President Corazon "Cory" Cojuangco Aquino, Beloved Mother of the Philippines

I first learned about her demise when I woke up at past 4:00 AM last Saturday, August 01, 2009. Unable to go back to sleep, I went online and browsed through Yahoo! News and read about it there. I was stunned but at the same time, wary. Too wary that I did not post a link of the news page in any of my social networking sites, specifically in Facebook because the week before it, there were erroneous reports about her “death.” But I buzzed about the news so it will reflect in my Yahoo! Profiles and I can easily get back to it for reference.

At about 7:00 AM, I headed downstairs to buy breakfast and came back to the condo where I saw my housemate watching the news. My wariness about the news of Tita Cory’s death dissipated into thin air and in its place came sadness.

I was only three years old when the 1986 EDSA Revolution happened but later on, I got fascinated by the stories I learned about it. One professor in college narrated that that was the time when one is proudest to be a Filipino. Another professor said that the world was so awed by what they witnessed that when Filipinos would travel abroad, they were accorded with such esteemed regard that extended to Filipinos having a special “express” lane whenever they would arrive in or depart from some countries.

I have always been proud about my being a Filipino but it makes me prouder to have such honorable countrymen as President Corazon “Cory” Cojuangco Aquino. Thank God for the gift of her to us.

Below is the message I left in her official website. You may also leave your message there and have the website as your reference for it has announcements as well as live streaming.

To Tita Cory,

You will be sorely missed. Know that you are very much loved and we thank the Lord for the gift of your life. May you in your resting place have peace and may you also continue to intercede for the Filipino people and for peace in the world.

Some people live even after their death and you are such a person to us. Your legacy lives on and even in your death and beyond it, you are still and will always be a beacon of hope and a source of inspiration to countless Filipinos and to the world as well.

With prayers.

I also posted a message that is on the same thought in Yahoo! Answers. To view the question, click HERE.

The past days, I only got updates about Tita Cory’s wake through the news on TV, online or on newspapers but today I had the privilege of personally seeing the nation mourn the loss of its mother. Cory’s remains passed by Ayala Avenue, Makati to where the statue of Ninoy is and what I witnessed was enough to give me goosebumps. It was quite moving.

The crowd was overwhelming! People from all walks of life were there – students, young professionals, the religious, the rich and the poor, the old and the young alike. These people braved the scorching heat of the sun so they could pay tribute to the lady responsible for bringing back democracy in the country.

As for my participation today, I did updates online through my Facebook account. I also threw some confetti, which we have prepared since 9:00 in the morning, right after we found out that she would be passing by our area. I also snapped some pictures from our office building.

For the complete set of pictures, click HERE. Some pictures are not that clear though as either the camera was zoomed in or I took the picture through our glass windows.

This picture of a lone yellow balloon was taken moments after the President passed by. And like this yellow balloon, may she fly freely to where Ninoy is waiting for her.

Rest in peace, our beloved Tita Cory.

Feisty Miriam

I was watching the news on Umagang Kay Ganda this morning and I overheard Miriam Defensor Santiago give this snappy comment.

Miriam: I won't dignify him by giving a comment. I only respond to people who are higher in the food chain.

Ha ha ha ha ha! I was so amused it actually took my focus off the book I was reading.

"Peste-lizer"

I was watching the news last night. As was the case these past days, Jocelyn "Joc-Joc" Bolante hugged the headlines.

This interview though shows that a lot of my countrymen are clueless about what's happening around them.

A reporter for media giant ABS-CBN was asking people about their opinion on the case. Or what they know of it. One respondent's answer really made me laugh.

Respondent: Ah, 'yon ba 'yong... Ano nga ba?! Ah, 'yon 'yong PESTE-LIZER scam ba 'yon?

LOL. Peste-lizer for FERTILIZER? Nice one.

The earthquake that rocked my sleeping world on the day I learned to cook for myself

The earth shook just before lunch time today. Literally. Because we just had an earthquake.

I was actually in deep slumber when the earthquake hit. It was what finally woke me up. I actually thought I was dreaming. In my sleep-fogged brain, I thought it was but a figment of my hyperactive imagination. That is, until I felt my bed shook violently. At first it wasn’t that strong a quake. It was the aftermath that was scary. The funny thing was that while everything seemed to be tottering, my first thought was “Shimmer (my laptop), where the heck is Shimmer??” After locating her in my bedside table, I proceeded to putting her back in her case. Then I plugged in my iTouch’s earphones and listened to some music while I let the world rock me.

Boy, was it nerve-racking. Our condo is located on the 11th floor and I could really feel the movements. Later, a text message from a friend confirmed that it was indeed an earthquake. I stayed in bed for 30 more minutes, bracing myself for maybe another aftermath. There was none so I got out of bed and proceeded to the kitchen. I was hungry.

I raided the fridge. I found hotdogs, longganiza, tocino, pork and chicken in the freezer. I proceeded to my shelf. Canned goods greeted me – corned beef, meat loaf, tuna, luncheon meat... These held no appeal to my growling stomach.

I went back to our fridge and there on the bottom part, I found vegetables. “ Okay,” I thought. “Now I can cook.” Squash, check. String beans, check. Pork cutlets, check. Coconut milk, check (the powdered version though). I actually did not know what I was about to cook but I was thinking of Vegetables with Pork in Coconut Milk. In Filipino, the dish translates to Ginataang Gulay.

I do not know how to cook and I never bothered to learn but I am a self-confessed food connoisseur. I love to eat, is why. At home, I grew up surrounded by people who cook delicious foods. My dad and my mom and even my siblings all know how to cook and they have each a specialty dish or two (maybe more). Me? My cooking is limited to the occasional frying of such unhealthy foods as hotdogs, meat products, eggs and canned goods. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that my specialty is in making desserts but preparing them is not really cooking, is it?

And since I’m getting older but feeling left out for not knowing how to cook, on my recently concluded 25th birthday, I wrote in “Learn how to cook” in bold letters in my to-do list. Yup, it is a priority. An utmost goal that I am hell bent on achieving.

And today is the day that I will start my cooking.

The dish I mentioned is a childhood favorite of mine. It’s one of my dad’s specialties (see, my dad has many specialties and I am yet to have one, LOL). Whenever family members at home cook, aside from tasting and eating the dish, my participation is limited to peeling whatever needs to be peeled and cutting whatever needs to be cut. And yeah, just watching them in their cooking preparations.

So today, I proceeded with my cooking armed with only distant memories of how my dad does his Vegetables with Pork in Coconut Milk.

First, I sautéed the garlic then onions and added the pork till it turned brown. Then I poured the coconut milk and let it simmer while stirring everything occasionally. Then I added the vegetables, the squash first then the string beans (I do not like eggplant on such a dish, by the way, so I omitted it) then brought them to a boil to cook. Voila. It’s done.

The funny thing about how I did my cooking was that I do not use any measurements. I just mix the ingredients together then add a dash of salt here and other spices (if need be) there up to the point when I have reached the flavor that I like.

So how did my Vegetables with Pork in Coconut Milk taste like? It was delicious.

Or maybe it’s just me talking. Ha ha! :P

The Senate is "Out of Order!"

I was watching the news earlier while having dinner when I heard something that made me snap my head towards the direction of our television.

The news was about Cayetano & Lacson's infamous spat with regard to Pro-Villar Senators trying to block Lacson's speech. The moment Cayetano finished speaking, someone bellowed that Cayetano should not be listened to because "THE SENATOR IS OUT OF ORDER!"

What?! OUT OF ORDER? I was concentrating on my meal that I wasn't able to see who among the senators said this. When I riveted my attention to the TV screen, it only showed Cayetano in a podium.

I tried digesting the out of order bellow but I really couldn't make sense of it. I snorted laughing. I was amused to no end.

OUT OF ORDER?! What is he? A rest room that goes out of order? Or a machine? A photocopier, perhaps?

Geez. The endless bickering in the Senate can be appalling. Maybe it is the Senate that is OUT OF ORDER, huh.

No wonder this country is going down the drain.