My cousins and I have a plan to have the ancestral house remodeled this coming summer 2012. We want to have it modernized complete with new bathrooms and a new kitchen with stainless steel sinks and modern tiles. We want to have the house spruced up so that when the 2012 reunion takes place, we will have a better looking place stay at.

The grandparents no longer have the capacity to have the place remodeled so when the cousins and I talked about it, we took it upon ourselves to fund the remodeling and let the grandparents have a better place to live in.

There are so many parties to attend during the holiday season. Christmas parties here and there. Get-togethers with friends and family reunions. And parties thrown for no other reason but just it’s Christmas. One such party falling into the latter category is the one thrown for single men, both old and young. The party has barrels of beer and opus x cigars and lots of finger food best eaten with beer.

One such party was held in the neighborhood and my male cousins attended it. They had a blast! The next day after the night of the party, they got up after lunch already.

There will be 6 long weekends in 2012 according to the official list of regular holidays and special (non-working) days from Malacañang.

The first one will be on January 21 to 23, the 23rd being a special non-working holiday as it is the Chinese New Year celebrations.

The Holy Week which will last 5 days is the next long weekend we will have. April 5 to 9. Mark your calendar and schedule those trips to the beach during these days April 5 (Holy Thursday) and 6 (Good Friday) are regular holidays. These are followed by a weekend, April 7-8, while April 9 (Araw ng Kagitingan) is also a holiday.

Next one is on August 25 to 27, National Heroes’ Day, a regular holiday.

A 4-day weekend on November will be the next one which will be composed of two special non-working holidays November 1 (All Saints’ Day) and November 2 (All Souls’ Day).

At the end of November, there will be another long weekend after Bonifacio Day, November 30, was declared a regular holiday. November 30 falls on a Friday.

The last long weekend will be on December 29 to 31, the last day being a non-working holiday.

Regular Holidays for 2012

New Year’s Day…… January 1 (Sunday)
Maundy Thursday…… April 5
Good Friday……. April 6
Araw ng Kagitingan…… April 9 (Monday)3
Labor Day…… May 1 (Tuesday)
Independence Day…… June 12 (Tuesday)
National Heroes Day…… August 27 (Last Monday of August)
Bonifacio Day…… November 30 (Friday)
Christmas Day…… December 25 (Tuesday
Rizal Day…… December 30 (Sunday)

Special (Non-Working) Holidays

Chinese New Year…… January 23 (Monday)
Ninoy Aquino Day…… August 21 (Tuesday)
All Saints Day…… November 1 (Thursday)
Additional special (non-working) day…… November 2 (Friday)
Last Day of the Year…… December 31 (Monday)

Special Holiday (for all schools)

EDSA Revolution Anniversary…… February 25 (Saturday)

Mark your calendars!

Let us please take a moment to offer our prayers for the victims of typhoon Sendong in Mindanao.

So many provinces are affected and the number of families affected by it are rising as I write this entry. If you want to see the aftermath of the typhoon, you can view this Facebook album by Jeffrey Wong (where I also took the photo above. Thanks, Jeffrey!). Flash flooding is one of the worse calamities that can happen anywhere. Most especially if it happens while every one is asleep, just like what happened in Mindanao.

If you can offer any kind of help, please go to the Red Cross Philippines website or to gov.ph on how to go about it.

UPDATE: Here are more photos of the tragedy that struck Cagayan de Oro City.

I love my high school English teacher! She taught us the proper use of words and drilled in our heads grammar lessons that I think I won’t ever forget. I found this and was immediately reminded of her…

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What are the words you commonly misuse?

I have always been fascinated with the stories of Mafia and other gangs in New York. Blame it on novels I’ve read about them when I was in my teens. And those movies that my parents watched and I was allowed to watch with them.

Bigger Graphic Here

Are you just as fascinated with Mafia stories as I am?

Truth is there are days when I am no longer happy. I struggle and I feel terrible and the restlessness starts creeping in. I am always in a funk and couldn’t get out of it. I can come up with a thousand or so excuses not to do stuff and after spending hours not doing anything, the guilt will stay with me and would make me feel so lame about myself.

I am no longer happy but I think it’s the worry of the flow of income that’s making me feel this way.

Or is it?

Maybe this is a funk within a funk or a phase I have to get through. I am not so sure anymore and I think the steps I am taking will determine what I really feel about everything in my life right now.

Almost all schools nowadays require their students to be computer literate. It is already being taught in kindergarten. There are programs being made by grade and high school students. By the time these kids hit college, they are so tech savvy they are ready to conquer the world with their computer skills!

That’s why almost every residence now has a computer in it. Mostly it is computer desktop. Whenever there are desktop computers sale, you can’t believe how fast the units sell. Parents really save up so they can get their kids the latest desktop computers for their schooling.

Good thing we didn’t need it in school back then or I would be one of those without a computer at home.