and found her favorite restaurant (name that restaurant) after several blocks. we have umbrella (each) but well, streets are semi-flooded so we're practically wet. we were greeted by the restaurant staff and were served with bestest-ever pancit and fresh lumpia in town. beat that!
Saturday, September 4, 2010
thank you...
It must have been cold there in my shadow to never have sunlight on your face. You were content to let me shine, that's your way,you always walked a step behind. So I was the one with all the glory, while you were the one with all the strength. A beautiful face without a name -- for so long, a beautiful smile to hide the pain. Did you ever know that you're my hero, and ev'rything I would like to be? I can fly higher than an eagle,'cause you are the wind beneath my wings.
It might have appeared to go unnoticed, but I've got it all here in my heart. I want you to know I know the truth, of course I know it,I would be nothing with out you. Did you ever know that you're my hero, and ev'rything I would like to be? I can fly higher than an eagle, 'cause you are the wind beneath my wings. Fly, fly, fly away, you let me fly so high. Oh, fly, fly, so high against the sky, so high I almost touch the sky.
Thank you, thank you, thank God for you, the wind beneath my wings.
[yes, those are words from a song, and i know you know why they are for you]
It might have appeared to go unnoticed, but I've got it all here in my heart. I want you to know I know the truth, of course I know it,I would be nothing with out you. Did you ever know that you're my hero, and ev'rything I would like to be? I can fly higher than an eagle, 'cause you are the wind beneath my wings. Fly, fly, fly away, you let me fly so high. Oh, fly, fly, so high against the sky, so high I almost touch the sky.
Thank you, thank you, thank God for you, the wind beneath my wings.
[yes, those are words from a song, and i know you know why they are for you]
Friday, September 3, 2010
give justice to the victims, not direct anger at the weak
These are lines of a longer article from this page... http://www.zonaeuropa.com/20100829_1.htm ... One friend said the identity of the writer isn't confirmed yet (was this supposed impostor this good of a storyteller??? ). Another said, no victim of such name exists. Fake or not, these lines comes really close to what most of us feel recently.
I kept thinking about what turned a former excellent policeman into a cold-blooded killer? Didn't he have any reservations? Didn't he worry about his own family? What drove him to such desperate straits? Why did he have to choose to take hostages in order to force the government to review his case? Is there no way of making an appeal in that country?
I realized finally that even though I had some colleagues from the Philippines, I and most Hong Kong people know almost nothing about that country. There are more than one hundred thousand Filipina domestic helpers in Hong Kong and they live with our families. But we have never cared about this country and its people who provide us with a large number of cheap laborers. We know that the Philippines is poor and that is why they export domestic workers all over the world. But how poor? I checked and I found out that one-third of its people live below the poverty line. Killings and kidnapping occur on a daily basis. Under such circumstances, why kind of life do the people have? I remembered that two days before the hijacking, our schedule included a visit to a flower car factory. There we smelled a foul odor. The tour guide pointed to the outside of the factory wall. There was a mountain of garbage out there. Many young children were picking through the garbage to make their living. This made us sad and speechless.
After returning to Hong Kong, I learned that there had been quite a bit of anti-Philippines talk in Hong Kong over the past several days. On the Internet, someone proposed revenge by sending all Filipina domestic helpers home so that their country would plunge into economic hardship. I learned that Filipina domestic helpers were insulted in the streets, with the Philippines being referred to as the "nation of slaves" and the "nation of servants." I can understand that the citizens are incredibly angry with the Philippines government and police. I feel the same way myself. But what has this got to do with the people of the Philippines?
Have we forgotten what it feels like to be discriminated against? Hong Kong was a colonized society for a long time, with the Chinese being discriminated against by the so-called "masters" within the system and their daily lives. But now some Hong Kong people turn around to speak like slave-owners that "We hired so many Filipinas so we are their bosses" and "it was an act of benevolence to hire you so how dare you offend your superiors" against the Filipina domestic helpers who had nothing whatsoever to do with the Manila hostage incident itself. This is just appalling.
The Filipina domestic helpers are the victims of their incompetent government, which was unable to provide a decent living for its people. That is why so many Filipinas have to leave their families. They work to take care of other's children while leaving their own children behind. So why should the Filipina domestic helpers in Hong Kong serve as the scapegoats of their incompetent government? Why are some Hong Kong people angry but also being racist?
Even more incomprehensibly, the Hong Kong government has just announced at this time that the wages of all domestic helpers (including Filipinas) will continue to be frozen. This means that the foreign domestic helpers cannot share the fruits of the economic recovery. Is our government exploiting the situation? Would the government care to tell us about their standards and system for determining wage levels for foreign domestic helpers? Their actions right now carry the impression that the government wants to punish the foreign domestic helpers. This is no help towards relieving anti-Philippines sentiments. A friend quoted the words of Lu Xun: When the brave become angry, they draw their knives at those even stronger; when the meek become angry, they draw their knives at those even weaker. Do the people of Hong Kong only know to draw their knives against the weak?
Over the past several days, Hong Kong has been both angry and sad over this Manila hostage incident. Although I have not discussed with other team members, I am sure that we are grateful for the concern and support of the citizens. But the way to comfort the souls of the dead is not to blame the innocent Filipina domestic helpers and the people of the Philippines. Our focus should be clearly on the Philippines government and its police. We want a fair and proper investigation. We want to an account of the responsibility in the incident. We want to provide for the future of the injured persons as well as the families of the deceased. This is how we show our concern for the casualties in this incident.
In the long run, we should support the people of the Philippines to build a more trustworthy government and a more just society. This is how Hong Kong truly becomes a member of the international community and a cosmopolitan city with humanitarian concerns.
I kept thinking about what turned a former excellent policeman into a cold-blooded killer? Didn't he have any reservations? Didn't he worry about his own family? What drove him to such desperate straits? Why did he have to choose to take hostages in order to force the government to review his case? Is there no way of making an appeal in that country?
I realized finally that even though I had some colleagues from the Philippines, I and most Hong Kong people know almost nothing about that country. There are more than one hundred thousand Filipina domestic helpers in Hong Kong and they live with our families. But we have never cared about this country and its people who provide us with a large number of cheap laborers. We know that the Philippines is poor and that is why they export domestic workers all over the world. But how poor? I checked and I found out that one-third of its people live below the poverty line. Killings and kidnapping occur on a daily basis. Under such circumstances, why kind of life do the people have? I remembered that two days before the hijacking, our schedule included a visit to a flower car factory. There we smelled a foul odor. The tour guide pointed to the outside of the factory wall. There was a mountain of garbage out there. Many young children were picking through the garbage to make their living. This made us sad and speechless.
After returning to Hong Kong, I learned that there had been quite a bit of anti-Philippines talk in Hong Kong over the past several days. On the Internet, someone proposed revenge by sending all Filipina domestic helpers home so that their country would plunge into economic hardship. I learned that Filipina domestic helpers were insulted in the streets, with the Philippines being referred to as the "nation of slaves" and the "nation of servants." I can understand that the citizens are incredibly angry with the Philippines government and police. I feel the same way myself. But what has this got to do with the people of the Philippines?
Have we forgotten what it feels like to be discriminated against? Hong Kong was a colonized society for a long time, with the Chinese being discriminated against by the so-called "masters" within the system and their daily lives. But now some Hong Kong people turn around to speak like slave-owners that "We hired so many Filipinas so we are their bosses" and "it was an act of benevolence to hire you so how dare you offend your superiors" against the Filipina domestic helpers who had nothing whatsoever to do with the Manila hostage incident itself. This is just appalling.
The Filipina domestic helpers are the victims of their incompetent government, which was unable to provide a decent living for its people. That is why so many Filipinas have to leave their families. They work to take care of other's children while leaving their own children behind. So why should the Filipina domestic helpers in Hong Kong serve as the scapegoats of their incompetent government? Why are some Hong Kong people angry but also being racist?
Even more incomprehensibly, the Hong Kong government has just announced at this time that the wages of all domestic helpers (including Filipinas) will continue to be frozen. This means that the foreign domestic helpers cannot share the fruits of the economic recovery. Is our government exploiting the situation? Would the government care to tell us about their standards and system for determining wage levels for foreign domestic helpers? Their actions right now carry the impression that the government wants to punish the foreign domestic helpers. This is no help towards relieving anti-Philippines sentiments. A friend quoted the words of Lu Xun: When the brave become angry, they draw their knives at those even stronger; when the meek become angry, they draw their knives at those even weaker. Do the people of Hong Kong only know to draw their knives against the weak?
Over the past several days, Hong Kong has been both angry and sad over this Manila hostage incident. Although I have not discussed with other team members, I am sure that we are grateful for the concern and support of the citizens. But the way to comfort the souls of the dead is not to blame the innocent Filipina domestic helpers and the people of the Philippines. Our focus should be clearly on the Philippines government and its police. We want a fair and proper investigation. We want to an account of the responsibility in the incident. We want to provide for the future of the injured persons as well as the families of the deceased. This is how we show our concern for the casualties in this incident.
In the long run, we should support the people of the Philippines to build a more trustworthy government and a more just society. This is how Hong Kong truly becomes a member of the international community and a cosmopolitan city with humanitarian concerns.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
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