Last Thursday the company distributed bags containing goodies. As we were going to attend a meeting after work, I left the bag in the office but Ate brought her bag home.

Looking at her bag we had this short conversation:
Me: Di pala pareparehas yung laman nung bag.
Ate: Hindi. Pareparehas yan. Baka nung binigay yung sa inyo kulang pa.
Me: Sige sabihin ko sa mga team mates ko bukas na kunin namin yung kulang.
So true enough the next day we had this conversation with my teammates:
Me: Alam niyo ba kulang pala yung binigay sa atin. Meron pa palang tinapay at cream cheese.
Kaye: Talaga? Marvs, request mo naman yung kulang natin.
Others: Wow. Tinapay at cream cheese. Tsarap!
After having a conversation with HR,
Marvs: Eto na yung cream cheese.
Us: Wow. Pero bakit walang tinapay?!
Marvs: Ito lang naman yung binigay.
Me: Teka, matanong nga si Ate.
I sent an IM to Ate.
Me: Ate, di ba may kasamang tinapay yung cream cheese sa bag?

See the bread box on Ate's bag?

Ate: Anong tinapay? Walang tinapay. Cream cheese lang.
Me: Ah? Hehe lagot. Ano yung nakita ko sa bag na box ng bread?
Ate: Ah yun ba? Hindi yun kasama. Gift yun ng insurance agent ko, wine glass laman nun.
Me: Waah! Hehe kala ko yun ang sinabi mong kulang sa bag.
Ate: Hala ka. Ilabas mo yung tinapay!
Me: Waaaaaaaah!

By the way, Liza told me she told some people from other teams about the missing bread. This misunderstanding almost got full blown (good that HR didn’t get to know about this) and I will definitely be dead! Hehe. To appease anyone who has been troubled by my usual fallible understanding I didn’t remove this note my teammates posted on my area.

Hehe serves a good reminder don’t you think? Ang tanong ay kung magtatanda ba ako.

Here are some of my latest news finds about what’s going on that beautiful complex thing we call the World Wide Web. This post coincides with 40th anniversary of the Internet.

Past

Yahoo Geocities, the first popular personal Web-hosting site of the decade has closed.

Geocities closed

Gone are the days we hosted some of our group’s websites here and raved about them.

Future

Multilingual addresses in the internet.

How about かわいい.コム for a domain name?

I spent my first two years in college at Nanang Maring and Ate Baby’s house in Marikina. Although away from our parents, Nanang and Ate Baby took care of us and made us feel that we are part of their family. Since Nanang was a pioneer back then, she always asks me to accompany her on days that I don’t have classes. She always make sure I don’t get hungry and get tired. She would always talk about how proud she is of her children and grandchildren. Last year when I visited her, she was still her cheerful self although already bounded on a wheel chair. Their home was severely damaged by typhoon Ondoy and Nanang was traumatized by it. She passed away yesterday. She will surely be missed. We find consolation on the hope that she will be resurrected in the future.

I think everyone in Metro Manila and nearby affected areas has their own story to tell of their plight at the onslaught of rains and flood last Saturday. My heart goes out to those who had lost their homes, possessions and most of all, loved ones. The flood we witnessed that day is so far the worst I had seen. We have been flooded before but the casualties were not this much. Around 10 am that Saturday morning we noticed that the flood waters were rising rapidly and thus we placed our refrigerator and cabinets on top wooden blocks. It was a pity that it was too late for our neighbor to retrieve their car from the flood. Around lunch time flood water was almost chest deep on our street. At 3 pm, almost half an inch was left before the flood was to enter our house. It was good that around that time the rains drizzled and the flood water receded.

Flood on the street

Flood view from our house

Our water tank got inundated so we did not have tap water for the whole day but somehow with the rainwater and our stored water we managed. It was good that we still have electricity and food stuffs. When we watched reports on the television we realized that we were better off than other kababayans, thus there are lots of things to be grateful to God for. At about Sunday early morning, the water finally subsided in the street. We did a lot of cleaning that morning although until now there are still some tracks of mud and dirt on the streets. There is still a lot to be done to restore especially those areas badly hit by the floods. Our neighbor whose daughter lived in Quezon City even lost their home when water was released on a nearby dam. Some of our friends and relatives in Marikina and Pasig were also not spared from the floods’ wrath. We did our share to help, but there are hundreds of thousands that are still in dire need for help. I think this shouldn’t be the time for pinpointing who is to blame but a time for cooperation for all us to rebuild and help those in need.

I know it is exactly a month already since we left for Seoul. But the procrastinator me have only set aside the time today to write down so forgive me.

Us at NAIA2 boarding area with Ate Shelah

Anyways, a month ago at this time we were already at the boarding area at NAIA 2 Centennial terminal. It is my first time to be here since for my past travels it was always at NAIA 1 and NAIA 3. It was not as big as NAIA 3 but nevertheless ‘newer’ than NAIA 1.  My sister and me were part of the 46 Filipino delegates for the Seoul International Convention. We are three from our congregation. The others come from different parts of the Philippines, from as North as Batanes and as South as Davao. We were divided into two groups so that we can account for everybody, in case anyone gets lost or something. Too bad I had many calls and messages that day my cellphone battery got drained and do not have my cp charger handy (it was on my check-in luggage). It is good that Ate Shelah brought her cp charger with her carry on luggage so I got to charge my cp just in time to call my parents and to turn on roaming. Too bad Noreen couldn’t turn her roaming on for her Globe number. It should be activated 24 hours prior to departure, contrary to the 1 hour mentioned by the Globe customer service assistant to her (by any chance does he work for Smart?). Anyway, the power outlet where I was charging my mobile phone is quite far from the boarding area. So it was not too soon before our fellow delegates were already searching for us (kakahiya ). Our flight was at 1 am and we only took an early dinner. You can expect that we were already hungry by the time we got into the plane and sleepy too! But there is the so-called adrenalin rush. Besides, we shouldn’t get sick since we have a long day ahead of us.

I’ll post Day 2 tomorrow.

I was barely five months old when Ninoy Aquino died and was three years old when Cory led the Edsa Revolution and became our first woman president. Thus, I have only a few recollections of Cory days – the frequent brown-outs, the coup d’ etats (which was a favorite word on spelling bees back then), Gringo Honasan, Bayan Ko, Magkaisa,  color yellow and the L sign (which my officemate reminded me to be the Laban sign). Despite that, I was saddened to hear the news that the former president died due to her terminal illness.

Being a 1983 baby explains why I do not know much about the so-called ‘Cory magic’. Most of what I know about her came from history books and magazines. Coming from the Solid North provinces, most people in our place would tell you that Marcos is a far better leader than her. Most of the Marcos projects in our provinces have been halted and have been deprived funding when she came into power. However, the outpour of support and condolences for the bereaved family proved to me that even though she was not an excellent leader, she has a good heart for which she is respected and loved by Filipinos and the international community as well.

August 3 Ayala crowd

August 3 - Office workers at Ayala await Pres. Cory's cortege

August 3 - Yellow confetti shower at Ayala

Although she may not have delivered all what she had envisioned for the country, I think she was given these overwhelming ‘pakikiramay’ because of her integrity, modesty and determination. Her life proves this proverb from Ecclesiastes 7:1 true:

‘A name is better than good oil, and the day of death than the day of one’s being born.’

She has indeed left a good name for herself and her family, which makes her deserving of the admiration and sympathies of the people.

Death is an inevitable enemy.

Although anyone can be its victim, we are only reminded of its inescapable nature if someone we endear or have touched our lives has been claimed by it.

I am not just referring to the death of Cory Aquino or Michael Jackson but the recent untimely deaths of persons I know and have respects for. On such occasions the emo in me get these thanatopsis moments, which explains my post title. Thanatopsis (Meditation upon Death) is a poem by William Cullen Bryant. I first read this poem back in third year Highschool on our English class. It has a dark theme but the message it conveys is real – that all people from different walks of life are the same in death – ultimately we join others who died on the ‘great tomb of man’. Which makes me think of what legacy (no matter how small) will I be leaving behind when I die? Will I be leaving a good name for myself and my family?

On the bright side, the resurrection hope gives a relief that soon we can see our dead loved ones again.

snowivy puts on earphones
doesn’t hear any sound
snowivy disables mute option on computer’s audio
still no sound
hmmm. what could be the problem?
snowivy realizes the earphones are not yet plugged
snowivy plugs earphones
music being played: maling akala by eraserheads

Forgive me Master Splinter and Ratatouille, it is not that I hate rats but I just don’t like sharing the house with them. The BIG rat at home caused a lot of trouble already. He ate our vegetables (even onions!) and foraged on our trash. He bored holes on our staircase and deposits his smelly feces and food scraps behind our ref and inside our storage cabinet. We tried different ways (mouse trap, racumin) to get rid of him but to no avail. I am rejoicing right now that he is already exterminated, thanks to the following people:

Me and Kuya for trapping him inside the cabinet

Ate and ate ainnie for suggesting to throw boiling water on him while he is trapped, since according to them, scalding the rat could make him weaker and will make it easier to capture him

Noreen for setting a prize for anyone who can get rid of the rat

Jelly for having the courage to execute the plan and to eventually exterminate the rat

My nephew Biboy for the moral support =)