Month: June 2009

From the evening news

Community issues
  • There will be NO CLASSES today, June 24, for pre-schoolers and all levels of elementary and high school because of the Signal No. 2 PAGASA hoisted over the National Capital Region due to tropical storm Feria. Rain has been pouring since afternoon yesterday and has caused floods in certain areas in Metro Manila and the provinces. Stay tuned because PAGASA might up the signal to two and that would mean no classes up to the high school level. (UPDATED, Source)

On a related note, there will be no classes in Manila schools because it’s Araw ng Maynila today, June 24.

  • The number of victims of the Influenza A(H1N1) virus is closing in on the 500 mark. Several schools have suspended classes due to reported cases of the virus. Even my alma mater, University of Santo Tomas (UST), has suspended classes to quarantine the Saint Martin de Porres Building (or the Main Building to students). A student from the College of Medicine and Surgery tested positive for A(H1N1).

Take care everyone. With the storm and the A(H1N1), we are all prone to getting sick. Drink your vitamins and boost your immune system. I believe that’s the best defense we have against the virus spreading around.

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Another rotten ISP company!

Internet-Web Devt

I had my Global Destiny cable internet connection cut. Permanently! The service is BAD! If you are thinking of getting their services, please don’t. Ask someone from your neighborhood if they are subscribed to the same service and ask them if they are satisfied with it. If yes, then try getting their services. But don’t say I didn’t warn you. They can’t give you a decent internet speed, even in the wee hours of the morning when there are only a few of you using their service.

I’ve emailed them, called them up, to complain about the speed. But it’s still the same. I tried them for a couple of months. And I tell you, I haven’t gotten a break from them! Always the same below 200kbps speed. Imagine that! I should have just gotten a dial-up connection! Cheaper and there are times when the connection becomes faster. Also, you should know that they don’t have a 24/7 customer service representative on standby. Oh, they will tell you they have. But believe me, your fingers will get numb from dialing their numbers again and again and it will only ring and ring and ring.

I don’t know why you can’t get a decent service from these internet service providers. Or is it just my rotten luck that I get to subscribe to these rotten DSL companies? Probably both!

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Two things from the evening news

Community issues
  • Novartis AG reportedly has completed production of a vaccine against the Influenza A(H1N1) virus. It will be available by September and at least 30 countries already sent in their request for the supply of the vaccine to their countries. Philippines will wait for the recommendation of the World Health Organization (WHO) before proceeding with our own request. I hope that by the time we made up our mind that we need the vaccines, there will be some more left for us.
  • Smartmatic (www.smartmatic.com) won the bidding on the automated polls for the 2010 Philippine national elections. According to the Commission on Elections (Comelec), the company has the lowest bid in the P11.2 billion automated contract. Smartmatic’s final bid was P7,191,484,739.48 which is about 4 billion pesos lower than the pegged budget. I hope this will really be effective come 2010 polls. No more ballots stolen perhaps? Hacking now?
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Father’s Day confusion

Society at large

Last Sunday was really funny. A lot of people thought it was already Father’s Day. My cousins and an aunt texted me and called us up, greeting my dad. Some even went to our house to personally greet him. We told them that we know Father’s Day celebration is on the 21st of June. We know for a fact that Mother’s Day is always celebrated on the 2nd of May and Father’s Day is on the 3rd week of June. But according to those who greeted my dad, the priests told the people who attended the mass to greet all the fathers they know a Happy Father’s Day. Thus, the greetings.

My siblings and I got confused as well. Was it moved to an earlier date? We didn’t want my dad to think that we wouldn’t be celebrating the day so my sister whipped up some yummy dishes for dinner. It is now a running joke at home that we will also be celebrating on the 21st as well, just to be sure.

And you know what? Father’s Day here in the Philippines is really on June 21! 😀

Did you also get confused?

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No to Con-Ass!

Community issues

conassrally

Photo Credit: Philstar.com

Thousands joined the rally against the plan for a constituent assembly (Con-Ass). It was reported that more than 10,000 people trooped to the intersection of Ayala Avenue and Paseo de Roxas in Makati City. People are suspecting that the planned Con Ass is only a means for the current president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to extend her term as a president, or if not, become our first prime minister (should our government become parliamentary).

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Baguio: My adopted hometown

Society at large

kennonrd

I miss Baguio! Baguio City is the Summer Capital of the Philippines. My family and I adopted the place as our hometown. We love the weather and the city’s feel of everything within reach. Tourists spots and malls are within the city. You can walk at night to eat and shop without the fear of being accosted. When my sisters and I attended my best friend’s wedding there, we even went out every night after midnight to eat and have coffee. We stayed there for four days at a hotel along Session Road. Everything was peaceful.

And then news about riots, late night fights, and other type of blights on the peace and security of Baguio at night broke out. It somehow painted a different picture of my adopted hometown. It clashed against the Baguio that we learned to love.

I hope that the city government of Baguio will do something about these threats to the peace and security of Baguio at night. I am sure that the city government doesn’t want to turn away people like us who have made the city our own already, and especially the tourists.

I miss Baguio and I hope that when we go back it will be the same Baguio that we learned to love: safe, peaceful and a haven for vacationers like me.

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