UP Lantern Parade

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Hi everyone! This is Lauren ghost writi- I mean, guest blogging for my mom today. I wasn’t actually planning on attending the UP Lantern Parade yesterday but since I had activist things to attend to at Vinzon’s Hall, I figured I’d stick around and take a couple of photos. Plus, I’ve never been able to catch the lantern parade; I tried to when I was in college, but my classes would end too late and I’d get there only to reach the tail end of the parade. This year, as you all know, is UP’s Centennial anniversary and the 2008 lantern parade is supposed to be a bigger spectacle than the previous ones. I’m not sure what time it ended, but the parade was still far from over when I left at around 7.

My first mistake was bringing a point and shoot camera instead of my mom’s DSLR. Despite the crowd, I was able to take fairly decent pictures of the first few lanterns but my photos started getting progressively crappier as the sky got darker.

Palma Hall was too crowded for me to get a decent view of anything, so I walked over to the front of the Faculty Center where I could still worm my way up to the front.

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Department of Tourism with Happy Slip, Partners with MTV for 2009 Global Campaign

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Happy Slip (Christine Gambito) is in town since December 9 and I only found out today. Yehey invited a few bloggers for dinner at Alchemy for a sneak peak of Department of Tourism (DOT) and MTV plans for 2009. The intimate dinner gave us lots of time to chit-chat in a very informal setting. I am once again reunited with Happy Slip and this time we had more time to talk about Filipina dating online ads appearing in her myspace account which is now deleted.

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Lesson Learned from Shoes Thrown at President Bush

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Most of you have already seen the video above when an Iraqi journalist throws shoes at Bush in Baghdad and where President Bush shrugs it off:

“So what if the guy threw his shoe at me?” Bush told a reporter in response to a question about the incident.

“Let me talk about the guy throwing his shoe. It’s one way to gain attention. It’s like going to a political rally and having people yell at you. It’s like driving down the street and having people not gesturing with all five fingers. …

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Being Right

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Being in recovery is not about being right. It’s allowing myself to be who I am and accepting others as they are. I cannot help it if others perceive me in a positive light while others look at me as the complete opposite. One’s perception of me is based on another set of circumstances while others based it on my past mistakes.

That concept of “being right” is difficult for many of us if we have lived in systems that functioned on the “right-wrong” justice scale. The person who was right was okay while the person who was wrong was shamed. The value and worth may have depended on being right; to be wrong meant destruction of self and self-esteem.

I don’t have to stand up for myself when I know I did nothing wrong but I have the responsibility to set boundaries and take care of myself. I do not need to justify taking care of myself by condemning someone else. I avoid the trap of focusing on others instead of myself.

At first I could not figure out what Patricio Mangubat’s entry on The Genesis of Every Blogger Byte meant. I wonder what he meant when he said:

People like Butch Dado and his lovely wife Noemi, Dang, Janet, JV and all others are trying their darnest best to keep the Pinoy Blogosphere clean as a whistle but this stupid ingrate tried to spoil everything.

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My Very Own Siamese Pet Kitten

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I once wrote about the Health Benefits of Cat Ownership but the thing is I don’t own a pet kitty. My two daughters each own a pet cat. Kylee is almost 10 years old on January 2009. Lady is 7 years old. That’s in cat years. I am often lonely at home when the kids are at school and hubby is at work. I want the two kitties to adore me the way they do their respective masters. But nada.

I resolved to get my own Siamese cat. Why a Siamese cat?

Well, the Siamese are talkers! I see it in Lauren’s Siamese cat, Kylee. He makes a number of sounds and some of the sounds begin to sound very much like human words. The more we talk to our Siamese cat the more it understands our language. So yes, the Siamese is the cat for me.

I searched high and low at pet shops until I decided to check online forums like adpost.com. The ad caught my attention because of the owner. Look at her requirements…

– owner loves cats kaya they are well taken cared of for sure
– I need to talk to the future owners of my kittens, before each transaction.They must be caring…. I won’t sell my kittens to you if you will cage them lang.

I find it touching that Danielle, the cat owner is particular about the future owner of her kittens. I showed her cat entries in my blog to prove that I am truly a cat lover. Danielle seemed happy enough. Today, I finally brought home Missy, a female Siamese (formerly named as Autum by Danielle). She is so adorable.


Missy loves to pose for the camera. I took this photo at Danielle’s home when I was still trying to figure out which of the remaining two kittens fit my personality. The other Siamese scampered away from me as I tried to be friendly. No, not her. Definitely, Missy is the cat for me since she calmly posed for the camera. What a cutie.

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Say No To Violence Against Women

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Not many Filipina women are aware that there is a law to protect them from physical or even verbal abuse from men, called the The Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act of 2004 (Republic Act No. 9262). Aside from physical abuse, the law also protects women from , psychological or emotional, sexual violence and economic abuse. My friend and senator Pia Cayetano is spearheading a “Say No to Violence” campaign around the country by conducting seminars to women so they are aware of their rights.

1 out of 3 women have been victims of some form of violence. The abuser is usually known to her – a husband, boyfriend, father, brother, relative or some other person in her life.

Violence does not distinguish between economic class, culture or religion. In a World Bank study on selected risk factors facing women between 15-44, rape and domestic violence rated higher than cancer, motor vehicle accidents, war ans facing women in this age group, rape and domestic violence rated higher than cancer, motor vehicle accidents, war and malaria.

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The Worldwide Candle Lighting on December 14, 2008

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2008 Annual Worldwide Candle Lighting Services

Communities across the globe will be joining in The Compassionate Friends 12th Annual Worldwide Candle Lighting on December 14, 2008. In the Philippines, it will be held in Quezon City.

Where: 2nd level, University of the Philippines Institute for Small Scale Industries
E. Virata Hall, UP Diliman Campus
Diliman, Quezon City
View Map

Date: Sunday , December 14, 2008
Time: 5:00 to 8:00 PM
Please email me at noemidado@gmail.com if you want to join the memorial service.

Click here for Venue List of Other Countries

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Grief Over Marky Cielo & Lea ALyanna De Vera’s Death

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Even if I have lost a son, I still cannot imagine what it is like for Marky Cielo’s parents. I cannot imagine the horror of Lilian de Vera, the mom of Lea Alyanna, the 7 year old girl caught in a crossfire, found dead on dimly lit Sampaguita Street along with 10 other people, including eight of the suspected robbers, and her husband.

I can only imagine Lilian’s devastation as she cried out…

““Why do you have to kill my little angel? Why do you have to kill my husband? He’s a good man. We’ve done nothing wrong to you.”

The real cause of Marky Cielo’s death is hazy at this point. His family said he died while he was sleeping. But the Antipolo Doctor’s Hospital cited the reason as “confidential.” Some showbiz insiders speculate that it was suicide. Others go as far as saying, “It was prompted by love.” Just like that, a life is gone. So young, so soon. Their deaths were so sudden, just like my son’s death.

One of the things so astonishing about losing a loved one is that, while the sun continues to rise and set, newspapers continue to be delivered, traffic lights change from red to green and back again, our whole life is turned around, turned upside down. That devastating feeling, I know for sure.

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Christmas Songs Playlist

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christmas tree
The twinkling rice lights of our Christmas Tree gleam in our living room. Along the staircase, traditional red and green Christmas ornaments drape the sides. The girls’ stockings hang near the landing, as if waiting for small gifts on Christmas day. One thing that you will hear in my home are Christmas carols streaming in every nook and corner. There’s nothing like setting the mood for my baking chores or simply when I am busy with office work. It’s what drives me to glamorize the house a little bit for Christmas without noticing the great tasks ahead. Whether I hum along with the church chorus, the melody and the simple lyrics will never cease to mesmerize and attune me to the holiday mood.

Let me share 4 playlists I organized from this online music site.

The playlist of Filipino Christmas Carols below, I collated for you to add more joy to your Christmas celebration. The first song in the track is Pasko na Sinta ko sung by my two girls and three other members of the Manila Children’s Choir in 1999. The second track is ““Kasadya ni Takna-a” the original version (Pasko ay Sumapit) as sung the way it should be.

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