Where are the railings?

We make it a habit of passing by Marikina River Banks every second of November when we go to Loyola Memorial Park. Last November 2, we managed to visit it after more than an hour of traffic and discovered the devastation the typhoons had left. Though visits to the place is not the typical orlando vacations that offer extraordinary entertainment, Marikina River Banks before the typhoons is a picturesque park with its Shoe Boat (a symbol of Marikina City), Gazebo, bicycle lane, World of Butterflies, Evolution Park, and many more. Concurrently, the Shoe Boat lost its beauty and only have its skeleton left, the Gazebo is gone, and also the bicycle lane. We did not see what happened to the Evolution Park and the World of Butterflies.

Overseeing the bicycle lane, 2008

Where are the railings? 2009

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So Filipino

November 5, 2009

BAD TRAIT

A friend tried to beat the deadline for the registration for the 2010 elections last October 31st. She went to the registration center at 11:00 am and was able to finish at 1:00 am the following day. While people are queuing, it was announced that the center will only serve up to 700 registrants. My friend's number was 698. She was laughing while she was telling me the story and told me that my husband crossed her mind while waiting to be registered. Prior to her plan of registering, I somewhat scolded her about it. I told her that Papsie hates this Filipino trait of procrastinating.

In the television, people were enraged outside the registration centers. As I had expected, there are still people who wanted to register though Comelec made it clear that yesterday was a special registration day for those who went to register last October 31 and were not able to complete the process. Comelec repeated that they will not entertain another set of new applicants. That is very clear to me. But seeing those enraged applicants outside those centers made me think that change is still far away from the Philippines.

I could not blame the election officers who berated the people. Who would not be mad if these people are cursing you and shouting at you? It was not Comelec's neglect if they missed the deadline and were not able to exercise their rights. There were already satellite registrations starting January 2010. How come they decided to register at the 11th hour? If we really wanted change then change should start within ourselves. If we wanted to do something, there will always be a way to do it, but if we do not want to do it, there are a lot of alibis why we were not able to do it. As a song tells, "Kung gusto may paraan, kung ayaw maraming dahilan."

This made me think that Filipinos should start considering life insurances and looking at life insurance rates. Sometimes I think that we get angry for the wrong reasons and tend to be ecstatic with the wrong reasons, too. Truly bad for the health, and these wrong attitudes could debilitate progress. Perhaps the reason why we are still a third world country.

GOOD TRAIT

We went to a mall to buy Christmas gifts. It has been three years since I started going to this mall to buy gifts because, first, there are no crowds of people converging at that part of that mall. (Filipinos patronize only the big and popular malls.) Second, there are a lot of inexpensive but nice toys in that department store.

As we pay, Papsie as usual began 'interviewing' the sales clerks and the cashier. It happened that the sales clerk who were assisting the cashier was on her second day at work. It was her first job we learned. Papsie could not stop himself from being nosy and asked what educational attainment does the job require. He asked further what course did the sales clerk graduate from (though I was pinching him at the sides to stop). The sales clerk told him, in between smiles and giggles, that she's a college graduate and a board passer. We were stunned, of course. Papsie continued prying but the girl did not answer. But at the last minute, she admitted that she is a nursing graduate and a board passer. We were more than stunned.

The sales clerk continued telling me that she had applied for jobs in many hospitals and clinics but to no avail. I suggested that she applies for work abroad and she replied that she had done that already. She decided that she had to work while waiting for the results of her applications. For her, it would be a big waste of time, and if she will not earn money. We were so concerned that we told her she had to continue finding a job that best fits her. She smiled sweetly.

While I admire her for being a hardworking and persevering lady, I think that she had to continue finding the best job for her. With her kind of attitude, she deserves better. Filipinos are truly resilient, patient and persevering. It is a sad thought, however, that citizens like her do not even have a decent chance of getting a fitting job in her own country.

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Photohunt: Bags

Skipped last week's chance to participate in Photohunt. Today's theme is BAGS. The first bag was a gift by my children. The second gift was a gift to Kay for her debut. She'd let me use this bag a couple of times.

The bags above do not cost even an eighth of an original Louis Vuitton bag. I was reminded of this because I heard of a bid in DZMM's Aksyon Ngayon for a Louis Vuitton bag by a known actress. The project is for a cause. The radio show aims to accumulate enough money to rescue women OFWs in Middle East countries. The bag originally cost more than fifty thousand pesos. That's a lot of money to me.

Do you own a very expensive bag?

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Why I was not around...

You maybe wondering... If not, it's okay. But in case you are wondering why you don't see me around paying a visit to your blog sites, these are the reasons:

Son and I saw them at a book sale in a mall. Kay was in Cavite that day. Yes, she treated us at Dampa sa Libis in the evening. That was a fun night, really enjoyed it.

Back to these books, I am currently reading Scheisshaus Luck by Pierre Berg and Brian Brock. It is an interesting read but unsentimental, brutal, gory, and atheistic. It is a true to life experience of a survivor. Quite disturbing to me but I plan to finish reading it. Reading the book leads me to asking this question - what is the be-all and end-all of wars for those people who wanted them to happen? I mean, everybody loses in wars. Why plan for wars then? How can those people involved in conquering nations and letting the massive bloodshed happen? How can a selfish ambition kill hundreds of thousands?

Deviating from the topic, Papsie discovered the car does not have break lights. Thank God we were not apprehended, or met an accident and needed the likes of a San Jose motorcycle accident attorney. Oh, wait, a car attorney, I mean.

The car has break lights now. And I am going to read again tonight if Father Clock allows.

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A Sunday Treat by Daughter Kay

Last last Sunday, it was a date with Daryl. Last Sunday, it was a treat by daughter Kay. Why, you may ask. She had already received her cheque as payment for an ad when she had her OJT.

We went to Dampa sa Libis. It was my first time to go there. I had first dined at Dampa in Cubao. Kay will be coming from Cavite that night so we met with her at SM Hypermart. From there we went to Libis.

I had not finished with the rest of the pictures we had there. We had fun, of course. The children enjoyed the wet market. We saw one of our customers before with his wife and kids. He looked like a rock star with his very straight long hair. And, oh, we saw Mr. Mike Enriquez, GMA 's television news anchor. Papsie planned to approach him and tell him, "Excuse me po, pwede bang magpa-picture?" with a tone that is so Mike Enriquez. He was not able to even go near him. We were laughing very hard while we took a picture of Papsie near the window with Mr. Mike Enriquez eating at the background. Papsie was giggling that time.

I am not sure when I can be able to organize the pics but here is the feast:

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Car is New. Not.

I do not have a new car. But our car is newly painted and had undergone body repair and was painted ice blue. It looks like a newly purchased car during the 90s. Smooth to the brim. Shiny new.

We were thinking of buying a few car accessories that will replace the old ones. We were also thinking of having the radiator overhauled. Papsie thinks it can be the reason why the car overheats at times.

Jumping to another topic.

I am so happy that the car is back. Life is hard without the car even if it's not a Benz. The other day I got sick because I went to the grocery store forgetting that the car is in the repair shop. I bought four kilos of assorted wet products. It was too late to realize that the bag is heavy while the other grocery bag with the dry items is lighter but not really that light. I forgot I am not feeling well but remembered that I had to buy them to maximize my visit to the mall. My original plan was only to pay the bills.

I am just so happy for the car to come back home. :D

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Christmas is fast approaching

How do I know?

Well, the other day nephew R's cellular phone was snatched inside the bus. He tried to go after the snatcher and someone from down the bus boxed him on the head. He insisted on going after the two crooks but a set of three people were waiting for him. He was stunned and decided not to continue the chase.

The day before that happened, a notorious gang robbed a watch store in Greenbelt 5. One of the gang members was killed by a security escort of a mayor.

When I went to Pasay the other day and while inside a jeep, a street child was sitting on the entrance of another jeep with his improvised drum singing and tapping a beat, unmindful of the stares of the passengers inside the jeep and from the other jeeps.

And there will be more signs to come.

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