trips with friends

Last week was one great week.
I was absent for almost a week and went to trips with high school and college friends.
Went to Hong Kong and celebrated my birthday there.
Then sailed to Macau for a day trip.
Then a few hours after I arrived in Manila, I was off to Kalibo again then to Boracay.
It was such a tiring but enjoyable mini vacations.

HONG KONG




MACAU


BORACAY

slippers

I just bought my very first Havaianas! hahaha pathethic!
When I was in college a few years back, it was the "in" thing, but I told myself I will never buy Havaianas because it is expensive and impractical to buy. Besides, I am not a "trendy" person anyway.

But now, the famous slippers came to the office to sell all sorts of designs and sizes. And the prices are down. Several people were buying 2-3 pairs. And since I am going to the beach soon, I decided to buy one pair. I bought a simple, plain and green design. It costs less than 500 so I guess it's a good buy na rin.

:-)

Wake Up Juan!

It's obvious I have not updated my blog in nearly a month. The last post I wrote was the day before the Ondoy tragedy. And from that day on, it seems typhoons make the headlines in TV, print and online everyday.

From Ondoy to Pepeng to Ramil-- all in a span of less than a month. All extremely dangerous, with the latter having the possibility to develop into a supertyphoon. And all hitting Luzon, specifically the northern region.

If one thinks about it, these recent storms are not the first this year. Obviously their names suggest it is already the O, P and R (15th-17th storm). There were a dozen other storms that hit the country this year, but for some reason, the last 3 are the worst, so far.

The tragedies have so far left over 700 dead and millions others affected. It is a sad and depressing scenario. But on one hand, it is a major wake up call. Wake up call for the government and wake up call for the people.

If there are good things that the storms brought are the changes and improvements the government now is undertaking. Officials are now reviewing urban planning (which should have been done a long time). Officials are now restructuring disaster management control. Officials are now rethinking dam protocols. Officials are now examining flood control systems, garbage disposal systems and other solid waste management process.

On the other hand, citizens are also reviewing their own house garbage disposal. Citizens are now preparing for any storms. Citizens are now more choosy when it comes to buying homes. Many developers must now be more prudent when choosing locations for subdivisions.

A lot of new issues are suddenly brought out in the open because of the storms. Rehabilitation of the entire capital and nearby provinces will take a long time. Some say it is because of climate change. Some say it is because of bad waste management system. Some say it is because of dams. Some say it is because of the squatters. Whatever the resons are, the effect is just one: disaster. This is indeed a wake up call to everyone.

the last link

I visited Katipunan a few days ago. It was such a nostalgic trip. I rode the trike to go to my old dorm (the same route I took before). I told the driver "sa may Pizza Hut"-- the place where I lived 4 years of my life. I went to the dorm to get my deposit (hahaha more than 2 years after I transferred). I was lazy to get it in the past years and I thought I will never get that deposit (which is actually not a small amount).

Then I met a street kid who would sell banana-q to me during college. Now he is still there... selling lanzones. He told me to buy and even if it costs P120/kilo, I decided to buy. Good thing he is still studying. I left Katipunan barely 10 minutes after I arrived cause I had to go to work.

Today, my former landlady told me I can get my deposit. I felt relieved cause I can have my money back but at the same time feel a little sad because the deposit is my last remaining link with Katipunan. :-(

3 months!

I have just a watched a movie after 3 months of absence from cinemas. How pathetic my life is... no social life... no movie life. It was therefore a great feeling to be inside a movie theater again. I watched "Kimmy Dora" with Doryll, Lee Ann and 2 friends of Lee Ann at Trinoma. It was a fun movie. I really adore Eugene Domingo!! The cinema was packed. The other foreign movies only have a few patrons. But with "Kimmy Dora" it was crowded and surprisingly people actually stayed until after the credits rolled.

Good day, I'd love to watch a movie again next week!

Videos Galore

I have been too busy and lazy to update this blog. From 5 entries last July, it went down to just 2 entries in August. I hope I can post more for September. But to compensate for my "absence" here in Blogger, I have been active in my Facebook and Multiply. I have uploading videos of my recent reports and coverages. Thanks to all those who watched. I am really happy I was given the opportunity to do all those reports. And I hope I can do more.

*for those who have not watched, check out my facebook, multiply and youtube accounts :-)

Updating...

Updates:
-I had my first out-of-town coverage last August 19, 2009. It was a great feeling, even if I only knew of the coverage just a day before. I arrived at work 4am that day for a 3-hour trip to Palayan City, Nueva Ecija. At first I thought, the cameraman and I will ride a bus, I underestimated ABS-CBN... of course, we will ride the company vehicle! hehe It was a great experience.
Check out the video.

-I recently opened a Flickr account. I came upon several pictures in my laptop and told myself that these photos ought to be preserved in a nice place :-) The pictures I posted and will be posting are pictures that are mostly not in my Facebook or Multiply accounts and are pictures that usually has no persons on it. It is organized by categories... and I will be adding more in the future.
Check this out.