Para sa iyo ang laban na 'to

Yan ang battlecry ni Manny Pacquiao sa pangalawang paghaharap nila ni “El Terrible� Morales. I’m sure importante sa kanya yung $4M na maiuuwi nya sa laban na yon pero more than that, he offered his fight to his countrymen. Nagpagawa pa nga sya na kanta kay Lito Camu na yun ang title – “Para sa Iyo ang Laban na 'to�. Sabi sa news, it'll be played on Pacman's big night. Di ko sure kung nangyari ito.

Hindi ako boxing fan. Wala akong pakialam kung sino ang naglalaban, much more kung sino ang panalo. Pero sa huling laban ni Manny, I joined the nation in praying for his victory. Bakit kamo, this guy brings so much hope and joy to the Pinoys, babae man o lalaki. Kahit sa sandaling panahon, nakakalimutan nila ang kanilang mga problema at nagiging united. Sa bawat puntos ni Manny, sabay-sabay ang hiyaw at palakpakan. Sa bawat tama sa kanya, napaparay din sila.

Mr. Pacquiao, it was a wonderful fight. More power to you and may you continue to bring glory, joy and hope (and $$$) to your country.

Remembering Phone #s

An average person can memorize about 50 phone numbers. This was 8 years ago when you really need to memorize the contact numbers. Now, we have phonebooks in our pc and cellphone wherein we transfer part of our memory capacity.

When I changed my mobilephone number a few months back, it took me more than a month to stick that number into my head. Sariling phone number ko na yon ha. Kasi naman, ang hahaba ng numbers ngayon. Before, all Globe cp#s start with '0917' ('0919' ata ang sa Smart) so all you need to remember is the 7-digit subscriber's number. Ngayon, you wouldn't recognize kung Smart, Globe or Sun ang isang number. Life is getting complicated.

12 Little Things Every Filipino Can Do to Help Our Country

Nang mabasa ko yung "12 Little Things Every Filipino Can Do to Help Our Country" ni Alexander L. Lacson, napatango ako. Yes, this nation can be great again. At hindi naman pala mahirap yong gawin. Kaya pakiusap lang mga friendship, pagsikapan nating ibangon ang ating mahal na bayan.

1. Follow traffic rules. Follow the law.

2. Whenever you buy anything, always ask for an official receipt.

3. Don’t buy smuggled goods. Buy local. Buy Filipino.

4. When you talk to others, especially foreigners, speak positively about us and our country.

5. Respect your traffic officer, policemen, soldier and other public servants.

6. Do not litter. Dispose of your garbage properly. Segregate. Recycle. Conserve.

7. Support your church.

8. During elections, do your solemn duty.

9. Pay your employees well.

10. Pay your taxes.

11. Adopt a scholar or a poor child.

12. Be a good parent. Teach your kids to follow the law and love our country.

My name is Jennifer

My real name is Jennifer. Sabi ng nanay ko, nakuha daw nya yon sa movie noong 1970's na Love Story. Jennifer ang pangalan ng female character at Oliver naman yung lalaki (kaya naging Henry Oliver ang name ng brother ko). Hindi ako nag-iisa. Sa US, Jennifer ang most popular female name noong dekada 1970 to 1984.

Ok sa akin ang nickname na Jen or Jenny pero mas pinili ng nanay ko ang Jinkee (take note, dapat double E). Recently, nalaman ko sa aking tyahin na sya daw ang nag-suggest sa nanay ko na tawagin akong Jinkee. Ang layo non sa real name ko pero di ko na inusisa ang dahilan.

Nickname na nga ang Jinkee, marami akong kaibigan na pinapaiksi pa ito, ginagawang 'Jinks". May iba pinapalitan pa ng spelling - nagiging jinx. Hindi kaya malasin naman ako non? Sa totoo lang, I used to mind that until i learned that it's Halle Berry's name in Die Another Day.

You can call me Jennifer, Jen, Jenny, Jinkee or Jinx basta ba nakatingin ka sa akin sa pagtawag mo.

Koling-koling Bangkok

6 months na kaming naghihintay sa aming WTR visa. Ang unang pangako ay 2 months lang. Yung ibang applicants are lucky to have theirs on time. Yung iba medyo nagkaroon ng delay ng konti pero wala na atang tatagal pa sa paghihintay namin. Actually, 2 kaming members ng pinoyz2nz ang waiting soo patiently. Sya June 15 nag-submit, kami July 8.

When we made a follow-up early December, v.o. Kamonrat said she’ll finalize our application by end December. Dumaan ang December, walang visa na dumating. Henry decided to give our her a call yesterday. Binalaan ko si Henry na maghanda ng bala in case sabihin ni VO na maghintay kami hanggang end-Feb (yun kasi ang sinagot nya sa isa ring nagfo-follow up).

3:30pm, tinawagan ako ni Henry. Obvious ang suya sa boses nya. Tama nga ang kutob ko, end-Feb ang bagong ipapangako sa kanya. Pumalag daw sya pero ready si Kamonrat na sumagot na “you have to understand that we have some delays in the office�. Poor us, we are at her mercy.

Kung end-Feb pa nga yon dadating, April pa ni Henry maiiwan ang trabaho nya. Tsk, tsk, tsk... Malamang na maiba na ang plano namin. Baka imbes na mauuna sya sa NZ for a month or two eh magsasabay na kami. Pag-inabutan si Shannen ng 2nd bday nya sa May, magiging 75% na ang airfare nya instead of 10%. Sayang din yon. Isa pa, parang mahirap na pagdating namin doon eh sobrang lamig na.

Happy New Year

Ang tagal ko ding hindi nag-post. I've been through a great ordeal which made me detached from the "world". Nakalimutan ko ang trabaho ko, ang current events, pag-inom ng maintenance meds, blogging, pati na nga ang pagsuklay. Haaay, na-loka talaga ako.

Shannen got sick a few hours before 2005 ended. Sinalubong namin ang bagong taon sa ER. She had 6 vomits in 3 hours. When this subsided, pinahinga namin sya sa bahay. Ang kaso ayaw namang kumain o dumede. January 2, nag-lbm naman sya. Nag-desisyon na kaming i-confine sya sa Phil. Children's Medical Center (PCMC). When the IV was inserted in her hand, she was crying so loud but now tears would come out of her eyes. Her frail body was dehydrated for sure. Viral infection daw yon. I think it's Rota Virus that got her. January 6 kami pinayagang umuwi ng bahay.

Now I'm back to work. Medyo nangangapa pa kasi talagang naglaho sa isip ko ang office. All that mattered to me was my family. Anyway, Happy New Year!