mischief, mayhem... quakes and coup...

25 days to go before christmas and i am cramming like i would only live till the end of the year.

the price i have to pay for playing the role of a world class procrastinator so well. i should get a freaking award.

neeho, at least i'm done with the preparations for the UN conference on climate change in bali.

***

wow, what a week this last seven days of november is turning out to be. it has been raining non-stop and manila is becoming like seattle. only, we've had an earthquake two days ago and now, a stand off in makati.

rebel soldiers taking over manila penn

ATE GLUE: water proof, coup proof, impeachment proof

COOL. Minutes after being informed of the standoff in Makati, Pres Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo plays it cool at the Colonel Lauro Dizon Memorial High School in San Pablo City, where she graced a local peace summit, as she waits for her helicopter ride to Malacañang minutes after being informed of te Trillanes march., President Arroyo plays it cool as she waits for her chopper ride to Malacañang. INQUIRER.NET/LIRA FERNANDEZ

***

after all the brain activity that i had this week, i'm not sure if i can come up with something intelligent to say about this stand off.

i still don't like GMA but i don't think i'm going to makati after work because it's raining and traffic to makati after office is just intolerable. besides, i still don't have enough money to do my christmas shopping. but god jnows i really, reeeeeaaaaaaallllllllllly want to go shopping.

i hope everything in greenbelt goes on sale after this standoff.

kawawa naman my city, battered na battered-- first, the glorietta explosion, and now, this.

i wonder how trading and the peso will do on monday.

i have a question: why does senator trillanes love taking over posh hotels?

if i were to launch a muntiny, i'd stage it in greenbelt.

why you ask? wala lang, it's my playground eh. at least i'll be in my comfort zone.

***

allright, so i was downloading the photo of greenbelt when i saw this:

i hope the stand off ends tonight so i can go shopping tomorrow.

sitting amuck... like really

at this very moment, i am my blog.

i am trying to control myself from going berserk.

and i am not even PMS-ing.

gaddamit.

f**k it, f**k them, f**k everything.

hate it.



GRRRR....

me and my procrastinating a**

2nd semester has started.

i have yet to construct the course site.

and i am not yet done with the 1st sem grades of my students.

GOD, help.

another bouquet in november

i started november with an entry remembering the dead.

my perennially low emotional quotient makes me hesitant to talk, to write about death. i dunno. i'm already 27 and yet, i still find it-- difficult to come to terms with the reality that we will all die.

the recent news of death that hit the media left me shaken. grieving. asking a lot of questions.

this entry is in memory of mrs. dulce saguisag, mariannet amper and the victims of the blast at congress last night.

i also found this song of rivermaya from their very first album. (click on the title to listen)

Flowers


Someone's gone away Forever
Someone's gone away Too soon
Did they take him Up to Heaven
Or did they take himTo the moon?

Nobody answers
All her questions
So she gazes at the skies
Maybe somedayWhen she's all Grown up
She'll join themIn their lies.

And just before She turns away
She crafts a little smile:

someday i will take this flowers to the sky

someone bring back the sanity

at nine last night, as i was going out of waltermart along pasong tamo, (incurable mall rat i really am), my phone beeped. and beeped. and beeped.

i didn't get to read the messages right away. i was a bit paranoid of displaying my phone inside the jeepney-- i mean hello, people are hungry in this side of the planet and my candy pink-colored motorola, when resold can afford to feed a family of five for three days.

i thought, my new home is only a few blocks away anyway, so the messages can wait. and had it really been an emergency, people would've called. we spent two minutes, fifty seconds waiting for the green light in the intersection of south super highway and arnaiz avenue and a good 10 seconds to make sure that the coast is clear-- meaning-- there are no speeding dump trucks that would crash into us and kill us instantly.

by the time i got home and checked my phone, five messages from family and friends were waiting. all the texts pretty much said: BATASAN was bombed. congressmen and staff were hurt. where are you?

gmanews.tv

the south wing takes a big bang

gmanews.tv

one minute you're alive and breathing, next minute,

you're inside a body bag, dead.

i had to sit down.

i don't want to be morbid and all but really, it's as if death is coming closer by the day. barely a month after glorietta was bombed--err-- okay not bombed, after the particles of gases in the basement of g2 went amuck, here's another big bang.

(by the way, i wonder why the authorities is taking gazillion years to determine the cause of the glorietta explosion? )

my playgrounds are being annihilated.

they bombed a government agency this time. who knows when and where the next bomb will detonate?

i've run out of theories and possible solutions.

right now, i am just scared.

pinoy big briber

i'm trying to outgrow 3rd world politics. believe me.

i'm trying to become a full blooded technocrat. no more politics. technocracy is the way for me. technocracy. technocrazy. whatevs.

will probably come up with an entirely diferrent kind of blog next year. shameless plug, i know.

neehoo, the tempest-- which is the drama of the wicked and wonderful world of brown monkey politics is still raging. as ever.

someone is due for eviction from malacanang.

tomorrow, November 9, 2007 is International Day of Protest Kontra sa Panggagago.

In some major cities around the world, Filipino communities will wear black and organize protest actions on this day to declare with a strong voice: “Tama na! Sobra na! Ginagago na ang mamamayang Pilipino!”

In Metro Manila, we will wear black and assemble at the Ninoy Aquino Statue along Ayala Ave. and Paseo de Roxas at 11:30 am. We will then march towards the Makati Post Office, buy stamps and each one of us will mail a Pinoy Big Briber postcard with a personalized message to GMA.




for downloads, visit www.pinoybigbriber.com.

God save this country.

mush

i've finally moved out of QC.

was thinking of one person the whole time i was packing.

this has been playing in my head whenever i think of that dude since-- i dunno when. probably over the summer. i'm not sure.

bottomline, i'm cheesy today.

condolences

offering these gerberas to family and friends who have departed.

anyway, i was a bit shocked to hear of the death of Lieutenant Colonel Renerio Batalla, the Philippine Army officer who died of malaria while on international peacekeeping assignment in Sudan last week.

the UN secretary general sent his condolences to the family.

what shocked me about this is number one, the reality that there are still some places where malaria happens. second would be, that malaria can still actually be a cause of death. and lastly, how bad is the condition in sudan? i mean, weren't there doctors or why weren't they able to treat him?

hmmm... o yeah, i remember the questionnaire that one has to answer when applying for a post in the UN's peacekeeping missions.

Mission Readiness

It is very difficult to define what being ready for mission service really means. How can one possibly prepare for the unexpected?

There are, however, some basic ways in which you can assess whether or not you are the kind of person willing to meet the challenges of the field, and to benefit from the experience both personally and professionally. The following provides you with some questions to help you determine your own suitability for mission service. We suggest that you consider them very carefully before making the decision to apply:

• Would you feel comfortable working in a foreign country, where the culture, language and customs are different from your own? Do you have the curiosity and energy to learn the local language(s), culture, history and political climate of a mission? Could you be sensitive to cultural and gender differences when dealing with both the indigenous population and United Nations colleagues?

• Would you feel comfortable leaving your family, friends, and personal obligations for a period of 6 months or more? The majority of the missions are considered special, or ?non-family?, which means that staff members are strongly discouraged from bringing dependents and family members to the mission area. The United Nations does not assist family members with visas, transport, or other services provided to staff. Furthermore, family members are not included in the security arrangements made for United Nations personnel.

• Are you prepared to endure the daily hardships and potential hazards of mission life? These hardships and hazards may involve meager accommodations, fluctuating food and water supply, adverse climate and health conditions, restricted communications with areas outside of the mission, and security risks within potentially hostile circumstances.

• Are you enthusiastic, self-motivated, and independent? Do you have the capacity to be a true team-player, dedicated to working with others in group decision-making? Are you willing to work 7 days per week, 15 hours per day, if necessary?

• Would you characterize yourself as having patience, understanding, and grace under pressure, as well as a sense of humor that can defuse potentially awkward situations? Are you self-confident while recognizing both your own weaknesses and strengths? Do you view change as inevitable and respond to it as a source of renewal and improvement?

• Are you well-organized, structuring your time efficiently and setting realistic goals and priorities in the context of a stressful, potentially chaotic environment? Do you exercise good judgment and feel comfortable making decisions that may have profound ramifications?

• Are you, to the best of your knowledge, in good overall physical and mental health? In order to be approved for mission assignment, all staff members must undergo a full medical examination and be cleared for service by the United Nations Medical Director.

i answered most of the questions with outright "NO"... some i answered with a hesitant.. "ummm--yeah, i think so..."

what did you expect?

wait, let's just put it this way, if Paris Hilton survives Rwanda, then i think i'll give this a try.

zzz....

aside from the gazillion things that i've been procrastinating, i should be packing.

packing yes. where am i going? moving out of QC and to a friend's place in makati.

as usual, i'm getting this separation anxiety blah blah. would you believe it, i've fought with five people since monday. i won't give the details-- bottomline, i was wearing my all year round costume-- that of mc nasty.

aargghhh...

rocks was telling me that my petty bourgeois dilemma might be caused by the lack of endorphins. probably. i haven't exercised in the past 14 months, thank you.

separation anxiety and knowing that session is resuming this coming week and that christmas is just around the corner.

christmas. pressure. God bless our wallets.


****

neeho, so i was going thru a coupla researches *wink* this morning when i clicked one link and then the next and voila! i found these:







as you may all know, SJP, kim catrall, cynthia nixon and kristin davis have been seen all over nueva york, shooting for SATC the movie.

so, is carrie bradshaw tying the know with mr. big? let's wait for the movie.

now that i think of it, my post college friends-- sarah, tintin, monie and i have been like samantha, charlotte, miranda and carrie.

we love the city, the shoes, the shopping, the gossip, the men in our lives.

and yes, one of us is getting married soon!

guess who?