Serve others.

“Serve, serve well, serve others above yourself and be happy to serve. As I always tell my co-volunteers… you are the change that you dream as I am the change that I dream and collectively we are the change that this world needs to be.” — Efren Peñaflorida, CNN HERO OF THE YEAR 2009.

My Ondoy story

My last recollection of a surging storm passing directly into Metro Manila was Milenyo years ago. Then, there is not much rain but the wind is strong.

Ondoy is pure, non-stop rain from morning to late afternoon. The result? Flooding everywhere. The photo above (taken by an officemate) is the scene from the lobby of our office in Mandaluyong. The water has never reach this far. This is the worst I have seen.

Most of the employees were stranded at the office. Some even stayed overnight there, waiting for the water to subside, and the fact that there are not enough PUVs plying the roads.

My sympathy to those areas badly hit by this tragedy. Some of my officemates were also victims, their houses submerged in deep waters.

I have pack some of my old clothes to give to those in need. My own little of helping my kababayan.

Ramdam n’ya tayo

Mar Roxas is giving way his presidential bid for Noynoy Aquino. Well, what can I say? Naramdaman nya tayo.

Corazon Aquino, 2009

The icon of Philippine democracy, Corazon Aquino, died August 01, 2009. She has been battling colon cancer for months. She is 76.

Her legacy will be forever etched in the hearts of Filipinos.

Indonesia attacked!

This Friday, July 17, Indonesian capital of Jakarta was attacked with two deadly bombings in two upscale hotels–JW Marriot and Ritz Carlton. No one has yet claimed responsibility for the bombing.

Hotels are easy target for terrorists. The wrath in Mumbai is still fresh in our minds, and this one again.

When will this end? It’s creepy!

Freed (at last).

The last remaining hostage of the Abu Sayyaf, Eugenio Vagni, is finally released today, after six months in captivity. The news from BBC.

Where is Neil Armstrong?

The Moon landing is commemorated on July 20, 2009 for its 40th year. But did you hear anything about its most famous personality, Neil Armstrong? In a new magazine article from BBC Online, Mr Armstrong is enigmatic, and has spent most of his life post-Moon landing in recluse, away from the limelight.

True enough, we never heard any thing from his life. No biography or book. Rare interviews on television, too.

Here’s a snippet of the article:

That an ordinary small town boy from Ohio might struggle with becoming one of the most famous men on the planet is hardly surprising. But Smith thinks his steely, disciplined determination to shy away from the public eye is another of Armstrong’s strengths.

He says it helped him cheat death three times before he even got to the Moon.

“He always kept his cool. At one point on a flight he was just a fingernail away from not making it. Afterwards, fellow Nasa astronaut Alan Bean told me he saw Armstrong filling out an incident report but recalled him saying he’d just had a ‘little difficulty’.

“He thought Armstrong had stubbed his toe or something, but actually he’d been two-fifths of a second away from death. He couldn’t believe he was just calmly filling in forms as if nothing had happened – but that was the kind of man he was.”

Via Kalibo

The flights of CebuPac and PAL to Caticlan will now be diverted to Kalibo instead due to the new scheme in Caticlan Airport. This is in connection with the frequent accidents in Caticlan airport, the recent one being the plane of Zest Air overshoots the runway.

CebuPac and PAL will provide free shuttle from Kalibo to Caticlan, a travel of around two hours.

Read more.

Mafioso.

I was having a late breakfast last June 12, Independece Day, at McDonalds when I read the Inquirer’s headlines. It is about Ruby Rose Barrameda-Jimenez, and its body encapsulated inside a drum and thrown into the murky waters of Navotas. It chokes me. The manner of her death is beyond imagination, unspeakable.

It gives you a sense of pity to the bereaved family. Which leads to a debatable question: would you rather let the body went missing and never to be found, or see her in a manner whose death is brutal and smack of evil and heartless operandi?

I hope that this country will really stand up to its feet, and help the victims seeking justice.

Tragic yet odd

The missing Air France plane is like a reality copy of LOST, the tv series. Plane crash in the middle of a vast ocean. And was never heard.

My prayers to the loved ones of those who are on board that tragic plane. Hoping that there are survivors and were just stranded in the Island.

Just like in LOST.