Trip to Calayan!!

Oh my gosh.. it's Friday already and it's only 3 more nights before we go on our long-awaited trip to Calayan, Cagayan!!! We're all so excited!!

If you guys don't know where Calayan, Cagayan is, it's right at the tip of the Philippines, which is practically a stone's throw away from Taiwan (that island at the northern part of the map) Hongkong is on the Northwest :) Not many people are aware of this area of the Philippines, but it's where my father and his family originated. The main island is the one in the 2nd picture..

I haven't been here since I was about 7 or 8 so it'll really be a nostalgic moment for me.. Imagine, traveling by bus for 14 hours and then taking a boat ride for another 3-4 hours hahahaha now you can understand why we have to stay for a week LOL

It will certainly be a big adventure for my kids who have never been to the beach in their lives LOL Den has already been to the island last year I think and she fondly remembers eating lots of crabs, shrimps, lobsters and fish - ALL FRESH!! woohooo the beach is a 2 minute walk from the ancestral home!! Looks like I'll be bringing tons of sunblock lotion :)

WE CAN'T WAIT!!!

We won again!

Well, aren't we lucky! We won again in the Caption-this-photo contest of Top Gear Philippines Magazine ! woohoo!!

This time, we won a laptop bag courtesy of Viking Cars (Volvo).

For more details: please visit: http://www.topgear.com.ph/contest/form.php?contest_id=17

I wish winning the lottery is as easy as this hahahaha

A New Look!

Look at this! I've changed my blog template.. Let me tell you, I got bored with the dots template that I originally had and went looking for a replacement.. I didn't know there'd be so much of very good ones out there and it was hard to choose.

I finally was able to narrow it down to a few but when I tried to incorporate them into the blog, I had a hard time with it. Either I was too stupid to follow certain instructions or there was really something wrong. I had to take a break because I was getting frustrated. This was one of those times when I thanked my lucky stars I was a graduate of Computer Science! hahaha

Well, I finally got this to work as you can see and I think it suits me perfectly! Mind you, I've never been partial to red, but I like this.. :) So I hope you guys like it too ..

Oh and I got to add the RSS feed form thingy so you can subscribe to the blog if you want.. isn't that great?? I'm really enjoying blogging hahahaha

Wait for more additions and upgrades to come!

Den is in College!

Oh man.. After many weeks of stress due to choosing and preparing Den for college. She has now submitted her credentials to the UST BS in Information Systems course.

Initially, she passed the BS in Information Technology course. Supposedly, being a graduate of the UST High School, she has to have priority over other applicants. NOT!! If you can picture this, the schedule for the submission of credentials was between March 24 - April 5. The UST High School released their papers on April 4th. She only had 1 day to submit them and by that time, they don't accept these papers in the afternoon. So, when can she submit them on April 5th.

Well, what do you know, she was waiting in line at 6:30am along with all the rest of the interested students and by 10am, they were told that there were no offices and no one will be there to accept their papers. Grr.. might they have posted a bulletin or something?? Those poor kids.. They were told to come back on the 8th because the 7th was declared a holiday.

Now, it's the 8th. same time - 6:30am. Guess what, by the time that she got to submitting her papers, the IT Course is now closed!! WHAT???!!! What do you mean closed, I have priority!!! I have a reserved slot!!! Her head was screaming...

It appears that there was no reserved slot, even for HS Students unless you pay the P5,000 reservation fee if you can't get your documents in time. So, that's it.. Unfortunately, we didn't have that kind of money on hand.. No wonder her other classmates got in...

Anyway, she was told that she's still eligible for the course on Information Systems but they'll check if her grades qualify her for the Computer Science course. I advised her to just take the Information Systems course because by the time they finish checking, the IS slots will most likely be filled...

How's that for organization?!!

I just hope that all this trouble is worth it in the end..

Hectic Weekend

Last Friday, I got an email from my brother saying that he and Bruce sent some money to tide us over and additional money for Den's tuition which he borrowed from my uncle. You'll never know how much of a relief that was to hear. I haven't been sleeping nights thinking of where to get the money for Den's college, considering it's enrollment season already. The bigger problem is sustaining her education because her educational plan is not worth much at all..

So with the money, I paid off our horrendous telephone bill which blew up because of long distance charges and our current power bill. These two are the only basic utilities that we pay for and I can't afford to have them disconnected. In fact, because we have no outstanding telephone bills, I can now proceed to upgrade to DSL which will be a big factor in getting work-from-home jobs (which I also desperately need!).

Saturday, we went to the mall to pick up my free mobile phone. It was actually a promo that ended last October 2007, between our landline provider and it's sister company, a cellular network. You get a free mobile phone because you have been a loyal subscriber to the landline network, with no requirements needed for a postpaid subscription. I actually forgot that I submitted an application before hahahaha So, now I can replace Patrick's old Nokia 7110 (Neo's phone from the Matrix movie)!! hahahaha Oh and the new phone is a Nokia 6288 :) I think Den is more excited about it than I was hahaha Teenagers!! LOL

Anyway, Today is Sunday and I don't know if Patrick plans to attend the Motor Show. It should be interesting. We'll see :)

The Dreadful Autopsy Report

I have always been a fan of murder-mystery-cop-thriller series types of books. That's why I love the Kay Scarpetta series from Patricia Cornwell and John Sandford's Prey Series.

I'm also fond of watching CSI and other foresic-related TV shows.

Never have I imagined that I would be involved in reading a very personal autopsy report for myself...

My brother just sent me a copy of our Mother's autopsy report from when she was hit by a Toyota Tacoma truck last February. He warned me not to read it, because when he did, he had anxiety attacks from it and had to take some meds.

Well, I'm hard-headed so I read it.

My mother died a horrible, tragic death. The impact with the Tacoma nearly severed her head from her neck. According to the report, her C1 and C2 vertebrates were broken and her head was practically hanging on by a strip of flesh. She was bleeding from the mouth, because she bled internally as well.

She had major abrasions on her arms and legs.

She broke her arm.

She had broken ribs and some even punctured other internal organs.

She had lacerations on her head.

Because of the severity of the blow to the head, the Medical Examiner called it a "rapid death", which doesn't mean to say she didn't feel pain at all.. It simply meant, she died fast.

Can any of you honestly say that these wounds were a result of a Toyota Tacoma truck travelling at 30 miles an hour on an expressway? I don't think so. 30 miles an hour is practically crawling!!!

With these injuries, my mother was flung from the hood and hit the pavement a good distance away.

The driver was let go. My mother is dead. I have to live with this knowledge.

Den's Graduation Day

March 28, 2008 - This day is Den's High School graduation day. After 4 years at the University of Santo Tomas High School, she is now finished and free!!! It's also quite nostalgic for me to be attending it seeing as how it was 19 years ago that I stood on that same stage to get my own diploma :)

We all woke up very early because we had to be at the venue (PICC Plenary Hall) by 7am.. Den and her classmates had to be in school by 6am (they'll all be transported by bus to the venue)!!

Anyway, Dana was so excited she even woke up by herself. She was going to wear her new dress and that in itself is a big thing!! Dylan took a longer time to get up (which was understandable) but when we told him he'd get to wear his new Elmo shirt, well he was up and at 'em LOL

Too bad that when we got to the venue, we were told that Dana and Dylan will not be allowed to enter because of the rule that children 7 years old and below are not permitted.. which should not be the case because graduations are family events, aren't they and kids should be allowed to witness it... I can understand the need for order and such but parents will surely keep their kids in line, won't they? at least I would and my kids are well-behaved in public anyway.. but I guess there are some who aren't..

Anyway, Patrick and the kids ended up going to the local fastfood store while waiting for Den and me, so that the kids can while the time away in the playroom. But they also went home earlier because they were getting cranky, and the event still wasn't finished.

I felt sad while the ceremonies were on-going. First because I felt that my mom should have been here to witness it with me. She sure would have loved to see her favorite grandchild graduate. :) Second, I was the only one who was there for Den, although Patrick and the kids were physically there earlier. Her other classmates had as much as 5 people with them, more were even waiting outside. Third, we didn't even have a celebratory lunch for Den because of financial strappings. I did promise her that we will go for whatever she wants when some money comes in :)

After the ceremonies were over, naturally, the picture taking started :) it was chaos there! LOL there was a lot of crying, hugging, meeting parents, meeting boyfriends/girlfriends (surprise, surprise!).. it was a mixture of elation and sadness.. but sure worth remembering :)

For pictures: http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u270/rachel01013/Den%20Graduation/100_1351.jpg

Happy Easter everyone!

Happy Easter to Everyone!!

To Catholics, Easter is a special time because it commemorates Jesus Christ's rebirth. In the same manner, it also symbolizes a change in people.. a rebirth from the old ways.. a chance to start anew..

I look at it as a chance to accept my mom's death, to forgive the driver who killed her, and to let go of any hate.. it's not easy... because I want justice for my mom's death.. I still can't believe that she (it was a 23-year old Caucasian) was let go without even a slap on the wrist even though she killed my mother.. does it not matter that she took a life? Thinking about forgiveness is easier than actually doing it..

We just spent the day at home, going to Church in the afternoon.. we were content eating corn and left-over Chicken Tinola for dinner :) I feasted on Indian mangoes :)

Spirits and Dragonflies

I don't know if you're familiar with the Philippine superstition or saying that when someone close to you dies and then you see a dragonfly or butterfly in your house or in your vicinity, then that person's spirit is visiting you..

Well, this happened to me.. First, when my grandfather died last January.. Then when my mom died last February..

It happened again last March 17, on the eve of my mom's 40th day. It was a surprise to find a dragonfly in the living room. But when I saw it, I immediately thought of my mom and it seemed to me that she was saying goodbye.. I felt so sad and so hurt...

The dragonfly even went so far as to flit beside me, my daughter Dana and my niece Den, who at that time were also in the living room watching TV with me..

It didn't leave the house until the next morning, which coincidentally was also Dylan's 2nd birthday..

Goodbye Mom...

Dylan's 2nd Birthday

Yes.. My baby boy is now 2 years old!! hahahaha

His long-awaited gifts have finally been opened.. voila!! they are Mr. Potato Head and Darth Tater!! woohoo!!!

It's a bit sad though that his birthday coincided with my mom's 40 days.. so we can't really celebrate as much as we want..

We'll make it up to him next time.. besides, it's also Holy Week (Lenten season) here in the Philippines..

Anyway, we also opened the Shell Ferrari Cars but we're still planning on where to put it in the house.. it really should be displayed not played with hahahaha