Devastation in Sumatra and Samoa

Sumatra Earthquake:

An article about this on The Guardian.

Samoa Tsunami:

LA Times article here.

After Ondoy: Waterworld

The small island nation of the Philippines was heavily stuck by Cyclone ondoy (Int’l name: Ketsana). The result was total devastation.

Here are some video footages:

UERM (a hospital and medical school) :

San Mateo , Rizal:

Ayala, Makati:

Lots of people with different social standings have come together to offer whatever the can to the victims of Ondoy. Technology (Facebook and Twitter in particular) has even helped disseminate emergency contact numbers and ways to help.

Others have become everyday heroes– I am particularly touched by this young man who lost his own life to save 30 of his neighbors. Pfc. Venancio Ancheta,and four members of the Civilian Armed Force Geographical Unit who was able to save 20 people in Laguna. Gang Badoy , the founder of the alternative education movement, Rock Ed and host of Rock Ed radio. Gang went onboard on Jam 88.3 for four straight days of 14 to 16 hours on air, using radio to inform people about the current situation in typhoon-affected areas and call out for help. Patricia Hizon , a sportscaster who housed 40 orphans and helped the relief operations in Marikina.  And UERM security guard Jason de Guzman who jumped in the raging flood water to save the woman in the first video I posted.

Quake!

Around 11 am today there was an earthquake.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the quake had a magnitude of 5.3 , with the epicenter located in Mindoro. It was felt in Manila and the provinces of Bataan and Pampanga.

It only lasted a few seconds but it made me feel dizzy. I texted some people right after the tremor and one was clueless about it. LOL!How can you possibly NOT feel an earthquake? Ako kasi kahit mahinang lindol lang, alam ko eh. One time, tulog na ko non ha, nagising ako kasi lumilindol. It was just a little tremor but I felt it. I wasn’t scared or anything, but it kept me wide awake long after it stopped. I do not like natural occurring but potentially damaging events like this one.

Anybody remember the deathly earthquake in 1990? That was the first ever quake I experienced. I was in grade 4 at that time. I just got home from school and I was playing outside and people were shouting for us children to stay away from electric poles and I remember watching the Meralco post sway. The ground seemed to shake for so long. After that, it was in the news, Baguio was hit hardest. Several private and public buildings were severely damaged or destroyed, many of which were hotels. people died, trapped in buildings, loved ones missing or hurt, etc. What a nightmare! Living in the Philippines( which is along the “ring of fire” ) for so long, one would think that should be used to quakes. But I’m not used to it at all. It feels new each time.

It’s a good thing I don’t live in a condominium or go to work in a high-rise. Because when you are high up like that, a small earthquake will feel like a HUGE one. I do not want my house/office building to sway or tilt!

If things are going to tilt,sway,move up, down, sideways I want to be ready with my anti-emetic medicine. I hate zigzag roads or being on a boat at high sea. ( Two instances come to mind: Going up to Big Bear and the whale watching trip at Monterey Bay. Ugh. I need a paper bag. :p ) Airplanes are generally fine though. Big Boeings are ok. I do not have a problem with that. Small airplanes though—that’s another thing. They’re cramped, noisy and spastic. Not my favorite adjectives at all!

Natural Disasters

Reading /watching the recent news around the world has made me a little depressed. The recent earthquake in China didn’t do anything for my mood as well. At least 10,000 people died. And what about the volcano that erupted in Chile? And the cyclone in Myanmar?

What’s the world coming to? Is it the end of the world? Or is it because of the changing weather pattern?

I’d like to believe that the Philippines is still relatively lucky for being spared from these kinds of natural disasters. We have our own disasters, mind you. But at least its magnitude is not as grand as these.

I hate looking at pictures of devastated areas, people suffering, etc but when I check the latest news ( I read it online) there’s always something terrible happening in whatever part of the world.

Right now, there’s a BIG storm about to hit our country. The weather’s been crazy these past few days— it can be VERY VERY HOT , as in scorching-like-you’re-in-an -oven  then in the evening there’d be thunderstorms, then rain! Magkakasakit tayo nito eh! Ay grabe!

Cebu Pacific’s new online reservation system sucks

I’ve heard several people’s complaints regarding Cebu Pacific’s new online reservation system. Apparently, they’ve upgraded their perfectly good but old system with a new one developed by NAVITAIRE (where a friend of mine used to work).The new system absolutely doesn’t work in Firefox 2.0 or at least doesn’t go beyond the flight search page.

Meron daw instance na na-reject ang isang babae sa mismong araw ng flight nya dapat kasi raw hindi pa raw confirmed yung ticket nya (which was purchased online)!

Tapos meron din akong isang kilala na hindi rin sya pinasakay sa airplane kasi raw na bump-off sya due to OVERBOOKING! Ang galing diba? Tapos nung tatawagan sana nya ang supposedly 24 HOURS na customer service eh walang sumasagot. Puro recording lang na ” “Sorry, all agents are busy now. Please hold on the line while we attend to your call shortly. Your call is important to us.”– obviously it’s not important coz nobody cared to answer! Kawawa naman sya kasi LONG DISTANCE pa yun dahil nasa ibang bansa sya at uuwi sana ng Manila!

Hanep diba?!

Ano ba yun, puro bugs ba ang system nila? AT kung ganon nga eh bakit nila ito hindi muna tinest ng mabuti? Yung mga tao pa nila hindi helpful, hindi mukhang interesadong tumulong sa mga nainconvience na mga clients. Anong klaseng service ito?

Grabe ha! Balak ko pa namang bumili ng ticket kaya lang dahil sa mga narinig ko mag PAL na lang ako!! Kahit na mas mahal, at least siguradong makakaalis naman yung flight! AT SIGURADONG MAKAKASAKAY !

This scenario reminds me of the time when there was an airport-wide Blackout and everybody was stranded in the domestic terminal! Wala silang emergency backup or generator man lang. Grabe! This thing happens ONLY IN THE PHILIPPINES!!

Aiyayayayay!

Lettuce Bikini

Three PETA  activists romped around the Plaza Miranda in downtown Manila wearing only their fresh Lettuce bikinis to urge Filipinos to become vegetarians. Part daw ito ng campaign nila for Earth Day.

Of course dahil nasa Pinas sila, pinagkaguluhan na ang mga ito ng lahat ng tambay, uzi, passers-by, tindero/tindera and a hundred other people in that very busy and crowded part of town. It’s not everyday that you’d get to see women wearing only lettuce leaves to cover their private parts. I’m sure a lot of men were not thinking of going vegan, but instead, their heads were probably filled with carnal thoughts! (get it? CARNAL thoughts?hehehe. )

Read the article here.

World hunger crisis

The world hunger crisis is all over the news. In just three years, the prize of staple foods like corn, wheat and rice has almost doubled.

Here in Manila, there’s an ongoing rice shortage, and lots of people (usually the very poor ones) have to line up to be able to buy the awful NFA rice. For us who are better off, we buy imported rice that costs up to Php50 a kilo!

But this isn’t as bad as what’s going on in Haiti. There, people eat MUD, mixed in with oil and other stuff to make it more “bearable” . (Source: NY TIMES)

How  SAD is that?

I wish the rich people/socialites Brian Gorrell used to hang out with would have a heart ,take a look around , and see the impoverished state of their fellow human beings and use their time and money to HELP others instead of partying all day and all night. They should use their drug money to buy food for poor children!!

But I digress.

If we don’t do something soon, hundreds of thousands of people will face starvation and a hundred million more could fall into extreme poverty, if they aren’t there already.

The World Bank says that “if left unchecked, global food shortages could set the world back seven years in the fight against extreme poverty. “

Let’s do our part in helping others by signing up in the ONE campaign —I just did, and you can too, here: ONE.ORG

Brian Gorrell gets duped by his ex-boyfriend and spills all his dirty secrets to the public

Naloka ako sa kakabasa ng blog ni Brian Gorrell.

Para sa mga hindi pa familiar dito, sya yung author ng controversial blog na pinamagatang The Talented Mr. Montano

He’s an Australian who lived in the Philippines ,specifically in Boracay at nakihalubilo sa mga socialites ng Manila. Isiniwalat nya ang mga baho ng tinatawag na “Gucci Gang” na binubuo ng mga sikat na personalidad tulad ni Wendy Puyat at Tim Yap to name a few. May wikipedia entry pa ang mga gagaita! Just go to Wikipedia and type “Gucci Gang” or just click this link kung tamad ka nang magsearch.

Kawawa rin naman si Brian dahil naloko sya ng kanyang gay lover /boyfriend na si DJ Montano. Pero tanga rin sya dahil pinagkatiwala nya ang kanyang buong life savings sa isang bakla na nakilala lang nya ng isang taon.

Kahit siguro sampung taon ko pang kilala ang isang tao, hindi ko ipagkakatiwala yung LIFE SAVINGS ko ng ganon-ganon na lang! AT wala pang mga legal documents to prove that money indeed changed hands?! Ano kaya yun?!?! Feeling ba nya barya lang yung halagang yun?!

Ayon din sa napanood kong interview sa kanya sa TV Patrol binenta raw ni Brian ang magandang bahay nya sa Australia to move to the Philippines and stay here for good!

I really do not know why so many foreigners want to give up what they have in their hometowns to live in a poor country like ours. Ang daming mga Pinoy na gusto makapag abroad to earn big money tapos sila naman na andun na, gusto dito. Ang Weird!

Anyway, just read Brian’s blog and siguradong maloloka rin kayo sa mga revelations nya!