We Survived Typhoon "Ondoy" But Our House Didn't

Our house - Aftermath of the typhoon "Ondoy" - Dela Costa Homes Rodriguez Montalban Rizal Philippines.

This is just a quick note on what happened to our house in Dela Costa Homes, Montalban Rodriguez Rizal because of the typhoon "Ondoy". We visited our house today together with my younger brother and sister to check if we can still salvage something out of the rubble. We were so shocked at what happened to the whole village. The 12-foot flood leaves a thick mud all over the place. The residents are already rescued from their roofs and temporarily staying in nearby schools and church. Some of them returned to their homes to check if they can still save some of their belongings. Their blank and confused faces are reflections of their own horrible story and experience of last night’s deadly flood. 

We are so thankful because we are not there last night to witness and experience that horrifying flood. My sister was attending a birthday in Laguna, my brother and I was at work. I don’t know how many died in our subdivision. Although all our appliances, furniture and almost everything in our house were gone, still we are very thankful because we are all safe.

Below are few photos I took using my mobile phone:

Dela Costa Homes 5 residents trying to visit their homes after the flood

Thick mud left by the flood 

Our neighbors' car totally abandoned to save their lives

Unusable appliances & furniture covered with mud littered our neighborhood's alley

Our own house didn't missed the wrath of typhoon "Ondoy" - This is what we saw when we opened our locked door.

Our neighbor's abandoned motorcycle

 

My brother's favorite pet fish

This Calvin Klein perfume is a gift from my sister, which I am supposed to receive next week for my birthday. Well, I'm happy because I can still have it - wrapped in mud.

For those who are still looking for their relatives in Dela Costa Homes, most of them are currently staying in a nearby High School campus and the St. Joseph Church. They need drinking water, food and dry clothes.

Here are some emergency numbers that you may wish to send out to your friends and family.

National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC)
Emergency Numbers:
+63 2 912-5668
+63 2 911-1406
+63 2 912-2665
+63 2 911-5061
Help hotlines:
+63 2 734-2118
+63 2 734-2120

ABS-CBN Typhoon Ondoy Hotline:
landline: +63 416 3641

How to kill fastfood boredom while waiting for the liars

Fastfoods are everywhere in the metro and oftentimes it becomes the favorite meeting place or a place to stay while waiting for somebody. Of course you have to order something while waiting – or else you will look like a “patay-gutom” (totally broke professional) or you will get that get-out-of-here look from the guard.

Most of the time the long wait is oh-so-deadly boring. Most people are so insensitive and don’t even respect other people’s time. These people are liars – saying “Just stay there, I’m on my way” while in fact they just get up from bed.

I admire those who can just stare blankly at nothing while waiting, like a psychotic addict who can see dead people. But I can’t do that, I have to do something.

Here are the things I do to kill boredom at a fastfood while waiting for those liars:

• Forward text messages (the forward-this-or-you-will-die type), quotes and jokes to my contacts – I love annoying them.
• Escape the noise by turning my ipod full volume – and swing my head like that silly puppy in a car dashboard. (in jeepneys it is often place beside that gold feng-shui cat, forever waving. – I hate those stuff.)
• Make an ice barbeque – place all those remaining ice tubes on the straw, hang it between cups and watch it melt.
• Play straw pop -  trap the air at the center of the straw by simultaneously rolling both ends and let your friend pop it. (maybe I should make a video sometime)

• And of course the classic – Play-with-the-leftovers. Like the following pictures. I admire the one who made this:
  

  

  

 

 

 

Any other cool ideas how to kill boredom in a fastfood? I'll appreciate if you can share it in the comments section!

Happy weekend!

The Carpenter's House

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family in Diatagon.

He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by. The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career.

When the carpenter finished his work and the builder came to inspect the house, the contractor handed the front-door key to the carpenter. "This is your house, he said, my gift to you."

What a shock! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in the home he had built none too well.

The Legend of Sex

I was amazed by this legend about sex from the book Eleven Minutes by Paulo Coelho, also the author of the famous book "The Alchemist" [I am a fan of this author by the way], and thought of sharing it here on my blog. I also made some notes about that book around January this year and posted it in my book review blog. I'm not a fan of romance-love-story novels but I never thought sex, as presented throughout the book, could be that philosophical and poetic.

Here's the story:   

According to Plato, at the beginning of creation, men and women were not as they are now; there was just one being, who was rather short, with a body and a neck, but his head had two faces, looking in different directions. It was as if two creatures had been glued back to back, with two sets of sex organs, four legs and four arms.

The Greeks gods, however, were jealous, because this creature with four arms could work harder; with its two faces, it is always vigilant and could not be taken by surprise; and its four legs meant that it could stand or walk for long periods at a time without tiring. Even more dangerous was the fact that the creature had two different sets of sex organs and so needed no one else in order to continue reproducing.

Zeus, the supreme lord of Olympus, said “I have a plan to make these mortals lose some of their strength.”

And he cut the creature in two with a lightning bolt, thus creating the man and women. This greatly increased the population of the world, and, at the same time, disoriented and weakened its inhabitants, because now, they had to search for their lost half and embrace it and, in that embrace, regain their former strength, their ability to avoid betrayal and their stamina to walk for long periods of time and to withstand hard work.

That embrace in which the two bodies re-fuse to become one again is what we call SEX.”

So, what do you think, have you already found your other half?

Have a nice week!
yodz
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Source: (story lifted from the book) Coelho, Paulo. 2004. Eleven Minutes,.New York ,New York:HarperCollins Publisher Inc. ISBN : 0-06-072675-X
Photo Credit : Yuroz "The Touch" Serigraph on Canvas

The Only Sign That You Maybe A Blog Addict

Can you guess what is he blogging about?

Well, that is not me okay, I haven't gone that far. But I want to share some signs of my mild blog addiction. Here it is; 

• My google reader is constantly open on my desktop,
• Always excited to check my e-mail for new blog comments,
• I periodically dream that I am blogging,
• In order for my family and friends to keep up with what's going on in my life, they have to read my blog,
• I'm feeling a little disappointed when my favorite blog isn't updated when I expected it to be,
• I want to read more books and watch more movies for blogpost ideas.

But I think when you're blogging while taking a shit, that's a different story.

How about you, are you a blog addict?Do you believe there's really such a thing as Blog Addiction Disorder?

yodz

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Image Disclaimer: Source: Forwarded by a friend via e-mail. If you're the owner of the image please contact me.to give you credit, link it to the original source or remove it on this blog.      

Do you really need that shit? – A lesson on impulsive buying

Last Sunday I tried window-shopping and end up buying a few items on sale. When I woke up the following day, I realized how foolish I am. It was a mindless purchase – my hard earned money (but not so hard, I guess), spent on damn shits. We’ll this is not the first time I did this, but this one totally ruined my day.

My brain feels kind of empty. Under the emptiness, I am fuming at myself. Well, it was a lesson learned on mindless buying. I realized that there’s no point in growling to myself and there is no point in further fuming about it.

Instead, I make it a blogpost inspiration and made a flowchart about mindless buying. Here it is: 

Sometimes, mindless buying is my way to improve my mood. This urge to spend, often on items that are unnecessary, can give me a temporary feeling of satisfaction, but ultimately leaves me feeling worse when I got short on my budget.

Basic Lesson Learned: (for me and I guess for you, my non-millionaire reader) Think twice about any purchases before buying. Only when I am sure that I need and can afford an item, should I buy it.

Also, here are my personal tips I want to share:

• After salary, don’t go to the mall.
• As much as possible, don’t talk to a gorgeous saleslady. (he he he, if you can)
• Say no to credit cards and have minimum cash in wallet.
• Don’t get fooled by funny advertisements.
• Never get swept away by the “Uso” phenomenon. (Spending because of trends)

Well, that’s all I can think of. Got any other cool tips or any same experience you want to share? I love reading it in the comments section.
Thanks!

BTW, my blog is nominated for the Filipino Blog of the Week Awards, Check out the sidebar of  The Composed Gentleman and look for yodi967 to vote. Thanks in advance! 

The Story of my Fucking Fish

Last long-weekend, I decided to go to SM MegaMall and passed by a pet shop. I looked around and stopped to watch this really colorful fish. The saleslady noticed me, seeing I'm totally amazed while staring at that fish, and asked me if I would like to buy it.

“Of course I will! This is a very rare fish!” I said to the confused saleslady, perhaps thinking I’m on drugs.

The saleslady asked if I ever had a pet fish before; I said no. She carefully scooped the fish out of the water, placed it on a clear plastic bag, handed it to me and I exclaimed, "Whoa, what a nice fucking fish!"

The saleslady said, "Ah, please sir, can you mind your language, there are children here?"

I responded (thinking quickly), "I'm sorry miss, but that's what this fish is called --- a fucking fish!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," said the saleslady. "I didn't know."

I excitedly brought the fish at my boarding house and saw my boardmates. “Hey guys, look at this nice fucking fish!"

"Please Yodz," one of my boardmate said. "Mind your language, can’t you see my friend here? She’s a nun."

"No, you don't understand," I said. "That's what this fish is called, and I bought it. I bought this fucking fish!"

"Hmmm," said the cute nun, stared at the fish and said. "You know, you are correct, this is a fucking fish, can I show it to my friend, he’s outside and he’s a priest"

So the nun took the fish and showed it to the priest.

"Father, take a look at this fucking fish, Mother Superior will love it!"

"My lord, what language!" said the priest.

"No, father," said the nun. "That's what the fish is called---a fucking fish, can’t you see!”

The priest stared at it for a moment and said,

"Hmmm, you know, you fuckers are all right. Mother Superior will love this fucking fish - Yes, we will give this fucking fish to her."

"But I bought that fucking fish!" I protested.

On a second thought, I said, “Yeah I guess, it would be better if you’ll have it, I can’t really take care of it.”

…and that’s the end of the story of my supposed-to-be fucking pet-fish.

By the way, here’s the picture of the fish. This is really a Fucking Fish! 

Something is wrong with it, look closely!

Didn’t see it?
Well, look again. 

If you still didn’t see it, I’ll tell you in the comments section. 

The Wooden Bowl

A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year-old grandson. The old man's hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered. The family ate together at the table. But the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth.

The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess. "We must do something about father,'" said the son. "I've had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor."

So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner. Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl.

When the family glanced in Grandfather' s direction, sometimes he had a tear in his eye as he sat alone. Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food.

The four-year-old watched it all in silence.

One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, "What are you making?"

Just as sweetly, the boy responded, "Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food in when I grow up." The four-year-old smiled and went back to work.

The words so struck the parents so that they were speechless. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done.

That evening the husband took Grandfather's hand and gently led him back to the family table. For the remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family. And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled.

Is Personal Blogging Policy Important?

I got a call requesting to delete one of my blog post here. The call was from one of my family member, saying that our town Mayor didn’t like this blog post: The Sleeping Town. This post is about the political and economic state of our town. Of course the request to delete, from the mayor, is not a request but a threat. 

But, hell no! It’s the truth and it’s my opinion.

The best defense is a good offense, so the saying goes. Accordingly, I realized that this blog should have a disclaimer or some sort of a personal policy for those dumb readers who got the nerve to threaten me and also for other idiots in general. When messy situations occur, I can just refer them to my disclaimer page. That will save me time and effort in arguing and explaining.

This README page is now my blogging guidelines, a way to let my readers know my standards to which why I blog, and what they can expect from me. I'm not a lawyer so my disclaimer doesn't have any legal brouhaha in it but more of a  personal statement. This is a personal blog anyway.  

In our sue-happy, complaint-infested, onion-skinned people in the blogosphere, it’s important to make it clear that our personal blog is for informational, entertainment and opinion purposes only and when in doubt, readers should just post intelligent counter-comments or do more research on the field in question. I believe a simple personal disclaimer will somehow address it.

Spend much time in the blogospehere and you will come across bloggers who are being maligned, threatened and badmouthed because of their post [viz. a blogger who shut down his blog because of a negative comment he made against the OFW bloggers, an employee being fired because of a blogpost, relationship ended, etc.]. Well of course we must always consider responsible posting because being in the blogosphere is being public. That is one of the dangers of blogging.  

That’s why it’s important to not only write a personal blog disclaimer, but to post it on your blog and link in via the footer or sidebar or menubar for reference.

Happy and safe blogging!

By the way, I’ll appreciate your comments on the contents of my disclaimer page.

Long weekend again!!

I was about to leave the office and got a text message from our HR dept. about the urgent declaration of holiday on Monday, September 7, 2009. I'm so happy I want to quickly post it:

MANILA, Philippines – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared September 7 and 21 as non-working holidays, Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said Friday night.

Arroyo declared Monday next week a national day of mourning for Iglesia ni Cristo Executive Minister Eraño “Ka Erdy” Manalo, who will be buried that day, Remonde said.

“All flags will be flown at half-mast,” he said in a text message to reporters.

On September 21, the Muslim Filipinos will be marking Eid'l Fitr, or the end of holy month of fasting, Ramadan, according to Remonde.

Long weekend again!!!!

Just what I need...

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Source: Inquirer.net

Escaping the hullabaloo of my daily life

How does someone who is insanely busy manage to downsize stress? I tried doing it the man’s way – ending a toxic day with vodka and beer, late night gig, sleep-all-day-Saturday, coffee & peanuts, remote control & Sci-fi movies – but on the following day it was too hard to kick-start the whole brain again. Stress just pile up.

In my search to simplify life – and put an end to my fatal indecision – I realized that the perfect way to break the cycle of stress is to have a change of scenery – a day or two with nature best suits me.

Accordingly, I woke up at 6:00 am last Sunday, grabbed few stuff and headed to Subic Bay – Olongapo City with friends. The Master of our laid-up cargo ship, the “MV Pacific Islander II” invited us onboard.


I did hesitate going there a few days before, thinking that holidaying is a waste of time & money and that I should utilized that long weekend – Monday being holiday [National Heroes Day] – for completing my pending office work. It wasn’t until I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and I saw my image as “stuck” – it was like I was frozen, too absorbed in my work, I can’t imagine living any other way.

Then and there I decided I wanted an exciting existence – an uncomplicated, full of adventure, enriching and slow life. By giving myself permission to leave my “cubicled life” and temporarily forget my deliverables, the introspection opened up an exciting alternative to what’s really important.

How about you, how do you downsize stress?

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More Photos Here and Scandal Video