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A blog like no other...

Today seemed rather typical that I didn't think I'd have something to blog about. Turned out I was wrong though when, upon coming home, I checked my cellphone. A pang of sadness rushed over me as I read the words on the display screen. I could not quite believe it the first time and tried to turn the thing off and on again, as if to erase the strong words that have almost thrown me off-balance. I sat myself in a nearby chair to catch my breath. How could it be? When? Why so soon? A thousand and one questions ran through my head as I struggled with the grief that overwhelmed me.

Despite the many questions that my mind asked, deep within me, I knew the answers... If I had so much as given it another chance and not be tempted by another, none of this would have happened. If I had just asked for more strength, I would have been spared of this immense grief. Forgive me please, I am but human and is bound to err. The past two years had been great - two unforgettable, truly memorable years. Those memories are not without value to me, I treasure them more than one can ever know. It pains me deeply that we had to part ways, I can only imagine the grief on the other side... The decision however, has been made and can no longer be undone...

As I sat in the chair with tears threatening to fall, I checked my cellphone again to reread the message - the short yet powerful message that has casted a gloom over my otherwise carefree night. Although I've read it a thousand times already, the four words still seem strange and offer no comfort to my aching heart; it read: "SIM CARD REGISTRATION FAILED"

The author wrote this in relation to her Globe sim card (postpaid) being deactivated as she will now be trying the Sun Cellular network. Forgive the dramatic narrative, she has just become rather too attached with her old number. Maybe you'd like to switch to Sun to cheer her up. Ü Just leave your name and number. Hehehe Ü

Be a Sun Convert Now!

A couple of weeks ago, a full blown Sun Cellular ad that says "24/7 Call and Text UNLIMITED" caught my eye. Wow! That would mean that the good ol' texting days are back. It's like being 16 all over again (literally speaking) where texting like crazy is the "in" thing and "sayang piso ko" or "p're pass a load naman o" is unheard of. Truly, in a society full of avid texters, Sun's promotional offer is undeniably eye-catching. So why isn't everybody rushing to be a "Sun Convert"?

Personally, I liked the idea very much as it would mean bigger savings. In spite of this very appealing fact however, I had to rethink the offer. Not only was I hesitant to give up my existing number with another network, I was also aware that this might not last and is just a way to attract new subscribers. Sun, being a new network, was also rumored to have poorer service relative to its competitors in terms of signal coverage and on-time message reception. Giving Sun the benefit of the doubt however, I've decided to give it a shot. I just got my number tonight and already the (cel)phone has been ringing all night with calls ranging from a friend who has lost touch since I-don't-know-when to calls made by someone just in the next room. I guess it's all about making the most out of this unlimited offer. Ü So, anyone who wants a Sun textmate? Hehehe Ü

In Loving Memory...

EOH 
An officemate of mine, Eli, once posted a Friendster bulletin regarding an exhibit that will showcase the artworks of her sister who had recently passed away. Being new in the office, I barely knew Eli and so didn't give dropping by much thought. A few days later though, I chanced upon a leaflet that another officemate had gotten when she had visited the exhibit. After looking through the artworks and reading the message at the back, I immediately regretted not having gone. Although I've never met Eisselle (Eli's sister) personally, her story is a truly inspiring one. There have been times in my life where I feel like giving up without even trying. It is so easy to succumb to the thought "I cannot do this, there is someone else who can do better" or "Cut me some slack, I'm just normal, not a Promil kid!". Eisselle, having battled many a sickness in her life could have easily said all that and she would have every right to do so. She could have just given up and you yourself could have assured her that it's okay. She however, chose not to give up; she chose not to think of herself as something less than what God deemed her to be. She continued to live her life to the fullest, facing challenges head-on, and reaching great heights, despite her circumstances. Maybe that's what we all need, someone like Eisselle to awaken the tiger in every one of us, fighters till the end, no matter the circumstance, no matter the challenge ahead.
God bless! Ü
This is the message at the back of the leaflet:

Since Eiselle was a child, she was already suffering from a serious illness. When she was jsut 18 months old, she was operated on to remove a mass found on her left thigh. After only a month, the mass reoccurred and was thus removed again. After the 2nd operation, the doctor already diagnosed it as rhabdomyosarcoma, a cancer of the muscle.
Her first treatment of chemotherapy was at the age of 2. Because of the medicine's side effect, she vomitted blood, was rushed to the hospital, and was given a 50-50 chance of survival. Through everyone's prayers and Eisselle's fighting spirit however, she survived. After chemotherapy, she was treated with Cobalt, which made her bones brittle and caused the shortening of her leg.
When she was 9 years old, her leg suddenly broke so the doctor had to put a screw to attach the bones together. However, the screw didn't last long and was replaced with a long, stainless rod to support her bone. When she was 13, she was treated again with chemotherapy. Eisselle had to stop her studies and was put under a home study program for two years. Despite her situation, she had really wanted to have a regular schooling and so went back to school and graduated high school in 1995.
She took up Architecture at the University of Sto Tomas but could not continue the term because her heart was becoming weak. She had to have another operation and more chemotherapy. Despite this, she still enrolled in the Philippine School of Interior Design (PSID) and finished her major courses.
She was able to work for a year. Her heart however, was getting weaker so her mom had to ask her to discontinue her work. Yet, Eisselle could not stand having nothing to do so she took up minor subjects at the College of Saint Benilde (CSB). She eventually was not able to finish the term and just stayed home.
In mid 2002, Eisselle's heart problem (cardiomyopathy) became serious that she was confined in the hospital for almost 3 months. She became too thin and fragile. She rested at home and spent her time painting to eade her boredom. She even enrolled in the painting class of Mr. Fernando Sena, a renowned artist who considered Eisselle as one of his 3 top students.
On Februaray 2004, Eisselle was again rushed to the hopsital due to lack of oxygen. During this time, she had thought it was already her time to go. she made it. 5 months later however, she was again confined, this time due to pneumonia. She insisted that she felt fine and need not stay in the hospital.
August 12 of 2004, the maid went up to Eisselle's room and found her lying in bed, her lips discolored. Her parents immediately rushed her to the hospital where the doctors tried to revive her for almost an hour. Sadly, she passed away at 1:30 in the afternoon due to heart failure.
Although Eisselle's life was full of sufferings, she tried to live her life as normally as possible. She did not let her sickness stop her from her passion - designing and painting. She was able to make 50 artworks, all of which showed happiness and contentment in life. Her friends did not know about her condition as she did not tell them nor did she compalin to them when she was not feeling well. Everyone thought that she just had polio.
Before she passed away, she had wanted to share her works with other people. She was very happy when she found out that her paintings could be exhibited. Knowing that she would be very happy, her family prepared this exhibit in memory of her.

To view Eisselle's works, follow the link below:
Online Gallery

Alicia Keys Live in Manila

Alicia Keys in Manila 
Live, loud, and rockin'! That's how the Big Dome was like Saturday night in Alicia Keys's concert. The place was packed with young and vibrant bodies swinging to the beat of songs in A minor. The speakers were blaring gazillon decibels while the people were screaming at even higher decibels. No wonder we all had scratchy throats and impaired hearing after the show. Hehehe Ü The icon herself was great with the crowd. She wooed the audience with her bootylicious (for lack of a better term) dance steps, her wonderful voice and her impeccable piano skills. And yes, what you heard is true. She did make a very normal piano seem like a very comfortable haven complete with sensual red light flooding all over her. As she laid on top, her head near the keys, she touched the keys and made music like only Alicia could. That sure garnered enough "wows" from the crowd and is apparently still the talk of town. The show ended with a song about peace where Alicia urged everyone to raise their hands up in the air and give a sign of peace. A very fitting ending indeed in this world that needs just that, don't you think?

It's finally out! 
After weeks of preparation, the 2-man newsletter committee finally coughed out some stuff. It looks pretty good, thanks to my editor who just happens to be a member of the university paper and yearbook committee way back in college. It's 16 pages in all for only 12 bucks (not anymore the 10 I mentioned in my previous blog). Though there was the fear that the 2-peso increase would send people complaining till the end of days, we really are in dire need of money!

Unfortunately, rather fortunately, I was tasked to sell the newsletter to my team and the QA's, a total of 13 people excluding the editor and me. I dropped by each cubicle to "alok" the newsletter. It wasn't as hard as I expected. They need only to take a look at the front cartoon, flip a few pages, see the centerfold (a sample of which is posted in the previous blog 'Cartoon for 1st Issue'), utter a "wow" and out comes 12 bucks from their pockets. There were some though who gave me a hard time, still, they paid up and added that "kung hindi lang maganda...". There was one who was kind enough to let me keep the change because she liked the newsletter so much and even thought it was worth more than 12 bucks. Oh God bless you! I was already dancing in the clouds at that time. It's so nice to know that all the hardwork finally paid off. Thank you all for making my day!

Ladder 49

I won't be called a blog addict for nothing hehehe.
(Side note: Yehey! I'm going to be featured as a blog addict at http://you.inq7.net/! Not yet though...sometime soon hehe Ü. Watch out for it!)

Just got back from watching the premiere of the new John Travolta firefighter movie -Ladder 49. It's rather late but I'm itching to share the experience with you. I'll try to keep it short 'coz I'm so ready to hit the bed any minute now.

We got three tickets to the premiere for free 'coz my dad happens to be a member of the volunteer fire brigade. Hmm...come to think of it, this is a new perk for having a volunteer dad, aside from knowing firsthand where the fire is at whenever we hear firetruck sirens going off. Before the movie started, as with all premiere events, there were hosts to entertain the audience. In line with the movie, there were volunteers from fire brigades who taught us a thing or two about fire survival tips. I might forget them later on so I'll take note of it here (yea right, as if I'll go online the next time there's a fire just to be able to recall what to do, haha!) The first tip was STOP, DROP, and ROLL (that's when your clothes catch fire, don't forget to cover your face though). The other one was - hmm.............there goes my goldfish memory...

About the movie...don't worry, I won't play the spoiler and tell the entire story, just the ending, hehe just kidding! I found the movie a bit typical and at times even dragging. Despite my not-so-good comments, I still found the movie rather good. The ending, although highly expected, and the whole idea of the movie were enough to cover up some rough spots to redeem it as a "rather-good" movie. It's just the kind of thing we have to see to remind of the ordinary heroes around us - people just like firefighters who are willing to put their lives at stake just to be able to save another person's. The movie was successful in showing the joys, the thrills, the pains, and the gains of their job. These people are ordinary men and women just like you and me. They too have a future to think of and families to be there for but what makes them run towards a burning building when everyone else is running away? John Travolta's character, in his speech towards the end, answered that question. It is simply because of courage. It is what spells the difference and it is what we should be thankful for - their courage to put OUR lives before their own.
To these people, a heartful thanks.

Zzzz....

Missy

Missy, our 1-day dog  

That's Missy, our 1-day dog - overly full of life, hyperactive, super short attention span. In other words, very lovable but too much to handle. We might not be able to take good care of her here so we decided to just return her to her original owner. Such a cutie! You can't help but be amused by her. I'm saying that even if she kept us awake up to the wee hours of the morning! She refused to sleep outside where she's supposed to and kept us all awake in the process. We finally let her in to keep her from waking up the neighbors. When she finally found a place to sleep - the bean bag, there was momentary peace. It will only be minutes before she starts getting up and running around again. The next morning, we just had to pack her things and return her. Hehehe. The trip to the owner itself was a terrible chore. She couldn't be kept still in the car. Back and forth, to the front and back she went. Anyway, it was fortunate that we were able to take some good shots of her coz more than half of the pictures taken were just hands trying hold the elusive Missy.

Cartoon for 1st Issue 

Follow the link below to see the bigger version.
caRtOoN foR 1sT iSsUe