Goodbye President Cory...

I'm not really shocked about the passing of our late President Corazon Aquino. It's been awhile now since she was diagnosed to have a colon cancer. I know that she will not last that long because of the type and stage of cancer that she had. It's detected when it's already about stage 3 or 4 so the survival rate is not that high.

I know that Filipinos would really miss Tita Cory. She's a legend and an amazing President. She's the first woman President of the Philippines and was really the instrument who brought back democracy to the Philippines. I have cried most of the time, from the announcement of her death up to her burial at the Manila Memorial Park. It's really a sad moment for the Filipinos and you can see that she's really a well-loved woman, not just because she was a president but because she was a humble, gracious, and great woman.

Words could not even describe my feelings when people talked during the eulogy to describe the experiences that they had with the former President. It's really heart-warming but at the same time joyous occasion for now many people would really appreciate her because of the kind of lifestyle that she had before, during and after her term as a president.

Personally, I would really miss President Cory. She's such a wonderful person inside and out. I also felt sorry for her children because they lost an amazing and loving mother. Just last night, I saw an episode of SNN, and I saw Kris Aquino's breakdown when she talked about her mother. Tita Cory is Kris' pillar and strength, and with the passing of her one great mother, I wonder who would replace her as Kris' supporter and shoulder to cry on if another trial or problem arises in the near future.

When Insomnia Strikes You

Having sleepless nights can be really frustrating. Like for instance, I'm already asleep, but my mind's still roaming around. I need to change my sleeping pattern, but I can't due to the nature of my work.

I started experiencing bouts of sleepless nights when I started working online. There were instances that I have to stay up late to finish several tasks. Then, this would occur every other day, then it became my daily routine. I had practiced several strategies to combat my insomnia but nothing really worked for me.

Some people would advised me to stop working so late. I already did that but did not work at all. I noticed that I can only sleep before 11 pm when I'm very tired and didn't sleep well the night before. I also tried working during the morning, but I would still sleep very late at night. I guess my body adapted to the kind of working schedule that I have already. Drinking milk and multivitamins to make me sleepy are not really effective.

So, what do I need to do? I'm not really into taking sleeping pills. I'm afraid of that stuff. I'm afraid that I might get addicted. Are sleeping pills really necessary for my condition? I hope my insomnia would really go away. I'm losing weight and I can't be productive during the day because of exhaustion.

My Favorite Songs

I love listening to music. Music makes my day complete. It's a form of therapy for me because it helps me relax and be happy.

I don't have a specific genre of music that I really like. It depends on my mood for that particular day. There are time when I'm really down and depressed and I would really need some love tunes to reminisce about my relationship or anything that made me blue. But most of the time, I love to listen to uplifting, dance, or happy pop music. I like to sing so listening to pop music is really fun.

My fave tunes that are stored in my computer and iPod are Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield, Love Story by Taylor Swift, Thinking of You by Katy Perry, I Gotta Feeling by Black Eyed Peas, and Big Girls Don''t Cry by Fergie. I can listen to these tunes 24/7. I don't know but, they really make me happy.

My daughter also loves listening to music. Maybe, it's because when I was conceiving her and she was just a month old, I would just lie down and listen to music most of the time. She doesn't like watching cartoons, but when she watches MTV she can't be disturbed at all. She was really watching intently and would move her body once her favorite songs are being played. I think I influenced my daughter to become a music enthusiast at this early stage of her life. She's just an 11-month old baby, but she's a music lover already.

My favorite songs are really my daily uppers despite my being tired, sad, or moody. They are just simple songs, but they definitely are part of my life.

Dinagyang Festival

The Dinagyang festival is probably the loudest, most extravagant, and most exciting fiesta in Iloilo City, Philippines.  Foreigners as well as Filipino tourists flooded the city to witness and experienced this wonderful event.  Colorful surroundings and the beating of the drums make the city alive.

This annual festival was first celebrated in 1969, when a replica of the Sto. Nino was brought over from Cebu.  Today, it is celebrated every fourth Sunday of January.  This occasion also commemorates the conversion of the island's early settlers, the dark-skinned atis, to Christianity.  This festival is quite similar to that of Kalibo's Ati-atihan, but this is even more exciting.

Last January 25, the city was packed with people as usual.  The streets were all decorated with Dinagyang banners, billboards, posters, and a huge bottle of beer.  All warriors were painted back.  Their beautiful costumes were made from indigenous materials such as cogon, coconut, bamboo, beads, and feathers.  As I have noticed from their expressions, they looked excited and eager to win the competition.

I do not know about other people, but for me Dinagyang these days has become too commercialized and bring.  Every year, you could see the same moves, formation and rhythm.  I did not say that all participating tribes were all lousy, but almost all of them were just repeating their performances in the past years with a little modification. There were a lot of tribes who participated and from the time all of them had finished performing, my ears become numb because of the loud beating of the drums.  I guess, the only tribe that caught my attention was the Bola-Bola tribe.  They really deserved to be the over-all champion of this year's Dinagyang.  I do not want to sound killjoy, but this is what I have observed and felt after watching the event.  Everybody is entitled to his or her opinion, isn't it?

There were things that also interested me during Dinagyang festival.  I liked the exhibit of paintings and other great things that reminded us of our rich culture.  It also encouraged a lot of Ilonggo artists to share their talent and be appreciated.  The souvenirs sold during Dinagyang also helped artists express themselves even on little things like the making of ati-ati souvenirs and other colourful stuffs like hats, whistles, headbands, necklaces, and many other different beadworks.  During the evening, the party people scattered and enjoyed the smells and tastes of delicious array of food and listened all night long to the sounds of live bands all over the city.

Dinagyang was more than just a display of partying and merrymaking, but it represented the unique character of the Ilonggo people -- artistic, fun loving, religious and sometimes crazy and wild.

King of Pop: Gone Too Soon

The whole world is mourning over the death of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. Who wouldn't? He was a great music icon. It's a very surprising departure considering the fact that he's planning to stage his comeback concert this year.

Many people flooded his memorial service scheduled in Staples Center, Los Angeles just to celebrate Michael Jackson's life and music as well as bid farewell for the last time. You can really see that Michael is well-loved by his fans. People are very much eager to get their hands for tickets for the said event. There are also fans from other countries who really save money just to fly to the U.S. to see and celebrate with other MJ's legion of fans.

You can see from their faces that they are saddened by the singer's passing. It's a huge loss for the music industry. Those who love the King of Pop also rushed to the music store to buy Michael Jackson's CDs. The media are also ready to capture the event live in July 7, 2009.

We love you Michael! May you rest in peace...