Pain

Perhaps the worst scenario children can ever witness is to see their beloved mom in excruciating pain… and yet they can’t do anything to ease it.

Earlier today, my mom was rushed to the hospital. Her legs hurt so much and she looked very pale. According to her hematologist, the pain in her legs is one of the effects of hemolysis. Yes, that same old, same old F-n shit.

She screamed in pain from time to time, telling us it’s the first time she experienced that. Pain killers did not cut it for her. I felt so helpless. It sucks that I can’t do anything to lessen the pain. All I can do is pray. Not that I am underestimating the power of prayers but if I can just shoulder at least half of the pain she’s been going through, I would.

But I can’t. And it sucks.

To you who’s reading this post, please say a little prayer for my mom. Thanks.

Bothered

It’s so circa May-July 2009 all over again.

But we’re hoping… still.

We have to be optimistic.

We are optimistic.

That everything’s going to be okay.

In His time.

Kudos, UP PEP Squad!

The UP PEP Squad: 2009 UAAP Cheerleading Dance Competition 2nd Runner Up.

Thank you UP PEP for once again making the whole UP community proud. Again, you did not settle for anything less as you have always aimed higher. You have been raising the standards of UAAP CDC year after year after year. The level of difficulty of the stunts… everything. Your growth has always been exponential.  True that, there’s no other way but UP.

Well, being third placers this time is nothing to be ashamed of.  Sure, the errors may have caused us the 3-peat but I don’t really care. With your superb performances for the past two years (’superb’ is an understatement’), I truly believe you have nothing else to prove. And I highly commend you for choosing a theme that shows what UP life is all about. Your way of giving tribute to our Alma Mater through your UP-centric theme/routine surely put a smile in the faces of every single Isko and Iska. Thank you, UP PEP.

STATE U!  STATE U!  STATE UNIVERSITY,  STATE UNIVERSITY!

UP ANG GALING MO!

Like mother, like son

Mom’s a cheater. Dad’s a cheater. What then should we expect from their offspring?

PRESIDENTIAL son and Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo has failed to declare in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Networth (SALN) for the last two years a $1.32 million or P63.7 million beachfront property in the San Francisco Bay Area in California, which he bought and then transferred to his wife Angela in 2006.

The house, located at 1655 Beach Park Blvd in Foster City in San Mateo County, is now up for sale, but does not appear in Mikey’s 2007 and 2008 SALN.

Read the rest of the Vera Files story here.

As what seems to be a standard way of dealing with criticisms, Arroyo lashed out on the writers by saying:

The congressman said the report was misleading either due to the writers’ malicious intent or lack of knowledge on the matter.

“Unfortunately, either the writer or writers deliberately imposed a malicious twist on the story or they lack knowledge on the legal aspects regarding corporations,” he said.

Read more here.

LOL at this crap on hitting at the writers just like that. But hey, in the interview below, he admitted that in 2002, he was not used to properly declare his net worth. LOOOOOL.

WOW.

That was painful to watch. Really.

Kudos to Winnie Monsod for asking pressing questions and not letting Arroyo get away with his lies. At the end of the interview, the million dollar question of  “where did Arroyo get the money to acquire the million dollar property?”  was not answered.  Ditto with “how did Arroyo’s net worth ballooned from P50,000 in 1993 to a whopping P156,000,000 in 2009?”

Instead, this crap kept saying, “If in doubt, sue me!” or “Talk to my lawyers!”.

That’s arrogance. The Arroyos have always acted as if they can get away with anything. As in, ANYTHING!

Haay. Welcome to the Philippines.

Korean Nintendo Wii Mii and Photo Channel Error – FIXED!

I was really happy and ecstatic when FINALLY I was able to fix the Mii and Photo channels in my Korean Nintendo Wii. I was not able to use them before as I kept getting “This channel can’t be used” error upon entering the said channels.

But thank God I found this site. JOKERz’s instructions were right on the spot. His instructions are very clear. For my case, instead of using the Wii homebrew Channel File Manager to delete the appropriate system channel titles, I opted to use Any Title Deleter which can be downloaded here. All was well and now I can finally create Mii characters!

The next step now is to install a USB loader on my Wii.  I have been longing to save homebrew games and applications on my newly bought Western Digital My Passport 320GB HDD. With a USB loader, Wii can read games from the HDD thus, saving a lot of work from the Wii lens.

However, installing a Nintendo Wii USB loader  seems to be a very challenging procedure. Time to read another set of Nintendo Wii tutorials. LOL

Goodbye, President Cory!

Let me make the most our of my little space in the cyberworld to extend my heartfelt appreciation to our former President Corazon “Cory” Aquino, who just passed away last August 1.

I may not be a fan of the Cory Aquino administration mainly because of the Mendiola massacre and also with what happened in Hacienda Luisita back in 2004. But just the thought of her genuine love and care for Filipinos made me like her as a person and a former leader.

While the whole family was locked in to ANC during the whole coverage of the funeral of President Cory, my mom and dad were reminiscing the good (and bad) ‘ol days, circa 1986. I was still in my mom’s tummy in February 1986 when Edsa 1 happened. My mom said she was so afraid that time.  Tanks in the streets. Armed men roaming around. Among others.

But thanks to President Cory. For having the courage to challenge the Marcos administration. And ultimately, for uniting the Filipinos. My parents said they can’t imagine how the Philippines is right now if it weren’t for President Cory. She was just a “plain housewife” who rose to the occasion when many people asked her to run and lead the country. And she bravely responded.

Many said the show of overwhelming love and support of thousands of people during the funeral procession was like Ninoy’s funeral in 1983 all over again. I think Jim Paredes aptly explained it. That “Ninoy’s funeral was what it was because of how he died. Cory’s is what it is because of how she lived”. President Cory truly had a life well-lived.

How I wish President Cory is still alive and once again be instrumental in a transition government – from a fake democracy to a real one. But on the flip side, I guess she has already done her part. And we now have to do ours and continue what she had started 23 years ago.

Headshot taken from PCIJ website

Beware of Rockfire store in Virramall, Greenhills

Better be safe than sorry, as they say. I’m posting here the horror story of  Nikki Mendoza, a friend of my co-forumer in HGPinoy. S/he was scammed by Rockfire, a gadget store located at the 3rd floor of Virramall in Greenhills. Worse, s/he was assaulted by the wife of the store owner.

Sick.

Read on.

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STAY AWAY FROM ROCKFIRE — or, how I got assaulted
July 19 at 4:52pm

I bought a Sony Playstation 3 on June 5, 2009 from a store in Greenhills called Rockfire. It’s a store (not a stall lang) on the third floor of V-mall. I was given a receipt and told that there was a one-year service warranty and a one-week replacement period. Before we left, the people at the store asked us if we had a game so we could test it. Obviously we didn’t, because we hadn’t even bought the PS3 yet. The salespeople explained that they did have games, but that they couldn’t use them to test the PS3 because if they opened the game, they wouldn’t be able to sell it as new. So all they did was turn the PS3 on and I left, mistakenly thinking I could trust them.

Because I had to find an adaptor for the PS3 and because I left and went to Singapore, I didn’t get to test the PS3 until just this last weekend (July 11). Even though I hadn’t used the PS3 AT ALL, neither of the two original games that I bought would work on the PS3. Andrea and I went back to Rockfire in Greenhills on Monday (July 13) and asked for them to repair/replace it. Today, July 17, I called Rockfire again and was told that their technician had found that the lens on the PS3 had been broken and needed to be replaced. Apparently the most common cause of that particular problem was using pirated games or DVDs or Blu-Ray discs in the PS3… none of which I’d done since I literally had not touched it since I bought it. Despite my protests, they said they would have to charge me PhP3,000 to replace the lens.

I thought it was unfair, so I dragged my friend to Greenhills today so we could talk to them. I already had a feeling they wouldn’t budge (since I’d already had quite a heated conversation with the owner of the store, Nixon Alba) so I told Gayle that if they didn’t agree to replace/repair the PS3 for free, then I would just get the PS3 and have it fixed in Sony, Australia. Gayle and I went into the store and spoke with the owner’s wife, since the owner wasn’t present. As I expected, she refused (and quite rudely too) to entertain our complaints. I gave up and asked to get my PS3, even though it hadn’t been repaired. She said it was with their supplier. At this point my gut was screaming at me that this was a scam and I’d just been duped, so I asked for her name and her husband’s name.

For some reason, she refused to tell me their names. I explained that I just wanted to get their names because I was leaving my PS3 with them, but she still wouldn’t comply with my request. I took out my phone and took her picture– just in case something happened, I wanted to at least remember her face (since I didn’t know her name). I was still looking at my phone when two hands reached over and tried to grab it from my hands. The owner’s wife had reached across the counter and started to grab at whatever she could get her hands on. She pulled my wrist, hit my arms, tried to wrench the phone from my grasp, scratched my skin with her nails, and tried to PHYSICALLY overpower me.

As you can imagine, I was in total shock. Gayle immediately rushed to my side and pulled me away from the crazy woman’s grasp. In the process, the woman slapped Gayle on the arm. We both looked at each other in sheer shock. What had just happened?

From the woman’s constant screams it became clear she wanted me to delete the picture of her because she hadn’t given her consent. I couldn’t believe my ears. “Bakit hindi mo na lang sinabi iyon?” I asked her. “Kailangan mo pa ba akong sugurin dahil lang kinunan kita ng picture?!” She totally went off her rocker, demanding that I delete the picture, calling for guards to come, insulting both Gayle and me (as well as our parents). She called her husband on the phone, who started yelling at me and threatening to have my mobile phone confiscated. I tried to explain myself, but neither of them would listen to me.

When the guards came, one of them listened to me. I explained that in the struggle, the picture had actually already been deleted. I don’t know how it happened exactly; I just know that I checked my phone after she had stopped attacking me (mainly to make sure it hadn’t been broken) and the picture wasn’t there anymore. It must have gotten deleted somehow in the tangle of arms and hands. At this, the woman shrieked that she wanted me to show the guard that I didn’t have the picture anymore. Frustrated and MORE than furious, I took out my phone intending to show the guard. Immediately the woman lunged for me as violently as before, hitting me in her haste to get to my phone. The guard saw everything and pulled her away. Despite my fury, I showed the guard that I really did not have ANY picture of her in my gallery. The woman started yelling that I had “hidden” it “doon sa ibang memory” and that she would not let me or my friend leave until she had gone through all the pictures in my phone and confirmed that her picture was not there.

I snarkily told her that I would NOT under ANY circumstances allow ANYONE to rifle through my personal files without a warrant, and that she was welcome to try. She then said that she would not release my PS3 until she was satisfied that the picture had been deleted. I couldn’t believe how utterly ridiculous this whole situation had become. I certainly did not hide the fact that I’d taken her picture. I hadn’t foreseen that she would react the way she did, and would have deleted the picture if she had calmly told me she didn’t consent to it being taken. Instead she lunged at me and attacked me– not hard enough to cause serious injury, but hard enough that I have a bruise on my right arm from her hitting me. And now that I’d told her the picture was gone (and it was!), she wouldn’t believe me!

I was trying to call my parents and my cousin, who is a lawyer, but she just kept following me around and screaming loudly enough that I couldn’t hear the other person on the line. She was saying very loudly to her customers that Gayle and I were without morals, that we had insulted her, that our parents hadn’t taught us any values… and who knows what else. Any time Gayle or I would venture NEAR the exit of the shop to get better reception or to get some quiet so we could call our friends, she would scream at the guards to stop us from leaving. Gayle and I both felt utterly humiliated and treated like we’d shoplifted something– when, in fact, it was SHE who was keeping my PS3 unlawfully.

She threated to bring me to the cops, to the precinct, and to the administration of Greenhills, to which I responded that I would be absolutely HAPPY to. Strangely she didn’t make the mistake of threatening me again after I called her bluff. But *I* wasn’t bluffing.

I went and filled out a complaint form. I explained that I just wanted my PS3 back at this point, even though it wasn’t fixed. Gayle and I felt that the woman was borderline psychotic and thus unpredictable, and we asked one of the guards to get the PS3 for us. He came back to say they wouldn’t release it to him despite the fact that we’d given him the receipt to claim it. Gayle and I were scared enough for our safety that we asked two guards to accompany us back to the shop. I got the PS3 and headed to the administrative office where I again explained my case. I was advised to go to the precinct if I felt that strongly about it. I was disappointed with the response, but I did feel strongly that I’d done nothing wrong and that this woman should be stopped, so we walked to the precinct and reported the incident with the cop there. Unfortunately the policeman was not of much help, either. He said that since I wasn’t seriously injured, the most we could do was file for vexation. But that wasn’t the point.

If I sued the woman and her husband, aside from the time it would take (and the fact that I probably won’t be here that long since I’ll be going back to Australia), what would that get me? A replacement PS3? Money in damages? I don’t want money. And the PS3 is a minor thing compared to what I feel was truly physical assault. To be honest, a PS3 is NOT worth the trauma I went through. Maybe you think I’m being overly dramatic, but I can tell you that I seriously feared for my safety. Her anger, the force with which she hit me, the disproportionate response to my taking her picture… it all made me believe she was capable of anything.

I’m more than a little disappointed that a citizen of the Philippines and a frequent and honest customer of Greenhills could be physically hurt and verbally assaulted as I was and not have ANY legal options. Nothing will be done to the woman who started this, only because she didn’t hurt me bad enough. Shouldn’t we draw the line at raising a hand to hit another person? Regardless of the disagreement we had over the PS3, I would have NEVER resorted to violence. I never even considered it, and was shocked when she crossed the line.

I want for Rockfire Inc. to be CLOSED and the owners known for what they are– scam artists at least (for, in my opinion, knowingly selling me a defective unit and then asking me to pay extra for a part that had conveniently broken) and truly VIOLENT people at worst. I want for people to know what happened and I want for people to stay away from ROCKFIRE in Greenhills. I’ve made this note public and viewable by EVERYONE, not just my friends, because I am horrified by today’s events and hope you will be too. Feel free to pass this link around.

I’m telling you guys because the story is so completely crazy that I know it sounds unbelievable. But this is coming from ME, and you all know me, and I can say that this is all true. So please, STAY AWAY from a store called ROCKFIRE in Greenhills owned by NIXON T. ALBA (and most especially his wife)– and tell your friends to do the same.

Nikki Mendoza

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San Miguel Beermen – 2009 PBA Fiesta Conference Champs!

Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!

THIS can not get any better. Really.

Heckling in the PBA

Fans have been regarded as the lifeblood of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). But what would the league do if these fans go over their limitations?

This issue has been exposed again during the Game 2 of the best of seven finals between the San Miguel Beermen (SMB)  and the Barangay Ginebra Kings (BGK).  After the end of the buzzer, when both teams were about to go to their respective dug-outs, a BGK fan was attacked by SMB players Danny Ildefonso and Marc Pingris. See the video here:

The BGK fan was later identified as Ferdinand Nervadez, a 40-year old businessman from Bulacan. Here’s a couple of his photos taken by sportscaster Patricia Hizon:

Based from what I have read from several news reports, Ildefonso went after that idiot BGK fan because the fan kept saying vulgar words to him. An SMB insider said the fan has been banned from watching the PBA games live… forever. Okay, justice has been served. But wait. Something’s not right.

The idiot fan got banned just by giving invectives and dirty finger. Okay. But you can actually hear many fans in the venue shouting invectives to the players. So that means these fans should have been banned as well? My point is there must have been something else that the idiot fan did or said. Something that the PBA found very unjustifiable. Ergo, the ban. And I’m wondering why this has not been reported.

According to insiders, Mr. Nervadez did not only shout invectives and give Ildefonso a dirty finger. This idiot BGK fan also told Ildefonso that his (Ildefonso) daughter is going to die of cancer. Yes, Ildefonso’s daughter has cancer and has been undergoing chemotherapy for a while now. That was actually the reason why the SMB cager opted not to play in the recently concluded PBA All-Stars. Again, this has not been shown in the news reports that came out. Why?!

Something’s really fishy. Maybe the PBA did not let this out because they do not want to be faulted for not putting enough security personnel to control the crowd. Or in general, have measures to address hooliganism. Yes, the environment is a controllable factor. And in this recent heckling incident, the PBA once again allowed to get the matter go out of hand.

Now, the following are the lessons that should be learned from this basketbrawl:

For the PBA: True enough, the PBA exists because of the fans. PBA teams are private companies that invest in the league to advertise their respective services/products. Yes, the PBA is nothing if there are no fans who support the league. However, restrictions should be imposed. PBA players are also humans who have emotions (even though many people seem to regard basketball as a sport close to cockfighting). Ildefonso was provoked by the BGK fan. Things might not have had an ugly turn if the PBA strictly implemented security measures in the venue, granted the league has such.

For the players: Players have to learn how to keep their poise and composure. This no matter how the fans insult them (sad but true). They have no choice but to always check their temper, considering how many ill-mannered and hooligan fans are there.

For the fans: Sure, fans are the so-called “lifeblood” of the PBA. But being paying fans doesn’t give one all the right in the world to ridicule and humiliate the PBA players. That is just PURE HOOLIGANISM.

I sincerely hope that the PBA come up with measures to curb fan heckling. Such display of barbaric act and utmost hooliganism all the more put a dent into an already stained image of the league.

Hemolytic anemia shit

The past couple of weeks have been really hard for the family as my mom was in and out of the hospital. In November 2008, we found out that she has autoimmune hemolytic anemia. Her hemoglobin count fell at around 75 (normal was at 125). That was the time when she had her first blood transfusion.

Last month, when she underwent laparoscopic surgery at the University of Santo Tomas hospital, her hemoglobin count was below normal again. She had another blood transfusion to compensate for the lack of red blood cells (RBCs).

According to her hematologist (and also based from the literature I have read), what happens when you have hemolytic anemia is that your antibodies destruct your RBCs, treating as if the RBCs are foreign materials in the body. My mom is now taking prednisone to combat the antibodies shit.

But things are so complicated since my mom has diabetes. When you take in prednisone, your sugar level increases. Last week, we were all worried when she found out one morning that her sugar level was around 500. A whopping 500. She was confined for three days last week in a hospital near our place so that her diabetologist can monitor her sugar level and adjust her insulin intake.

We thought everything’s going to be fine but last Sunday morning, my mom was so pale and her complete blood count revealed that her RBC count was at 65. Freaking 65. She’s currently undergoing blood transfusion and yesterday, her RBC count was at 88. Hopefully, it continues to stabilize.

So right now, her hematologist is tracing where are the antibodies shit are coming from. Good thing we were assured that my mom does not have any of those freaking illnesses like leukemia, lupus, or cancer. Thank God. I just hope those antibodies shit will be addressed as soon as possible. They are really scaring the hell out of us.

Pray. Pray. Pray.