so many chores... so little time...

been busy... although i spend time on my computer, i am working... dividing my computer time between completing trades at FLR and rewriting PLRs for hubby. on top of that, i do have household chores, as some of you may already know as i talk about them quite a bit. so this will be short... i'm busy...

woohooo...!!!

monday night football

• it was muddy
• turf was bad
• weather was bad
• players struggled
• in the end, my Steelers won!
• jeff reed's field goal, 3-0...

dancing with the stars

• marie & jonathan were fan favorites; they ended in 3rd
• mel & maks are good, technically; they were ahead in points
• in the end, helio & julianne hoisted the coveted mirror ball!
• they got both technique & charisma...

woohooooooo!!!

oprah factor...???

oprah on a campaign blitz for obama in iowa...
my thoughts... (not yours nor theirs)

oprah = "a million little pieces" by james frey
oprah = dr.(but-not-board-certified) jan adams
oprah = sexual abuse scandal in the oprah winfrey leadership academy for girls
oprah = "the secret" by rhonda byrne

and now...

oprah = obama

add that to the top of the list...

laundry, laundy, and more laundry...

another busy day for me. only time i sat down in front of my computer before now was this morning after i drove hubby to the "T" stop. i only checked my email and sent to my cousin in germany, a link to 60 minutes' Eagles' interview. her hubby is a big Eagles fan. after that, i loaded the washer again, and continued my ironing while waiting for the first load to finish. i also changed and washed towels and sheets, and right now have comforters in both the washer and dryer. i have not done any PLRs, but i'm hoping to finish one later ~ maybe... after dancing with the stars... it's the finals!!! i'm rooting for helio castroneves and julianne to win.

i'll jump in the shower before i pick hubby up at 6:05pm so... later...

hectic...

after breakfast, i spent most of my morning and early afternoon rewriting PLRs. badly-written PLRs. when you read one of them, it seems like whoever "wrote" them just strung along words, and passed them off as "articles"... there is no rhyme or reason to most of them... i finished 3 articles before i went to the grocery store. when i left, i saw neighbors from both sides clearing their yards of leaves. there were leaves all over our yard, too that's why i decided to clear them when i got back. besides, it will rain for the most part tomorrow.

i started around 4pm and stopped a little after 6. it was already quite dark that's why i decided to stop. took a quick shower before i started supper. prepared something simple and quick... i'm tired... after cleaning up, i loaded the washer, ironed some shirts while watching tv, and have just now finished folding the laundry.

i know. it was a hectic day... i squeezed a lot in a day when i had 3 days to spread them out to... that's me... super procrastinator...

i'm going to bed... g'night.

Hillary Clinton...

she's tough. she's smart. she's decisive. she's experienced.
she has a vision. she brings change.

she's a woman, a wife, a mother.
exceptionally capable and highly dependable.

Clinton may be her last name.
but she is her own person in each and every way.

gang up on her all you want.
she will never back down nor go away.

brace yourselves for a wild ride.
you're in for a big surprise.

this is the fight of our lives, and
we're in this to win and fly high.

go, Hillary!!!

i almost forgot... cyber monday...

we were watching the news last night, and all the newscasts had something to report & show about black friday. everybody took advantage of the special offers, what with the rising cost of gas and heating, the plummeting mortgage market, and the weakening US dollar, why not?

the upside to the weak dollar is the influx of europeans and canadians into US shores to do their holiday shopping. in fact, broadway's lights may be dimmed in NY due to the stagehand's strike, but the city and its visitors discovered other attractions ~ bus tours to various outlet malls or shopping trips, to put it simply. europeans are finding the best value for their euros...

one newscast also mentioned about cyber monday. an equivalent of black friday for online shopping. i almost forgot about it... i will surely check a lot of websites, and see if i'll get a better deal for a microsoft zune. i hope i also find something for hubby...

i started working on the 2nd batch of 5 PLRs again last night. one is so badly written i ended up rewriting it... i'll continue to work on the remaining 4 today but not before i'm done with some housework... i work on the PLRs 5 at a time... it takes off the pressure, psychologically...

by the way, i put a link to Hillary Clinton's website on top... i'm a fan, a supporter, and a believer... you can say all you want about her, but no one among the "boys" can hold a candle to her.

chaos continues... black friday...

i got up this morning with snow on the ground... it wasn't really much, dusting in some parts, but still snow on the ground... =(

before i forget, my cornish hen turned out good - tasty and juicy... we all had halves so there is still a half left. i also still have 2 crab cakes and a pot of the arroz ala cubana... lots of leftovers to choose from for dinner this weekend...

went out to get breakfast for saturday and sunday, but i didn't leave until 3pm in the hopes there wouldn't be a crowd anymore... wrong... the parking lot at walmart/giant eagle was still full... i found a parking spot almost at the farthest end of the lot. it was cooold... i went to walmart to grab the breakfast stuff, and also went around to check out the electronic stuff piled up on rows of aisle all over the store. there were still a lot of TVs, dvd players & recorders, printers, computers, etc... when you see that much people and that much stuff in a store, you wouldn't think gasoline prices are at $3+ a gallon, and rising... at least black friday pulled the stock market up, and hopefully did bring stores back into the black...

i bought a Christmas gift for R last night from amazon. a microsoft zune 30gb mp3/mp4 player... there were more good deals online than in stores, and the convenience is definitely a plus... i first saw the item at walmart's website, and found the price very reasonable at $99.99. i read the reviews, which were good, and checked the specs. by the time i was ready to order, the item is no longer available online but still is in selected branches, none of which is near our home... grrr... so i searched online and found amazon offering it for $89.99... but there is a catch - it won't be delivered until after Christmas... bummer... but i still got one because it was a good deal. it is a 30gb player!!! but i had to tell R he won't have his gift until new year's... =)

i still don't know what to give hubby... i hope my love and affection would suffice... =)

we give thanks...

from our family to yours, happy thanksgiving!

we got up this morning to strong winds and rain... blehhh... i was still aching from yesterday's yardwork... we had a late breakfast, as usual, then i prepped the cornish hens. i split them in half, rinsed them well, and patted dry. i placed each in cut foil and seasoned them with a mixture of seasalt, garlic powder, paprika and lemon&pepper seasoning. i wrapped each in the cut foil and refrigerated until it's time to cook them. they're now in the oven to be baked for 45 minutes or until browned. i'm basting every 15 minutes, and had just done the 2nd... the rice is also cooking right now, then i'll do the stuffing after the third basting. i hope the hens come out good... i did some tweaking on the recipe, which i always do so i'm not sure how it will be... hubby and R should keep their fingers crossed...

i'm goin'... enjoy your dinner, folks, and don't forget to give thanks...

leaves, leaves, and more leaves... criminal minds...

just as i wrote earlier, i raked and bagged the remaining leaves on our lawn. i didn't realize there was still that much because i filled all 10 bags, and still had to use one regular trash bag for some leaves i gathered at the back of the house.

i started just after 1:30pm and stopped at 4:20, and had about 2 10-minute breaks. one was when i crossed over to our neighbors, who were also bagging their leaves, to wish them a happy thanksgiving. next was when R came home from school. we had a small talk before he went into the house.

i didn't realize how tired and thirsty i was until i got inside the house. my backside was hurting. my arms were hurting; can barely lift them. my back was hurting. my shoulders were hurting my legs(knees) were hurting. i'm almost incapacitated once again... i also had 2 papercuts from the bags... one was between my thumb and point finger, and the other was under the nail of my middle finger... ouch!!!

when i went in, there was a message from hubby so i called. said he might come home earlier than usual... called back 10-15 minutes later to confirm he'll come home early. i told him i'm too tired and hurting to prepare anything for dinner and clean up afterwards. i suggested mcdonald's so off we went to mcd's after i picked him up...

i watched kid nation and criminal minds before i took a shower, which made me feel so much better, the shower, that is... tonight's episode of criminal minds was one of the best i've watched so far... love, love, love that show... i was really sad when mandy patinkin left the show. i thought he was a good fit and his character was different, but i'm starting to warm up to joe mantegna...

i'm so tired and sleepy... i'm off... g'night, people...

frenzy...?

there's been a noticeable frenzy at giant eagle and walmart since sunday. it was the start of Thanksgiving week so no suprise there... altho' i'm not a part of that frenzy, i love being in the midst of it. you'll see all sorts of shoppers, from the undecisive to the efficient and no-nonsense, to the hoarder...

i felt so tired and sleepy last monday so i went back to bed after i drove hubby to the "T" stop. i got up around 11am... i didn't do any housework but instead did some online stuff. i also cancelled the remaining offers i need to cancel to prevent charges on my credit card. i got some credits back from the cancellations so it was good.

since tuesday's forecast was warmer than usual, i decided to rake the leaves and pack them in brown compost bags. unfortunately, only 2 of the 5 bags were picked up since i wasn't done when the garbage truck came by. i actually needed more bags, too since there were so much leaves on the ground. some leaves that have been there longer and were rained on were already rotting when i raked them. it was kinda gross... i really am not a garden person but i have to do what i need to do... before i worked on our lawn, i went to 3 different stores to pick up some things. went to walmart, giant eagle and aldi's. oh. i also went to lowe's since there are no choices of rakes in walmart. i found a plastic one in lowe's, which makes more sense since it won't rust and it's teeth won't be bent. we already have a rake, which we got from qvc. it's not the the usual rake because it picks up leaves. the teeth are in a circular formation and you can "open-close" them similar to an umbrella. that's how you pick up the leaves. and since the teeth are in a circle, it's hard to use it as a rake versus one that has its teeth in a row.

i went back to walmart this morning to get more brown bags but they're out of it. good thing they have them at giant eagle so i got 2 bundles or 10 bags. i also bought a box of stovetop chicken stuffing just to try it. i'll prepare it as a side. i also bought a tub of bob evans mashed potato - already prepared so i don't have to. we don't need much anyway since hubby is not fond of it nor the stuffing. i just want R to have an alternative other than rice, to eat with the cornish hen. speaking of cornish hen, i hope my first attempt at it would be a success...

i'm just waiting for "the young & the restless" to come on at 1:30pm. i watch it everyday... one of my afternoon guilty pleasures... after y&r, i'll start with the leaves again. my arms and shoulders are still aching from yesterday's, but like i said, you got to do what you need to do...

y&r is on... gotta go...

my bad...

i have neglected my blog for several days now... my last post was wednesday yet, and there should have been another post that day(night) but...

i actually had a busy wednesday plus i was still kinda tired from the previous day's leaf-blowing task... my right arm up to my shoulder were actually sore. inspite of this, i was raring to go wednesday. it was a big day for me because...

last wedneday, i took oath as a new citizen of the United States of America. it was a very touching, emotional, and happy event. one of my most memorable alongside the day i got married and my son's birth. what usually is an event held in the courthouse was held that day in one of the ballrooms at the Omni William Penn Hotel in downtown Pittsburgh, thanks to the Rotary Club. the event was sponsored by the Rotary Club of Pittsburgh, which they do every four years as part of their public service and community involvement.

there were close to 150-200 of us who took oath that day. a very diverse group of people... the ladies were each given a white rose, while all the new US citizens were given small American flags. i got very emotional when we sang God, Bless America and America, the Beautiful... i always do, anyway, everytime i hear these songs...

after the ceremony, hubby treated me to lunch in a nice restaurant in the highmark building. it was a wonderful event... a wonderful and significant day altogether.

the next day, i filled up the voter's registration form that was distributed during the ceremony together with passport applications to those who were interested. the passport application can wait but not my voter's registration. the primaries are coming up soon, and i can't wait to exercise my right to vote as a citizen of this country. and just so you know, i registered as a Democrat. even R was very excited about it...

i will always love my birth country, the Philippines, and i will always treasure and cherish its culture and tradition. i also love my adopted country for it is here where i experienced the true essence of freedom. this country has given me and my son so much in our 8 years of living here, and i am more than happy to give back whatever i can in return. words will never be enough to express my deepest appreciation and affection for this country.

on friday, i was a bit stressed out as the bathtub in our basement bathroom, which R uses, won't drain. i used the plunger on it but it didn't do anything. i called HSA Home Warranty that morning to get a referral for a plumber. after hours of waiting, back and forth phone calls, and to make long story short, a plumber finally came and fixed(unclogged) the drain. it's working fine now...

saturday is like any of our saturdays... laidback. i did a little bit of everything... did some ironing, checked on the status of my online project, which continues to be a disappointment to me, and i also started helping hubby again with revising articles, PLRs to be exact. i'd also like to learn how to create websites where hubby will put the PLRs i revised(rewrote). unfortunately, some PLRs are so badly written it's taking me longer to revise them, which also makes me spend more time than i would have liked to on them. that was one reason why i stopped revising before - badly written PLRs... (PLRs - private label rights)

today, another typical sunday... i set the alarm, which i always do on a sunday, so i'll get up in time for the cbs sunday morning show with charles osgood. today's show was all about food and thanksgiving. and speaking of thanksgiving, since we are not turkey-eaters, we always had ham. not this year. we're tired of it... since one cannot find a small-sized ham good for three, we always ended up eating ham for weeks on end, sometimes right up to a week before Christmas, and we don't want that anymore... so this year, hubby and i thought we should try cornish hen. still a bird, but a tastier, more manageable bird... =) i'll keep you posted...

i really don't want to dwell on it but will touch on it a bit...
you win some, you lose some... the Steelers lost to the "lowly" jets today - in overtime. 16-19. that hurts...

i'm going to bed...

the falling leaves... missing tuesday...

i've been thinking about using the leaf blower but can't find the right time to since it was either too cold or raining until...

tuesday morning... hubby told me that i really should use the leaf blower soon, and asked me to look outside. i was a little shocked to see our neighbor's driveway totally covered with leaves from our maple tree... i knew it was windy, and raining lightly when i drove R to school around 6:40 this morning, but i didn't expect that amount of leaves to fall on the ground... it was embarrassing, to say the least... so as soon as i got back from taking hubby to the train station, i took out the leaf blower and extension cord, and cleared the neighbor's driveway... i also tried clearing their lawn but i wasn't comfortable being on it so i just tried to pick up as much as i can... i think i used the blower for a little more than an hour... big mistake. when i finally decided to stop and put away the cord and the blower, i could barely lift my right arm without it shaking uncontrollably... it was from holding the blower so long without rest or any support... i practically didn't have any use of my arm unless i hold it up with my left hand or rest it on something to be able to have use of my hand. without support, my arm would just shake... it was so painful that i decided to take a muscle relaxant to ease the pain. it did help but it also made me so drowsy that i just had to sleep it off hoping it wears off sooner... another big mistake.

i'll spare you with the rest of the details. needless to say, i was incapacitated for the good part of tuesday, thus the absence of a blogpost. i was sorta, kinda knocked out...

one laptop per child...

this is a project started by Nicholas Negroponte to provide disadvantaged children around the world with an educational tool, and not just a laptop. the vision goes beyond a laptop, but starts with one... read more about the project here.

they are also currently running a program, Give One, Get One, for two weeks from november 12 to 26, and is open in the US and Canada. through Give One, Get One, the laptop will be made available to the public for the first time with a donation of $399. your donation will give you a chance to donate one laptop to a child in a developing nation and another one to a child in your life. learn more about it here.

a lot of big-named companies have followed suit in developing similar projects. i just hope they find a common ground and work together instead, and not compete in the guise of helping these kids, as to who has the better, more worthwhile project...

big props to Nicholas Negroponte and his team for sticking to his dream and making it a reality...

i just had to...

that is, say this...
i'm sooo sleepy... zzz... zzz... zzz...
g'night, people!
i am a happy girl. =)

it ain't pretty... the comeback kids...

as Ben Roethlisberger said, it wasn't pretty, but the bottomline is, the PittsburghSteelers won!!!

they were down 15 points in the first half, but came back strong in the second led by Big Ben, who rushed for 49 yards with 1 TD. did i tell you he is a QB?

cleveland had a chance to tie the ballgame, but kicker, phil dawson, missed a 52-yard field goal attempt... ouch...

final score, 31-28.

sweet! life is sweet.

that hurts...

with 2:37 minutes out in the 3rd quarter, i turned off the tv. it was painful to watch... in the first half, the browns had 3 TDs against the Steelers' 3 FGs, which translated into the score is 21-9... the Steelers failed to convert from the red zone three times(period)

so i walked away from the tv, turned to my computer to check on my emails, and get my mind off the game... but i just have to peek... so peek at yahoo sports i did... the score was 28-24 with 4:18 minutes to go. the Steelers has the ball IN THE RED ZONE!

i have to see this!!!

hmmm... 2

• i discovered a website with links to different craft/sewing sites. i've been wanting to learn how to sew for the longest time but never got around to doing it. in fact, i bought a sewing machine i saw on qvc about 3-4 years ago, but haven't even opened the box yet... i'll check michael's if they have a sewing class scheduled in the near future. it's about time i do something about this...
• fios tv is now available in our area. i'll talk to hubby about having the service installed since we already have fios internet. i miss all the shows i used to watch on cable... i have not seen any of them since a year ago, i'm not sure if some of them are still on...
• i'll go and take a shower now. my eyes are getting heavy...

i'm sooo sleepy... zzz... zzz... zzz...

hmmm...

• the housing market continues on its downward spiral... i wonder what happened to those who were flippers when the market was booming... there were so many shows about flipping houses that i have lost count, and have not seen any as we don't have cable nor dish to whatch these shows since we moved into our home almost a year ago...
• price of crude oil per barrel continues to climb, and i won't be surprised (nor anyone, for that matter) if it reaches the $100-mark next week or at the latest, Thanksgiving weekend...
• i saw this sticker on a car's bumper at the giant eagle parking lot that says, "let's take the bushes out of the rose garden!" yeah, let's...
• R's gums are swollen so his cheeks are also puffy... he looked like when he was 4 years old...
• i watched "memoirs of a geisha" on dvd this afternoon. i borrowed it from the library together with "catch me if you can" two fridays ago. yeah... i, so far, renewed them twice now together with "dr. strangelove", which R has seen for about 4-5 times now... i like "memoirs..." it's my kind of film... romantic, heartbreaking, and a period film. i love period films... i didn't know it was directed by rob marshall of "chicago" fame... all the actors, main and supporting, were very good...
• i'll watch "48 hours mystery" now...

i'm not sleepy yet... =)

wisdom teeth...

four wisdom teeth were taken out from R this morning. the procedure took about half an hour... when i was called and led to where R was, he was trying to get up and saying something... but you can barely understand him because there were pieces of gauze in his mouth for the bleeding plus the fact that he was drugged for the procedure. it took almost ten tries before i finally got what he wanted to say... he wants his 4 wisdom teeth to keep... uuuggghhh...

but he was also funny because he was smiling all the time and kept on mumbling all the way home. i helped him change and i also change the gauze before i finally tuck him in bed. i made a quick trip to giant eagle to grab food he can eat. soft food like pudding, jello, applesauce. no hot or warm and solid food. he was so hungry when he woke up that he finished 3 each of the jello, pudding and applesauce, and he was still hungry so i gave him a bowl of ice cream. after he had eaten, i started him off with the antibiotics. he didn't feel any pain until late this evening so i finally gave him a painreliever and another pill to make him sleep better.

tomorrow, i'll make champorado for him for breakfast...

i'm sooo sleepy... zzz... zzz... zzz...

green!

saying that is just like saying "eureka"! i finally went green on a referral i did 3 weeks ago. i already informed my trader, but it seems she doesn't log on on a daily basis. last time she was on was tuesday yet... hopefully, she'll see my message not later than this weekend... when this trade is wrapped up, i would only have one unfinished trade waiting to green. in the meantime, i'll probably do(start) a new trade. maybe do a "green for green" so i can hopefully cash out on one of my referral sites... that would really be nice...

i'm alternately watching Without a Trace and finishing this post. love tonight's episode, which started at CSI, and will get solved in Trace. they did these crossover episodes specifically for the sweeps.

i have to give R a snooze pill before he goes to bed, and more tomorrow, at least an hour and a half before the surgery, to make him woozy... fasting, too, starting midnight that's why he's having a snack right now...

i'll post this now, watch Trace, give R his pill, washup after the show, then go to bed. hubby already turned in half an hour ago...

i'm sooo sleepy... zzz... zzz... zzz...

nuthin'...

nothing much happened today...

ohhh! our neighbors in the north had their first snowfall last night(early morning). Eerie had about 8" of snow... i'm not ready for that... good thing we didn't have any... but according to kdka's chief meteorologist, jeff verszyla, this season's winter will be warmer than last, and snowfall will be less than normal... sounds good to me... i know, i know... we need the snow... but let the other counties have them...

what did i do today?
went to giant eagle.
went to aldi's.
grabbed coffee.
did some ironing.

i'm sooo sleepy... zzz... zzz... zzz...

dentist... election... dwts...

R didn't have school today. local election... luke ravenstahl was re-elected mayor of Pittsburgh. i'm sooo glad desantis didn't win. it wasn't even close inspite of all the endorsements he got especially from local major dailies, and the apparent partiality of kdka's jon delano... ha!

i took R to the dentist for filling. during his last checkup about a couple of or three weeks ago, the dentist saw 2 small cavities that needed to be filled. i was upset when i first heard he had cavities. but the dentist assured me it was nothing major, and were in fact very, very small. i was just surprise that he would have them when i am very strict with his oral hygiene, and he is very diligent about it. anyway, the entire procedure didn't even take half an hour...

i wasn't able to watch the replay of last night's dancing with the stars episode because of our appointment. they showed a replay today at 9am because of monday night footbal, which my Steelers won. =) marie osmond wasn't in the results show tonight because their dad passed away last night, just a few weeks after jane seymour's mom passed away. this season is just full of one unfortunate incident after another... btw, jane seymour was voted off this week...

i'm sooo sleepy... zzz...zzz...zzz...

here we go, Steelers... here we go!

• monday night football.
• Steelers v baltimore ravens at Pittsburgh.
• it was raining.
• Ben threw *5 TD passes, 4 of them in the first half; was pushed to the turf but not before throwing a 45-yard completion to Santonio Holmes in the 3rd quarter. he was taken out but came back in the 4th quarter.
• some members of the Steelers' All-time Team was in the sideline cheering on the guys and enjoying the game. among the notables were Terry Bradshaw, Mean Joe Green, Franco Harris, Lynne Swann, Mel Blount and Jack Ham. Coach Bill Cowher was also there and got the crowd going at one point.
• but the night's most impressive Steeler was linebacker, James Harrison. his stats speak for himself.
• final score, 38-7.

here we go, Steelers... here we go!

*ties Terry Bradshaw's and Mark Malone's record throws in a game.

fall back...

by the way, standard time is back.
we gained an hour!!!
but did we put it to good use...?
i'm off to bed...
g'night, people.

9-0!

yup! inspite trailing for the first time this season, the new england patriots prevailed over the indianapolis colts. bridget moynahan's baby daddy threw 2 TD passes in the fourth quarter to stop the colts from running away with the game, and finished off 24-20.

Tom Brady is really HOT, literally and figuratively!

battle of the undefeateds...

the patriots and the colts are playing right now. they are the remaining undefeated teams in the nfl, and so this game will finally separate them. james brown had a question earlier on cbs sports where he asked if the winner of this matchup would end up as the super bowl winner. all the panelists - dan marino, coach cowher, boomer esiason and shannon sharpe said no, and i say no, too. my Pittsburgh Steelers has a good shot at it, and i'm sure fans of green bay, chargers, cowboys, etc. would say the same thing - that is, their respective teams have a good shot at the super bowl... question is, who has the most legit claim? the Steelers fans, of course! =)

the Steelers will be on monday night footbal against their nemesis, the baltimore ravens. last year, the ravens ravaged the Steelers in their two meetings. i'm confident it won't be so this year, and i'm going out on a limb and say, it will be the other way around. the Steelers are playing solid this season. not perfect, but solid.

i guess we wait and see...

sleep... more sleep...

i went to bed this morning around 2am, but had to get up at 7 for R's 8am appointment at quest diagnostics for bloodwork. he has an appointment with his endocrinologist next week hence the bloodwork. i think they got 6-7 vials of blood for testing...

around 2pm, hubby said he'll take a nap, and i told him i will, too that's why i didn't make the bed... so off to bed i went for my nap. it was 2:30pm. well, my "nap" turned out to be the longest i had in a while. i woke up after 6pm... hubby was already awake before i was, but didn't get up... we finally dragged ourselves out of bed around 6:30ishpm.

i'm still frustrated with the two trades i'm working on. i've been at it for 2 weeks now and have not gone green on both. uggghhh!!! i don't want to do any more trades until i'm done with these two... so now i'm stuck, and it's not a good thing...

all soul's day... remembering my brother...

this is supposed to be the day we remember our dearly departed. but for some reason i do not know, it is not so in the Philippines...

so i remember my youngest brother, who died at the tender age of 16 of H-fever... his death, so far, is the most painful experience i ever went through in my life... i still think of him. miss him. wonder what could have been... my parents were totally devastated when he passed. it was very painful for all of us...

i named my son after him...

all saint's day...

1st of november, all saint's day.

in the Philippines, this is supposedly the day when everybody treks to cemeteries to remember their dearly departed. that used to be the case when i was young... veeery, very young...

nowadays, all saint's day seems to be the day when most pinoys go out of town for some R&R, just like the holy week. this is how most of us observe these religious holidays now... boracay, baguio, palawan, tagaytay... just some of the places popular to out-of-towners to go to to "remember" their dearly departed (all saint's day) or do some "soul-searching" (holy week)...

but people still do go to the cemeteries. they go through the motions of offering flowers, lighting candles, saying a little prayer or in isolated cases, pray the rosary. that should take about half an hour maximum, and the rest would be socializing...

such are "shining" examples of Philippine tradition nowadays... the kind of tradition this generation passes on to their children. and this coming from a country, which its own citizens tout, as the only Roman Catholic country in Asia. with these "traditions", and everything that are going on in my country right now, how can you brag about that...?

and such is the hypocrisy of our society...