Still on Glorietta 2 Bombing..

One of my batchmates in my previous company sent this letter written by my friend Carlo whose wife was one of the casualties of the Glorietta 2 bombing. My wife and I read it and we were already in tears by the time we finished reading it. I want to share the letter but I would need to ask for permission first.

I'm still following the Glorietta incident in the news and they're saying that base on their findings that this is more likely to be an accident than a terror attack. According to the news, they're seeing this as an industrial failure. But whatever caused the explosion last Friday, I hope that they get to the bottom of this and penalize the people responsible, whether it be the terrorists or the negligence of the management of Glorietta.

Those people that died were innocent and were robbed of their life. They went to the mall to shop, to eat or merely to pass by without knowing that it would lead to their death. So if ever that this incident was caused by the negligence of the management of Glorietta, then SHAME ON THEM!! These people were bringing business to them and this is what they get.

I'm still angry and in case this is the fault of Glorietta, I don't think I would want to go there ever again!!

A Sad Day

I'm not sure I want to write about this but what happened at Glorietta 2 today was just shocking. So many innocent lives lost. I found out about the bomb incident when my sister who was here for a seminar in Dusit Hotel texted me that there was an explosion in Glorietta. I was in the office at Ortigas and was busy with work that I didn't really know the extent of the damage. My wife who was also at work also texted me about it. I only saw how bad it was when I saw it in the news on TV.

Normally, this kind of incident would not really have that big of an impact on me especially that this is not the first tragic incident that had happened here in Manila, but this particular one left me in disbelief. The wife of one of my close friends was one of the casualties in the incident. Until now I'm still in shock and I still can't believe that one of the victims was somebody I personally knew. I only learned of it when my friend texted me. I immediately called him but I really didn't know what to say. He was already crying and I was still in disbelief and was shaking. I can't imagine what he is going through right now. I would be devastated if I was in his place.

I am so angry at the person/people that did this. Those innocent people that died didn't deserve this. I wouldn't hope that whoever was responsible would die as well but I hope and pray that they realized what they have done and somehow feel remorse.

I don't know what else to say except that today is a sad, sad day.

The Need to Train

It's less than a month before the New Balance run and Men's Health Urbanathlon and I have yet to train for it. I want to be fit to run by then but my laziness overpowers me. =)

I found a training program from the Men's Health PH website which I hope I can follow religiously. It's a 4-week training program and I should start today if I want to finish the program before the run.

I'm so out of shape so I really need to do this. Wish me luck!

Food Trip with my HS Friends

I just came back from an overnight trip to Baguio for a get together with my high school buddies. It has been a while since we had a chance to go out. They are my oldest friends and we make it a point to keep in touch (via yahoogroups) and if our schedule permits, go out once in a while.

It was a tiring trip but it was also a chance for us to catch up on each others lives. We spent most of our time eating and chatting. This particular get together ended up more as a food trip among friends coupled with conversations about anything under the sun or rain. =)

These are our pit stops (places where we ate) in Baguio and Dagupan:
1. Starbucks, CJH - Ever reliable coffee shop. This was where we met up and had breakfast.
2. O Mai Khan, near Rizal Park - We had lunch at this eat-all-you-can Mongolian BBQ restaurant. This is a famous restaurant in Baguio and they serve good food. (Thanks NSK)
3. Brothers Burger, CJH - This was more of a pre-dinner meal for us, otherwise known as "meryenda".
4. Wood Nymph, SM City Baguio - We ate at this Korean Restaurant because we wanted to try Korean food and this was highly recommended by one of my friends. (Thanks NSK)
5. The restaurant at Golf Estates, CJH - This is strictly for members only and one of my friends was a member so we were able to eat here. We had breakfast here before going to Dagupan. (Thanks Alan)
6. Enso, OPC in Dagupan - This is a Japanese Restaurant owned by one of my friends and this is where we had lunch before going back to Manila. (Thanks Howie)

I am thanking my friends because most of my meals and the overnight stay at The Manor in CJH was free. Thanks guys! Let's do this again. hehe..

Thumbs down for Globe Visibility and Bayan Span

This is a public service announcement from a Globe Visibility and Bayan Span subscriber:

If you are planning to get Globe Visibility as your internet connection or Bayan Span as your landline, DON'T!

Based on my experience, being a Globe Visibility and Bayan Span subscriber for almost 3 months now, I probably have more complaints than praises for the service they offer.

In the 3 months of using Globe Visibility, my No. 1 complaint is the REALLY SLOW connection. They have been consistent with that. I don't know how else I can emphasize that the connection is really really slow!! If you'll check with Globe, they can tell you that the maximum connection speed can reach up to 3.6mbps. Well, far from it and I don't think that will ever happen. To give them credit, I have experienced speeds of up to 2mbps but only for 2 seconds. The average connection speed is probably less than 100kbps.

In addition, sometimes I need to try and connect several times before I can connect successfully. Although that is not really a problem compared to the really slow connection.

As for my Bayan Span landline, the problems I have encountered ranges from having No signal to difficulty in making and receiving calls. Just today, I had to dial countless times before I could get through in placing a call. I kept on getting a busy tone.

When I tried calling the customer service to inform them of my problem, I couldn't get through either. And when I finally got through, the voice prompt led me to the customer service rep but no one was there.

This actually prompted me to write this blog and rant about my complaints. I want to give my unsolicited advice to others who might be thinking of getting their service. Their charges are not cheap so I believe we should get our money's worth for the service that they are providing.

So please think twice before subscribing to these services. I have no choice but to continue because there is a contract. I plan to discontinue after my contract expires unless they improve their service.

A Productive Weekend

Last weekend was a productive and tiring weekend for me. Not that my normal weekend is not productive, but somehow last weekend I felt that I had accomplished a lot of non-work related stuff.

Saturday.

6:00 AM - Tet and I woke up early to go to Divisoria to buy loot bags stuff and prizes for Trisha's birthday party. I haven't been to Divisoria for a long time and it' still the same (meaning traffic and lots of people). My sister told me to go to this place near Divisoria Mall where an entire building was selling toys.

Armed with only a map, we were able to reach Divisoria without getting lost. We parked at the Tutuban Mall and had breakfast at Chowking before starting our search for the building that sells toys. We were overwhelmed with the vast collection of toys that could be found and how cheap they were. We didn't know where to start. We eventually bought the items that we need and it was almost 11AM when we finished.

Dropped by S&R to check if they already have Pampers Comfort and went to get gas at Petron. Gas at the Petron gas station in Macapagal ave is P2 cheaper compared to other gas stations.

1:00 PM - Had lunch at home and then rested for a while.

2:30 PM - We went to check out the party shop (Partyshop247) place in Xavierville to finalize other stuff for Trisha's party. We sealed the deal and availed of their balloons, bubble show and food carts.

5:00 PM - Proceeded to Glorietta for some more errands. Tet went to have her eyes checked but the eye doctor was no longer around. So we went to buy ear cleaner for Trisha before going to Zara to check if there were new baby clothes. There were none. We then went to get the invitation for Trisha's party but there was still some information missing on the invite so we asked for it to be added first.

After that, went to SM makati supermarket to get some groceries. There we hoarded Pampers. I'm saying hoarded because we literally bought the entire medium size Pampers Comfort available. Not sure if it was on sale but it was really cheap at just over P4 a piece. We went home afterwards.

8:30 PM - Had pasta dinner at home. Tet tried to put Trisha to bed but she was still wide awake so we decided to bring her to Ron and Jon's party.

9:30 PM - Went to the party at Greenwoods Pasig. Trisha was already sleeping by the time we arrived at the place. Trisha woke up but was not in a good mood, she kept on crying everytime somebody would approach to say "Hi" to her.

Sunday.

12:00 AM - We decided to leave the party so that Trisha could go back to sleep.

5:45 AM - Tet and I woke up early to participate in the Avon Walk Against Breast Cancer. It was held at SM MOA. The actual walk started around 7AM, it was a 3K walk around SM MOA. We finished past 8AM. We then went for breakfast at KFC at Blue Wave before heading home.

10:00 AM - We found out that our cooking gas (LPG) was already empty and Shellane does not deliver on a Sunday so we had to go out and look where we could buy one. We eventually ended up in Bangkal where the Shellane distributor was located.

The rest of the afternoon we spent resting, watching TV and sleeping. By 9:30PM, I was already asleep. I guess that was how tired I was that by the time I woke up the following day, I was still sleepy.

Tayo Tayo Rin Sa 2015

Have you heard about MDG? It stands for Millenium Development Goals. It's United Nations' campaign that started in the year 2000 when the world leaders from different countries agreed to set goals that would help end the different problems of the world by 2015.

Specifically, they have set 8 goals and these are:
1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

2. Achieve universal primary education

3. Promote gender equality and empower women

4. Reduce child mortality

5. Improve maternal health

6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

7. Ensure environmental sustainability

8. Develop a global partnership for development

you can read all about the UN millenium goals in this website -> http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/

In the Philippines, the campaign was launched in 2002 through music. UN in the Philippines worked together with popular Filipino artists and launched an album entitled 'Tayo Tayo Rin Sa 2015 - Sing the Songs. Find your Voice. Change the World. It's your Choice'.

Check the UN Philippines site about MDG here -> http://www.un.org.ph/mdg-preview.html

Why do I know this and why do I care? I heard the song on TV months ago and I immediately liked it. I researched it over the internet and found out that it was UN here in the Philippines' way of informing all the Filipinos about the MDGs. Unfortunately, I don't think it has reached every Filipino. For instance, I only knew about it this year when in fact this was launched 5 years ago. We're almost half-way since the MDGs were launched in 2000 and I am not sure where we are now. Were the goals set achievable in the first place? I believe they are but it needs the help of every Filipino for those goals to be met.

I believe that there is still time to inform the people. I believe that the UN here in the Philippines can still do something so that every Filipino knows that there are these goals and that each and everyone of us can help in our own little way to contribute to the success of achieving these goals by 2015.

So this is my way of letting you know about the MDGs. Now it's your turn to let the others know.

Let's Run!

Running is my new hobby or sport. I try to join as many races as I can these days. I usually get info about races from RACE (race organizers) or from searching the internet (but it's difficult to find a comprehensive list of available races for the entire year). Anyway, this love for running started two years ago (2005) when I joined my first run, the new balance power race. And then I was hooked, although I stopped for a few months when I went on a study trip to China last year. When I got back, that was when I started joining again, mostly 10K runs. I couldn't handle half or full marathons yet because I am not in shape and I still need to train for it.

To date, I have joined five races, namely:
1. New Balance Powerrace (The Fort, May 29, 2005)
2. Runnex (UP, can't remember the date on this one)
3. Men's Health All-terrain Race (Timberland Heights, May 6, 2007)
4. Adidas King of the Road (Quirino Grandstand, July 1, 2007)
5. Milo Marathon - Manila leg (Quirino Grandstand, July 22, 2007)

And I'm looking forward to two upcoming runs this November; New Balance Powerrace in Clark, Pampanga on November 11 and Men's Health Urbanathlon on November 18. Visit these sites for more info on these 2 races (http://www.newbalance.com.ph/nbinaction.html and http://www.menshealth.com.ph/urbanathlon/). I also initially planned to join the Milo Marathon - Baguio leg on November 4 but there were changes in plans and I couldn't go to baguio on that day.

My goal is to be able to run a full marathon, all 42K by next year. My motivation is that I will be running for a cause so that should be enough reason because I know that I will be able to help others while doing the thing that I love.

See you on the road!

Tet says...

I have been asking my wife to blog with me for some time now. Eversince I started to blog, I was telling her that we could both blog using my blog site. She's not new to blogging since she has been blogging through her friendster account before but not consistently. But she has now started to blog again under a new blog site.

Check it out -> http://tetsays.blogspot.com/

I think the reason she's blogging again is because I inspired her, especially since I myself am blogging now (she was the one who was telling me that I should blog before). I guess we inspire each other. Sweet right? haha.. Although if you check her site, her reason for blogging is different. Ayaw umamin. hehe..

Anyway, Congrats hon! I hope we both can maintain our sites and keep on bloggin'.....