Showing posts with label News & Controversy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label News & Controversy. Show all posts

Sunday, December 04, 2022

Ang mahal na ng gulay grabe! Plus, 5 tipid tips

Well, doing the grocery is crazy these days. This is half a cabbage head for P95 and it's the size of my hand.


I have small hands. So that's not a lot of cabbage for that price.

Here are 4 small onions that fit in my hand. These cost almost P80. The secret of my delicious meals pa naman is lots of onion and garlic! They add that umami taste without the need for MSG. But now, kailangan i-ration ang bawang at sibuyas. 


I understand that the world is going into a recession so life is going to get harder, if it isn't already. This year's been financially tough on us because of my medical situation a few months ago. But I'm not going to lose hope. I'm just going to keep looking for a better and more stable job. Wish me luck!

Yeah, being an entrepreneur in these times is not working out for me anymore, unlike in 2012-2017, when the economy was so strong and the country had huge money reserves under the Aquino administration that buoyed us up even when we had a change of government. But now we're drowning in debt again and will continue to be dragged down into the depths if the Maharlika Wealth Fund (MWF) gets approved. 

The MWF is not a new concept. Many countries have also set up a sovereign wealth fund (SWF). It's a great way to preserve the transfer of a nation's wealth from one generation to the next and to stabilize macroeconomics. But the MWF bill is frighteningly not the same. According to Businessworld, here's just one reason of many: 



Grabe, hindi pa nga resolved ang PhilHealth P15-billion corruption scandal under the Duterte administration, may nahanap na namang pagkakataon ang bagong gobyerno na nakawan tayo, this time using the pension funds, among others. Sana kilatisin talaga ng Senado ang bill na yan. But with pressure from the president himself, the bill speedily approved by Congress may be a law by next week.  

Scary. Even the president's sister said it's a bad idea.

But I'm going to trust our Senate will do a good job! Pray for them please.

Anyway, today I'll share how I cook our meals with tipid tips I learned growing up in a 10-member household that had a P100 daily budget. Syempre, this was decades ago! And yes, that was my job - feed 10 people for just P100 a day. Here are a few tips:


1. Cut your veggies finely. Not naman minced, mga tiny cubes lang. Same with meat. More mileage yan hehe

2. Cut off the fat from your pork and fry that first. And that's now your cooking oil! May instant homemade chicharon ka pa after!

3. Make masabaw na ulam. Tinola, nilaga, sinigang, ganyan. Soups go a looooong way.

4. Buy canned and frozen vegetables! Mas mura. Don't be afraid of canned and frozen produce. They are processed immediately after harvest so their goodness is preserved. And you don't have to worry about your fresh veggies rotting in case you were too busy to cook.

5. In case you do have veggies that are wilting in the ref, gawin mong vegetable soup. I like roasting them and then blitzing in the blender with chicken stock. Or just roast them and meron ka nang delicious side dish! Pwede mo rin gawing atsara. 


And here's my tomato soup recipe. But replace the canned tomatoes with fresh tomatoes roasted in the oven for 15 minutes. 

Sigh.

I'm tired of having grit and being resilient. Yes, it's an amazing quality to have. I want my kids to have these. But they also mean that life is so hard and we've had to bear it and do what we can to survive. But, honestly, in our country, life doesn't have to be hard all the time. Look at how Pasig and Iloilo are doing so well - proof that when a city is free of corruption and is transparent and accountable (no to confidential and intel funds!), the people benefit so much.  

Let's not be resilient anymore. Let's demand accountability, transparency, honesty. Let's demand that all of our taxes work for us and us alone. Let's demand that the government we elected be true public SERVANTS, serving us instead of themselves. Grabe, Pilipinas, ilang dekada na tayong ganito. Mangarap naman tayo at gumawa ng totoong pagbabago. Kakasawa na. Kakasuka na.

Good luck to us all. Don't worry about me, by the way! We're still fine. I'm just trying to be more frugal these days. Buti na lang we have family and wise investments that helped us. Still, I'm in the middle of a job search because we would like very much to be able to breathe a little. Pray for me! 

Pray for us all.  
Typed away by a bleary-eyed at 2 comments:
Filed under: , , ,

Friday, May 20, 2022

Don't be afraid. Don't be apathetic. A brave and bright future still awaits!

I don't remember being this heartbroken, ever. Any heartbreak I've felt before is mine alone. This devastation I feel is for the Philippines. If grief means love, then this is good news. I must really love my country. But I'm sure everyone who went out of their way to vote last May 9 - to suffer long lines, intense heat, crowds in the time of a global pandemic, hunger, and hours and hours of waiting - also loved our country. We just showed different ways to love it. 

My love was formed by a bloody past, which I hoped never to see in my children's future. But things didn't turn out the way I hoped and I am in such a dark place of fear. No funny TikTok reel or nostalgic YouTube video from the team that ran away with the elections can comfort me because they are empty entertainment. 

Thankfully, I read this letter by Emmanuel S de Dios, Professor at the UP School of Economics, to his class. And my heart is comforted. And I can love my countrymen again, yes, even the ones who voted differently, because we are all in one boat and we need to work together if we're ever going to get anywhere. I'm copying it here, for me to read again in case I ever lose that love again.

Dear Class,

I realise how some of you must feel disoriented, disappointed, defeated, and depressed after witnessing the results of the elections just past. In many ways what you have just witnessed is a turning point in our country’s history as a nation, although probably not the one that many of us had hoped for. This will be evident especially for you who are taking this course dealing with the history of martial law and the economy. After all, the point of this course and your being enrolled in it was to learn from history so that we would not repeat it.

We thought we could dream bigger and better; that we could escape and fly farther. But the dead hand of the past has pulled us back into the shadows—for now.

I don’t mind sharing with you that I too feel this is one of the saddest days I have experienced since I was a student and martial law was declared. The reason is not just simply that the better candidate lost—a rare individual whom I personally know to be untainted by corruption and who acts only on the purest motive of selflessly serving our people. More painful for me is the realisation that a great majority of our people are vulnerable and have fallen prey to myths, half-truths, and outright lies. For this last ultimately means partly my own failure.

The blame is partly on me and my generation that we have not chopped off that monstrous hand of the past; that we failed to fully exorcise those ghosts that now haunt the minds of the majority. We tried but failed; or perhaps we did not try hard enough and long enough, especially in the face of an enemy that was smarter at using new weapons. The mere late existence and necessity of this course you are enrolled in is emblematic of that failure, which now forces us to watch as our children weep in the gloom of their dashed hopes. For this, I must ask your forgiveness on behalf of my generation.

But what can or should we do when faced with the impending rule of a resurrection of the Marcos family? I can process this the only way I know how: through reason and social science, guided by ethics and empathy. There are two things we should not do: be afraid or be apathetic.

We should not be afraid or be cowed because even now we remain a free people. Neither social conditions, nor our institutions, nor the character of the younger Marcos are such that we have been brought back to 1972. We can thank the achievements of all the post-Marcos administrations that have slowly rebuilt the foundations of an economy with sound macroeconomic fundamentals than the ruined one Marcos left behind; we can thank the 1987 constitution, its bill of rights, and our long tradition of civil engagement for the safeguards and checks to the emergence of would-be dictators. And finally, we can even, I suppose, be grateful for the lack of character and vision of Junior Marcos, who lacks the sinister genius of his father that allowed the latter to deviously manipulate our country onto the path of dictatorship and debt. All of these are factors that favor a future beyond the present gloom.

Make no mistake: there will be attempts to curtail our freedoms and liberties. There will be no shortage of sycophants, clowns, and stooges who will try to outdo themselves in seeking to silence legitimate voices of freedom and criticism through “red-tagging”; to prevent diversity of thought through attempts to rewrite history in the textbooks and through an intensification of social media campaigns that amplify the lies glorifying the Marcos family and their rule.

There will be impending abuses of public power for private gain: attempts of the Marcos family to claim large swathes of the economy for themselves and to reward old and new cronies, who are now free to come out of the woodwork and feel entitled to a share of the spoils of a Marcos victory; there will be concessions of our patrimony to foreign powers that have bet heavily on an administration that supinely compromises national interest.

At every moment we should not be afraid to call out and resist these—because we remain free and it is within our rights to be so and to act accordingly. Remember this is not 1972. You cannot remain afraid or be apathetic because there is both the need and the opportunity to combat the past wrongs that have plagued our society as well as the new ones that are about to overlay them. Your knowledge and creativity can slowly reverse the poison that has taken hold of the minds of the many. Your effort and enthusiasm can turn back attempts to return to the days of grand corruption, cronyism, and injustice.

Before you can do any of this, however, remember first of all to be kind to yourself. Mend your spirit, recharge your brains, strengthen your hearts. Spend time on the things over which you have control and which give you simple pleasures; seek the company of family members or friends who will be a source of comfort. Devote time to improving your personal health, your mental and physical skills, your cultural perspective. Only when you feel good enough about yourself can you even begin to think about helping other people— and beyond that, the country.

Objectively, our true loss and that of the country is not having the luxury of being able to take our freedoms for granted and of being allowed to devote ourselves fully to lives that are perhaps more leisurely, less inconvenienced, or more directly productive. The common soil of truth we planted with young seed is in danger of being dug up. The imperfect house of institutions we were building painstakingly is at risk of being wrenched apart. What we thought we had for sure is now threatened. This is why we must act.

But think of it this way: the burden and sacrifice required of us is still nowhere as great as that of earlier generations. Take heart that we are, after all, not being called upon to risk our lives to gain freedom, as in 1896, or the Second World War, or the years of dictatorship. How you contribute will be as varied as your personalities, skills, and circumstances will allow: from joining various organisations and volunteer organisations to help the poor neglected by government; to speaking out and correcting lies on social media; to standing your ground against anomalies if you happen to be in government; to practising your profession honestly amid material challenges to your morals; down to simply discussing with friends and family in the hope they might find their way to the truth. Means will differ but goals will coincide.

We are called upon not to fight for freedoms which are being denied us, or which do not yet exist. We are asked only to defend the freedoms we already have by using them to the full. It is by not using them that we risk losing them.

With sincere hopes for your brave and bright future,

E.S.D.
13 May 2022


Hay, Pilipinas kong mahal. I needed to be reminded that our constitution exists, na kahit na halos binabalewala na siya, andyan pa rin siya, guarding our freedoms and guiding our way forward. And there is a way forward. Naniniwala pa rin ako sa sinulat ni Jose Rizal sa El Filibusterismo more than 130 years ago:

"Ah, you don’t know what we can do in a few years," replied [Isagani]. "You don’t realize the energy and enthusiasm that are awakening in the country after the sleep of centuries. Spain heeds us; our young men in Madrid are working day and night, dedicating to the fatherland all their intelligence, all their time, all their strength. Generous voices there are mingled with ours, statesmen who realize that there is no better bond than community of thought and interest. Justice will be meted out to us, and everything points to a brilliant future for all. 

"It’s true that we’ve just met with a slight rebuff, we students, but victory is rolling along the whole line, it is in the consciousness of all! The traitorous repulse that we have suffered indicates the last gasp, the final convulsions of the dying. Tomorrow we shall be citizens of the Philippines, whose destiny will be a glorious one, because it will be in loving hands. Ah, yes, the future is ours! I see it rose-tinted, I see the movement that stirs the life of these regions so long dead, lethargic."

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! Mahal na mahal pa rin kita.

Typed away by a bleary-eyed at No comments:
Filed under: ,

Saturday, May 07, 2022

My candidates for #Halalan2022

Elections na sa Lunes! Here's my final list of candidates that I'm voting for on May 9.


I've already written my reasons for choosing these outstanding individuals for the top positions in this blog post: God's will doesn't just happen, we have to choose it.

President
1. Leni Robredo

Vice President
1. Kiko Pangilinan


I chose my senators for their pristine track record of fighting for the environment, social change, and the marginalized. Talagang inaral ko sila kasi nung una, tatlo lang kilala ko sa mga candidates sa listahan ko. But inisa-isa ko ang mga candidates. Yung mga convicted of crimes, yung may corruption cases, yung mga walang ginawa or may mga ginawang masama - delete from the list! Then yung mga natira, I studied each of them at eto na - my final list. It pays to do your research!

Senators
1. Teddy Baguilat
2. Roy Cabonegro 
3. Neri Colmenares
4. Chel Diokno
5. Luke Espiritu
6. Risa Hontiveros 
7. Elmer Labog
8. Alex Lacson
9. Leila de Lima
10. Sonny Matula
11. Monsour del Rosario
12. Carmen Zubiaga

Honestly, I'm aghast at the candidates for Mandaluyong's top positions. On one hand, I'm happy with our LGU's performance. On the other hand, should I vote for the families that have been sitting in power for as long as I can remember? I just think it's time to give chance to others. If you're from Mandaluyong, please tell me who you're voting for in the comments!

UPDATE: I've decided not to vote for any position for congressman, mayor and vice mayor. The other candidates have no online presence at all. No website, no Facebook page, walang paglalahad ng plataporma, nothing. That means they're not serious about running or serving the city of Mandaluyong. They're just there to make it look like the Abalos dynasty has competition. They didn't even try.


I checked out all the candidates for councilors and, for me, this candidate is young and eager to make a difference for Mandilenos. I checked his online platforms and I like his energy and the things he wants to do for my home city.

Councilor 2nd District
1. Regie Antiojo


There are 170 partylists and it took me a long while to narrow down my list. I took out the ones that weren't meaningful to my specific experience. So mga OFWs, BPOs, etc. Then there were several parties that were relevant to me and seemed to have noble causes but di ko type yung mga politicians associated with them so tanggal din sila. 

UPDATE: Paula Fernandez wrote a full list of dubious partylists here).

1. Akbayan - for the youth, students, and women. 


 
Final reminders for the elections!

1. There's still a pandemic so please wear your face mask.
2. Don't wear anything that has your candidates' names, faces or numbers. Don't bring campaign materials.
3. Bring your list of candidates. Don't put it sa phone niyo kasi baka hindi i-allow ng COMELEC na gamitin niyo phone niyo while voting.
4. Don't take pictures of your ballot.
5. Fill in the whole oval with the special pen COMELEC will lend you.
6. Ikaw mismo ang magpasok ng balota mo sa machine and check the names sa receipt! Make sure parehas ang lumabas sa resibo sa binoto mo. 

That's it! May time pa mag-research kung sinu-sino ang mga kandidato at kung ano ang mga nagawa nila para sa bayan. Please piliin po natin yung kandidatong marami nang nagawa para sa atin! Yung walang bahid ng corruption, yung walang history ng pagnanakaw at pang-aabuso, yung may malasakit sa Pilipino. 

So exciting!  


Typed away by a bleary-eyed at No comments:
Filed under: ,

Wednesday, August 05, 2020

I prepared a morbid to-do list, just in case COVID-19 takes me

Lockdown, Part 2! How are you coping? With the COVID-19 cases rising to a whopping 116,000+ (as of today) in the Philippines, we're under strict quarantine again. And because our government has no plans on dealing effectively with this pandemic - unlike other countries - it looks like "Matirang matibay!" is everyone's battleplan. We are on our own, guys, so please be extra careful.


Thing is, kahit na maging extra careful tayo, mukhang magkakahawaan din tayo eventually. Look at all those stories of people who didn't even go out of their house, who disinfected everything, and they still got it! What the what! Define malas, guys.

So after 5 months, I've finally confronted the fact that I might get COVID and die from it. Kayo, naisip niyo na rin ba yon??? I think kailangan na natin lahat isipin this very real possibility.

Me, I have had to finally confront it. I've had asthma since I was 5 years old. My lungs are very weak. For as long as they can remember, my kids always get nagged to wash their hands. I also spray their hands and their things with alcohol. They tolerate it. Hindi kasi sila sakitin so they think nothing of it. Of course I don't want them to get sick, but to be very very honest, I'm scared they'll bring home something that will make me sick kasi kung ako nagkakasakit, malala talaga. Simpleng ubo at sipon ng mga bata nagiging asthma attack, acute respiratory infection, or bronchopneumonia sa akin.

Imagine how I feel about this COVID-19! It scares me because it's so highly contagious that if I were to get sick of it and end up in hospital, I'd be isolated and, if I were really unlucky, I'd never see my husband and kids again.

Important reminders!

So even though I am even more obsessive with washing hands now, I decided it's time to do a few preparations. Just in case. Here is my Morbid To Do List:

1. Prepare important documents.

Collate documents like birth, marriage certificates, business documents, utilities, bank accounts, insurance policies, email and social media accounts and passwords, important phone numbers, copies of my IDs.

2. Ask my sister to swoop in.

Ideally, it should be my husband but he's never had anyone die on him yet thankfully. So we don't know how he'll function in the aftermath of my death. My sister, meanwhile, has buried our parents. I have, too, but I was pretty useless both times. My sister was efficient - from hospital bills and death certificates to coordinating wakes and burials. She even remembered to thank the hospital and funeral home staff - something I only did when I saw her do it. She thinks of everything.

 3. Prepare an isolation room.

Okay, let's get lighter. We don't have to die! In case hindi naman serious masyado, I need to have a place ready for a COVID patient in my house, whether that's me, my husband, or my kids. My husband says our sick room should be the kids' room. I was thinking my bedroom sana kasi may en suite bathroom kami and it's best that the patient has his own bathroom, lalo na since the patient will not only be coughing out phlegm and blowing his nose into the sink, the virus is present in our poop, too.

My bedroom is also the farthest, most isolated, and quietest room in the house. But since my husband's home office is also in our bedroom, hindi pwede. Naisip ko rin to use our maid's room since may bed naman dun and again, malayo sa flow of activity in the house.

Thank goodness also for this to-do list I found. A nurse wrote down what we should do in case we get COVID. Basically, it just says stock up on tissue, paracetamol, mucolytic, and Vicks Vaporub since a mild case of COVID is a really bad case of the cough and flu. For asthmatics like me, I should make sure I have enough asthma medicines to last me a while (that'll be my maintenance meds, Ventolin nebules for the nebulizer, and my Ventolin inhaler).

So I also need to set aside pillows, bedsheets, and towels. Plate, utensils, drinking glass, and cup should be labeled or at least different from the ones the family uses. Actually, because my parents - yes, both of them! - got tuberculosis when I was a teenager, I know the drill. I just need to do the next step, which is...

4. Discuss with my family COVID-at-home procedures.

When the house is ready, I gotta sit the kids down and tell them when someone is sick with COVID, we have to stay away from the patient's room. No matter how much we miss that someone, we don't ever go in their room. For at least 14 days.

Now, with no one sick sa family ko, obviously relaxed kami sa bahay since we're safe. But in case someone does get sick, the virus is now in the house, so the kids must know it is imperative to practice handwashing even more.

The kids also need to know to avoid using the patient's utensils and towels. No aircons! Every window open! Ano pa ba? Yun pa lang maisip ko but definitely this is a conversation we must have with our families.

Something else that worries me is if ako ang magkasakit, paano kakakain pamilya ko? Ang tagal kasi ng COVID! My freezer and pantry are well stocked so may food naman but wala kaming maid and other family living with us so my husband will have to learn how to cook more dishes! Lord, sana hindi kami ever magkasakit please!

5. Talk about what happens in case of confinement.

This is the scariest and saddest of all. When someone is sick enough with COVID to need to be hospitalized, there's a very real chance that someone won't come home. The worst part is there's no chance to say good-bye.

I honestly don't know how to bring this up with my kids. I don't want to scare them. I don't want to take away their hope. Maybe the best thing to do is assure them every day I love them and that I know they love me so just in case the worst happens, they'll have that knowledge to see them through.

And that's my list!

Funnily enough, I was going to put "prepare a death outfit" on my list. Diba when my parents died, I always blogged everyone needs a death outfit to spare the bereaved the emotional toll of going through your closet? (Gosh, I should add that to my list - organize my closet so that my family won't have to confront the chaos in there!) Well, I remembered that people who died of COVID don't get to have a wake or even a proper funeral. For me, that's the most heartbreaking of all for everyone involved—to die alone and not be able to say good-bye.

An important thing I should really do is to tell my family and friends - the ones I don't see now - that I love them. Now that we're prevented from seeing each other and then not knowing if we'll ever see each other again makes it more urgent for me to not take them for granted. I need to just send a "thank you" note. That should be enough. No need to get overly dramatic. After all, hindi pa naman ako mamamatay haha So I gotta make a new list of people to send my love to!

And that's my list!


I know we're all scared. This pandemic truly is a formidable foe because of its insidious way of stealthily attacking us. It makes us put up our walls and suspect everyone. It isolates us from the people we love. But it doesn't have to stop us from building meaningful relationships while observing health and safety procedures, of course!

So stay home, stay safe. If you must go out, always wear a mask (and now a face shield), and keep 6 feet away from other people. Wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds minimum. Don't touch your face. Sanitize. Be prepared! That's the best way to cope with the fear. God bless us all!

*My Lockdown shirt is from LINK - it's from their Pandemic Collection. There are other nice shirts from their other collections. Really liking their dinosaurs and wild things shirts. You can shop at their stores in Lazada and Shopee. Lots of promos until August 31, 2020! Follow LINK on Facebook and Instagram for more promo updates.

*The stickers on my face shield are from the Alice in Wonderland collection of Moleskine. They say, "I'm mad" and "You're mad." Of course in the book, the Cheshire Cat meant mad as crazy, but in my case, I put them there to literally mean I'm angry! Hindi ko na ma-take ang nangyayari sa Pilipinas.

Typed away by a bleary-eyed at No comments:
Filed under: , , , , ,

Monday, July 20, 2020

Why are my favorite influencers not taking a political stand?

I'm listening to songs from the 70s so I'm feeling pretty mellow while I blog today. So, nope, you're not going to see me say bad things in answer to the question in the title haha (well, let's see!)

Okay, so apparently my last post ("How I've been"), while not trying to be political in any way, was seen as political. A few readers sent me DMs thanking me for speaking up and "sana mas marami pang bloggers na tulad mo who make a stand." Well, I was really just talking about my health but, sure, everything's political so I won't disagree. 

Politics is a set of activities or strategies based on ideas or beliefs. So I'm Frances. I believe in truth, freedom, human rights, equal treatment, feminism, and God. So everything in my life - every decision I make - will be influenced and dictated by my beliefs. 

Do I like people who lie? No.
Do I think rape jokes are funny? No.
Will I support people who pass laws curtailing our rights? No.
Do I think it's okay for people to curse God? No.
Do I condemn people who speak up even if I don't agree with them? No. 

So for example, I think many people should shut up but because I believe in the fundamental human right to free speech, I respect their right to speak. Up to the line when that freedom becomes a crime, of course. These are my politics and I try very hard to stand on my beliefs. So, yeah, I hate to admit this, I sometimes think some people shouldn't be allowed to talk or vote, but I won't stop them from doing so because it is their right. Whether the issue is big or small (which is the harder one, you know?), I try very hard to live according to my beliefs because how can I make anyone trust me if I have no integrity?

I think everyone should write down what they believe in and have the integrity to align all that they say and do with their beliefs.

So influencers. Isn't it such a waste that they have this huge platform and they don't use it for politics?

Well, it's not as simple as that. Here are the reasons why your favorite influencers aren't making any political statements:

1. They have a contract not to say anything.

As a blogger, I get proposals from brands. But I always clarify this clause in my contract: "Blogger will not engage in any controversial activities that may affect her reputation or the brand." So I lay it out: "Hi, I like to speak my mind and comment on political issues, sometimes I say bad words, sometimes I talk about sex. Is this going to be a problem?" If they say it's going to be a problem, then no partnership.

I can do that because usually maliit lang naman ang proposed bayad haha But what if hundreds of thousands or even millions ang ibabayad sa iyo? Hirap to say no, diba? So I don't blame influencers who agree to that clause.

Am I saying my silence can be bought if the price is right? I'd like to think no. Like I said, I try to live with integrity. But if there's anything 2016 onwards showed me it's really very easy these days to have cognitive dissonance. 

2. They have to take care of their mental health.

Another thing 2016 onwards showed me? How hateful people can be. You want to know what hell is like? Just visit the comments section! Like I said, some people talaga shouldn't be allowed to say anything. But it's their right so what can we do?

Influencers have a very public profile. That's necessary for them to amass a following. So if they say anything people don't agree with, they invite hate. Many people can handle it. They're usually politicians (unless your name sounds like a drum "bong bong bong" LOL). You'd think that public figures like influencers would also be able to handle trolls but influencers live on social media (politicians don't) so they're exposed to the hate. There's no barrier, no cushion, no filter. That's going to do lots of bad things to your brain, your psyche, your health. 

Remember: Influencers are on social media for the fans, the likes, the love, and admiration. They will not do anything that will invite hate.

3. They don't understand real life.

I love this saying, "If you don't have a leg to stand on, you can't put your foot down." For anyone to have a firm conviction, they need to have thought about the issues first. You can't have an opinion if you don't have facts. At least, that's how it should be. So many people now have an opinion and they don't even have the facts or they deny the facts!

Many influencers just keep quiet because they really don't understand what's going on. Sometimes it's because they're in their lovely bubble. For example, why will they comment on hunger if busog sila? On jobless Pinoys if their one IG post is worth P200,000? 

Or maybe they're just not smart. They try to think about the issues but hindi kaya ng brain nila. So they won't say anything na lang. Is that wrong? I don't know. I think we should always inform ourselves but that's just me.

4. They're already helping in other ways.

Some influencers aren't very good with words. Kaya nga nag-Instagram sila kasi mas magaling sila sa mga picture-picture haha. Joking aside, many influencers are good at supporting causes on the down-low. They donate. They raise funds. They make silly videos na pa-daplis comment on the situation pero babaw lang, happy lang. So we don't know everything about a person's life so we shouldn't judge, right? Baka mas malaki pa naitulong nila kesa sa atin.

5. They don't care.

Yep. They just don't care! And you can't accept it because these are people you look up to. You think because you admire them, they're better than you and they reflect your ideals or represent your goals. And if they're not making a stand (or worse, they're making an evil stand), then what does that say about you?

Believe me, I've been crushed by disappointment these past few years. It spans from the near and dear to public personas. People I looked up to for being devoted to the God of love, truth, and life supported a presidential candidate who spewed hate, lies, and death. A politician I admired for her gentleness voted for defunding of the Commission on Human Rights and pushed for the Anti-Terror Law. Doesn't anyone have integrity anymore?

So you see, just because influencers have tons of admirers doesn't mean they're perfect or that they represent who you are. We can't demand for them to make statements because what if they're contractually obligated to not say anything? What if they don't want the attacks that come with making a stand? What if they aren't really smart enough to understand the issues? What if they're really just evil?

My husband likes to tell me about the movie, The Remains of the Day. It's the story of a butler, James Stevens, played by Sir Anthony Hopkins, who is devoted to his master, Lord Darlington. He serves him because he thinks his Lord is better than him. In the end, he finds out his master is a Nazi sympathizer and that destroys him. James says, "[Lord Darlington] chose a certain path in life, it proved to be a misguided one, but there, he chose it, he can say that at least. As for myself, I cannot even claim that. You see, I trusted. I trusted in his lordship's wisdom. All those years I served him, I trusted I was doing something worthwhile. I can't even say I made my own mistakes. Really - one has to ask oneself - what dignity is there in that?”

My politics dictate that I believe in freedom of choice. If influencers (or people you love) don't want to say anything, let's respect their decision. The way I see it, people who want others to speak up should be the ones doing the speaking up. Let's be the one to think and speak out. Let's all do what WE can to change the world for the better. Maybe we'd inspire others to do the same.

P.S. Oh wow, this blog post got quoted a lot in The Manila Times!

Typed away by a bleary-eyed at No comments:
Filed under: , , ,

Friday, July 10, 2020

How I've been


Hey, dear Loyal Readers!

I filled up June with guest posts and press releases (save for my Papa pancake post, which everyone thought was a sponsored post but wasn't). I was in a strange mood last month and didn't feel like blogging while I was going through what I was going through. 

So what happened?

Well, the continuing COVID-19 quarantine was starting to take its toll on me. At first, I was great. I was actually enjoying the slow down of time. But then last month, we had a few health needs—I needed to go see a gynecologist, one kid needed to see a dermatologist because of a skin infection, and my husband and two sons needed to see the dentist. It was no longer simple to go anywhere. 

I needed to see a gyne because I had a really weird period that was first thought to be a miscarriage. It wasn't, thank goodness, but for a while, we thought it was. I had been skipping periods on and off for almost a year now. We were suspecting menopause. I'm 43, after all. Still, I do a pregnancy test every time I miss my period. So last March, my period didn't show up, I took a test then again in April and then again in May. Yes, I didn't have a period for three months! All three times, all my tests (I do two tests each time) showed I wasn't pregnant at all so when my period finally came last month, I was elated. 

This period, however, wasn't the usual. It lasted 2 weeks and I bled so much. On the second week, I started cramping and a big blob of fleshy and fatty tissue came out of me. Alarmed, I took photos and sent them to my friend who was a gyne. She said it looked like placental tissue that comes out during a miscarriage. I was devastated. And confused! I wasn't pregnant so how could this be?

It took a while to schedule an appointment at a clinic so there were a good few days I was in limbo. On one hand, I was relieved because I truly didn't want a baby anymore (in a pandemic???). And then I felt guilty for feeling relieved. What if it had been a girl? Or even another adorable boy? So I started grieving, missing a baby I didn't even know I had. I stopped exercising because I thought maybe that caused the miscarriage. But then I was also bewildered. I wasn't pregnant so how could I have had a miscarriage??? 

Finally, I went to get my tests. I wasn't pregnant at all! Apparently, I had passed a decidual cast. Usually, when we shed our uterine lining, it comes out in bloody pieces, right? But sometimes the decidua comes out intact. It's a relatively rare occurrence and I turned out okay. So I should've felt better, but I didn't. My heart couldn't shake off all that sadness and grief, even when my brain said everything was great.

I guess it was because while I was struggling with my emotions, there was also a lot of upsetting things happening in our country. I used to be a journalist so I am affected by what happened to Rappler and ABS-CBN. I am personally affected since I'm a regular contributor to ANCx, the men's lifestyle website of ABS-CBN. Then the Anti-Terror Bill was signed into law, despite the massive protests against it. Clearly, this so-called democratic government was not for the people. I was devastated.

On top of all that, we finally had to decide what to do about our kids' education this school year. I wasn't in any mood to think about the future, to be honest. I didn't even think we had a future! With COVID-19 cases rising fast every day and the government basically saying we're all on our own, who's to say we'd be alive next year? Why even plan anything? I was in a very dark mood indeed.

My depression lasted all of June. But because my youngest boy turned 6 last Friday, I had to cheer up. I willed myself out of my malaise to order his gifts, buy his cakes. My second boy actually had to remind me to decorate the house for his baby brother's birthday party. That was what finally snapped me out of it. And so, out of my fog of despair, I was able to be happy for my birthday boy. It was my first truly happy weekend in a month! Thank God for my children!

So this week, I finally started exercising again. I started sleeping again. I started working again. It's still a slow process but I'm not wallowing anymore. I'm happy again. I'm angry again. I can feel other emotions outside sadness again. I have hope again. I'm alive again!

And so I can blog again!!!

Thanks for sticking around, dearest Loyal Readers. I hope you've had a better June than mine. And if you're also going through despair, hold on. There is still tomorrow. There is always hope! May your eyes and hearts be opened to the hope that we have in God. "I pray that the eyes of your heart be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people." Ephesians 1:18. 

May God keep us safe and healthy. God bless us all!

Typed away by a bleary-eyed at 2 comments:
Filed under: , , ,

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Is this Manny Villar's house?

Got an email today. One look at it and I knew it was a demolition job. The email said it was presidential candidate Manny Villar's house but I've been to one of Villar's houses (we shot it for a magazine feature) and his decorating taste certainly does not look like this:

It looks like the White House!

The pool

Guests are received here

And they eat here

The master of the house sleeps here

Takes his baths here

There are many more photos but I'm lazy to post them all. I'm sure you'll get it in your inbox soon anyway, if you haven't already.

Like I said, I've seen how Villar lives. Villar's home decor is actually more shabby chic—floral, wood, comfy seating. I personally am not a fan of his taste in decor but hey, it's not my house! Besides, Villar is one of the richest men in the country so I always thought he'd have a fabulous house and it turns out he actually doesn't. Well, it's not ugly, not like it was constructed out of stainless steel drums, but he sure doesn't live as well as certain people I know! And one more dead giveaway that this ain't his: Villar loves photos. His house is literally covered with picture frames of him and his family. The house above has no photos.

Now, I'm not voting for Villar in May (I like another candidate. My only clue for you is he has a pretty wife) but I think this email is just disturbing.

This house isn't Villar's. I can tell because I'm a magazine editor. Those photos were obviously taken by a professional photographer—the flooded-with-light look gives it away. If Villar wanted to keep this house hush-hush, why would he have it photographed by a team of professionals? It's just stupid. As a journalist, I quickly investigated whose house this is and found this blog entry: Is This Really Mugabe's Mansion?. Mugabe is the president of Zimbabwe and he's been holding power since 1980, so he's like our Marcos.

Anyway, so now the house is supposedly Mugabe's but after further investigation, it turns out it also isn't! It supposedly belongs to the biggest movie star in the world. Who's that? Tom Cruise? Brad Pitt? Angelina Jolie? Puh-leeze. They don't even hold a candle to this guy! The biggest movie star in the world is Shah Rukh Khan, with a fan base of a billion. Yes, you read that right—a billion! He's Bollywood, baby, and everyone in the film industry knows that Hollywood is so much smaller than Bollywood.

Yes, I can believe that a guy who poses for pictures like this 
can live in a house as ridiculous as that!

What I'm trying to say is don't believe everything you read. Don't be gullible and don't be stupid. The elections are coming up so expect the mudslinging fest to commence. But don't get caught up in it. Be responsible and do not spread lies about other people even if you don't like that person!

UPDATE: According to snopes.com, it isn't Shah Rukh Khan's. Here's what the website that investigates urban legends says: "In fact, these photographs actually depict a home half a world away from Zimbabwe, a mansion in the tony Bel Air section of Los Angeles that has been extensively photographed inside and out because it is sometimes used as the site of location shooting for television and films."

UPDATE: That mansion "belongs" to either Lady Gaga or Robin Thicke! Someone sent me another email, you see, with the following videos and, wowza, that mansion looks even better when there are half-naked people romping in it!





I'm loving Lady Gaga's poison ring. WendyB has something similar called the Borgia Ring. I also love the legs and butt of the model who plays Robin's lover. Those legs and ass are fantabulous!

Manny Villar's team may rest easy now.



*actor's image from The Bollywood Zone.
Typed away by a bleary-eyed at 11 comments:
Filed under: , ,

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

There is no Plan B

I think I'm finally enjoying my pregnancy. I say that cautiously because, well, I never know when the nausea will strike. Well, I do know now when it will strike--after I take my prenatal vitamins--but the nausea has indeed lessened. Plus, I have more energy and my acne is clearing up (thanks to Murad and VMV, damn expensive but working!). What I'm really happy about is the "less nausea" part. That has got to be the worst thing ever about pregnancy. However, ask me again when the varicose veins, stretchmarks, fat, and labor come!



Anyway, right now I'm thinking about that whole Kris-James-sugod the fan issue. So weird that after she goes on and on righteously saying "I'm a wife. I have to protect my marriage!", she announces just as righteously to all and sundry that she's now separated from him. Er, I thought she was saving her marriage? Let me be clear on one thing: I'm a wife, too, so I have no issue with Kris confronting that Mayen woman. Mayen threatened Kris' marriage and it is only right that Kris go and annihilate the threat. But now that she has, what does she do? She leaves. What the hell was all that fuss for then?

Let me tell you how Vince and I see marriage. We see ourselves as a pair of scissors. Separate, we are each a blade--we each have our own purpose; therefore we are not meaningless individuals. Together, we still have the same purpose but we work together towards one goal. And whatever comes between us, we destroy. This we both agreed on--for better or worse, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, till death do us part. Only death will separate us. That's the plan. There is no other plan.  

Let me tell you about another couple with no other plan. When Playboy asked Will Smith if he and wife Jada signed a prenuptial agreement, he replied, "No. I don't even like the concept of a prenup. The idea is that this is going to work out and we're going to be together forever. I am the type of guy who doesn't have a plan B because plan B distracts from plan A."

Those are wise words for marriage and for life. Dream big. Let go. Jump in. Commit. Don't think about second chances. Think: This is it!

Life is about commitment. Freedom comes only with commitment. When I married Vince, I finally became free from insecurity, jealousy, doubt and fear. I know he feels the same way. We are free to love each other, to kiss, to make love, to get pregnant, to live the way we want because we committed our lives to each other. Why would I want to give that up? That is also part of our vows: To not just cherish but also to protect our marriage. So believe you me, if anything dare threaten my joy, I will rise up and crush it.

Typed away by a bleary-eyed at 22 comments:
Filed under: , ,

Tuesday, December 01, 2009

It is time for war

I am a huge fan of Lord of the Rings. I have a deep love and respect for this mighty work, both the books and the movies. While I love all the characters, I have a special fondness for Theoden, King of Rohan. He is a man of peace but when that peace was threatened, he became a man of war. These days, his words ring true for us Filipinos. Listen.

"So much death. What can men do against such reckless hate?"

"Tonight we remember those who gave their blood to defend this country. Hail the victorious dead!"
  
"We shall have peace... We shall have peace, when you answer for the burning of the Westfold, and the children that lie dead there! We shall have peace, when the lives of the soldiers, whose bodies were hewn even as they lay dead against the gates of the Hornberg, are avenged! When you hang from a gibbit for the sport of your own crows, we shall have peace!"

"Arise, arise, Riders of Theoden! Fell deeds awake: fire and slaughter! Spear shall be shaken, shield be splintered, a sword-day, a red day, ere the sun rises! Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor!"


Today marks the seventh day of the Maguindanao Massacre. To the government--both in power and those running in the upcoming elections--we are watching you. To the suspects who are still at large, we will hunt you down. There shall be no peace while the blood of 57 murdered people cry out for justice. There shall be no peace!

UPDATE: The body count is now 64. 
Typed away by a bleary-eyed at 2 comments:
Filed under: ,

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Mourning in November

My favorite month in all the year is November. It's my birthday month and I love getting older. I usually spend the entire month celebrating.

But this year is different. First, Galady was fading away. Then she died.

Then I was also sick for a good two weeks, on my birthday in fact, which meant I had to hide away from the world. Being sick that long made me think that growing older isn't so nice after all. Then various aches and pains manifested themselves--a chronic pain in my right forefinger's joints, feeling gassy and tummy achy, the usual headaches, a strange feeling of emptiness in my sinuses. I wonder why this is happening all of a sudden. I do have a hormonal imbalance (I've been looking up bioidentical hormone replacement. Austin, Texas has a facility that offers it) and I haven't been back to my doctors for my usual check-ups. That's because I've been feeling invincible these past two years. Now, at just 33 years old and 19 days, I feel old and tired.  

Then some intrigues happened. I won't explain further but I'm hoping that that's finally done.

Then a truly horrible event in my country occurred just this Monday. In Maguindanao, a province way down south, at least 54 people were massacred for election-related reasons. The killing of one person in cold blood is horrific; imagine seeing bodies upon bodies piled on top of each other. The women were mutilated and sexually abused before they were riddled with bullets. The men were shot multiple times, too. Then there were people who just happened to be driving by--they were gunned down, too. This was no simple execution.

Seeing the earth by that sad roadside reddened by so much blood, I can actually feel my own blood responding, curdling in my veins, pounding in my head. The horror, the shock and the outrage I feel, that my countrymen feel and the world feels... This is just beyond comprehension.


After such knowledge, what forgiveness?
Typed away by a bleary-eyed at 7 comments:
Filed under:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)