I was reading Ate Aileen's entry about her dad's birthday today and started crying. It's May 19, 2008, my dad's 21st death anniversary. I do not know a lot about my dad except for these... His name was Joel Cecilio Ozaraga Jose. He was born on June 3. I don't even know what year. His parents are Perfecto Sr. and Lourdes Jose. He was the youngest among 5 siblings. He has three sisters, Gloria, Milagros, and Teresita, and one brother, Perfecto Jr. He studied at the Ateneo de Davao High School and was in section A. He then studied at the University of the Philippines - Diliman where he took up AB Political Science. He then became affiliated with the League of Filipino Students (LFS) and stopped attending college when he became involved in the First Quarter Storm during the early Martial Law years. He met my mother, and they married eloped on December 20, 1976 (I am not sure about the year). They then went on to become members of the CPP-NPA. From what I know, they were both logistics officers. In 1979, they had a daughter, Cecilia, and another daughter in 1982, Maria. Both daughters were left in…
Category: life
Help A Kid Become a Cancer Survivor
Club of Munting Pag-asa Davao is raising PhP120,000 for two years worth of chemotherapy for a young cancer patient here in Davao City. I do not have a lot of details yet but I will update this post soon. If you want to get in touch with the group supporting the kid and his family, please comment here with your email address.
The Problem with Arrogance
"The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing." - Socrates There are people who argue for the sake of arguing. They discuss things only so they could assert their "intelligence," "knowledge," "wisdom," "superiority," or whatever it is they want people to know about. Fighting and standing up for the truth is one thing, asserting your own opinion and disrespecting and insulting people in the process is another. I consider myself to be a person of substance, willing to stand up for what is true, just, and fair. But I never argue for the sake of arguing. I join in discussions for the sake of letting people know what I know and what I think, but never to rub on other people's faces that I am smarter, better, or more enlightened. There are truths in this life, in this world that are non-debatable and non-changing. No matter how skewed our perception of it is, it does not and will not change. Then, there are opinions, beliefs, things that differ from one person to another. Yes, there are false or, I dare say, false beliefs and wrong opinions. But how am I to say which is false and wrong when…
My Blog Stats Don't Lie
So it probably won't be the best day of my life ever for a long time. But for now... at this moment... April 28, 2008, was quite awesome. Fakest Birthday Smile Ever! Kuya Andrew's camera went crazy and the photo of my fake birthday smile at Cafe Breton in Podium is now somewhere in oblivion land, but that "surprise" was a crazy one. I cried real tears of anger and sadness. Kawawa naman yung wait staff ng Cafe Breton, nadamay sa bad mood ko. Thanks anyway to the attempt by Kuya, Migs, and Winston to make up for their kakulitan. Lesson: Great food can't cure pain, hurt, sadness, and loneliness, even if it's for free. Manila Ocean Park Had fantastic time with Ate Aileen, Kuya Jay, Miguel Apolo, Kuya Andrew, Migs, Blogie, and Winston at the Manila Ocean Park. They even gave me flowers. Nice! :) Lesson: Keeping in touch with nature is therapeutic. Grand Birthday Bash at Serendra and Bonifacio High Street for Bloggers sponsored by Spot NAKS! I'm like so big time! Kidding! Had a fun but stressful time at this food tour because there was just so much to be taken in a little span of time.…
Manila Day 9: Politics and a Rock Fest
Late start... Had sinigang and beef steak for lunch. Ate it when I woke up at 2 pm. LOL! Spent the afternoon online. Then prepared for a looong night! I was a bit early for the dinner with political bloggers so I went to Theatre Mall. Had a very delicious Iced Cafe Mocha at Starbucks, then bought a nice hair accessory. Naks naman... nagpapaka-girl. LOL! I had a hard time finding a cab from Theatre Mall, but lining up and waiting paid off. Hurrah! And the people beside me were nice so I didn't really have a bad time while waiting. Had a very interesting dinner at Barrio Fiesta along Wilson, with my idol, MLQ3, Juned, Butch and Noemi Dado, Arbet Bernardo, Schumey and Marck. We had discussions about GMA, federalism, Davao politics, the church, Martial Law, and blog chismis. LOL! I felt quite insecure but proud to be among them. ;) Had my picture with MLQ3. FINALLY! :P (To be posted later. Stupid me lost this file. :( ) Fritz happened to pass by when we were getting out of Barrio Fiesta so we walked to Bela Bar together where we met up with Kring and Poyt. The three…
Manila Day 8: A Movie, A Lamb, and DOTA!
Day 8, a Friday, was a slow one for me... I woke up at lunchtime and hurried as I had a meeting scheduled at 2 pm. Had a veryyy hard time getting a cab. When I was already near the meeting place, some sort of miscommunication happened and I THOUGHT that the meeting was either canceled or postponed so I went to Trinoma instead. Trinoma is ginourmous! I decided to watch a movie ALONE! Whattaloser! So I bought some Oliver's Sandwich and Dalandan Juice and settled in to watch Forbidden Kingdom! HURRAH! Ang galing... yun lang... SOBRANG GALING! Then I met up with Kuya Andrew to eat dinner at Cibo in Glorietta. We shared the Spinach and Gorgonzola Cheese dip. I had the Braised Lamb with White Wine, Turnips and Carrots. It was heavenly. The meat was so tender and flavorful. Hay basta... try it! It was served with a very delicious cup of rice flavored with garlic and parsley (I think). Then, I went to the Mineski Grounds in Arena to meet up with another journalist. He was going to cover the Asian DotA Championship Philippine Qualifiers Finals between CORPOration (my team) and NINJA (my ex-boyfriend's team but my…