i finally arrived here in el paso last saturday. it's as if i've known the place for a long time, as i pictured everything in my head everytime gary would call since he got assigned here in june last year.
i slept on the plane on my way here, and while i took many plane rides before, i was astonished by the sight of giant nimbus clouds beside the plane--something i've never seen before--when i woke up. they were like ice bergs...or giant cotton candy. as the plane descended, everything on the ground was brown--desert brown. google already warned me of this, but i was far more excited to see my husband than to care about the wilting earth below me.
i always hated airports. being in a long distance relationship for two years, airports equaled gary equaled goodbyes equaled drama. but this time, everything seemed to be in reverse. it was him waiting for me as i came out of the arrival area, and instead of goodbye, we were saying hello to our life together as husband and wife.
while living in manila, i also always wondered how it would be like to have gary with me at the grocery store whenever i see couples before me at the supermarket. well, it was...funny. neither of us knew which vegetable went with which dish, and we had an empty apartment to fill with soaps and shampoos and cleaners and what have you, that we just knew we'd end up forgetting something.
and the apartment. gary can sometimes be modest when describing things. while he said he got us a two-bedroom apartment, he didn't say it was a spacious two-bedroom apartment. or maybe because we have no furniture whatsoever to fill up the space. the living room is big; i could practically roll over it all day. the bedrooms have walk-in closets and the restroom is roomy as well. but my favorite part would still be the kitchen. the place is obviously for a family of five, and to have this much space for the two of us, what's a newly-wed couple to do?
buy a guitar and a keyboard, of course! :P i have always questioned my and gary's ability to prioritize, but with me alone in the house during the day, my thoughtful hubby decided to buy me the things that keep me occupied first. so now at the centre of the empty living room are two musical instruments. and no,we're not sorry about our purchases.
as for my housemaking skills...i have to be thankful for ending up with a VERY patient guy. i love to cook. i really do. and sometimes, i do cook good food. but understand that for the past seven years, i've been living on fastfood in manila, and i have the great cooking skills of our dear ate tess whenever i go home to my mom's house in bataan. so last night, i cooked adobo, which gary said tasted good, although i later found out that he prefers his adobo with some sauce, not fried. this morning, we woke up at 4am (he has physical training at 6am)and despite the fact that we bought a lot of meat products, he preferred a light meal. i made a liver spread sandwich (a note to Reno exporters: you don't make your export product the same way you do in the philippines!not fair!) which was bland, and coffee...i've never made coffee in my life, as far as i know. tonight i cooked afritada, or menudo, or kaldereta. now this really escapes me. why would mama sita make a mix that can be all afritada or menudo or kaldereta? are they not supposed to be different dishes that all taste differently? how come nobody told me this culinary business can be so confusing?
everyone back home is asking me how i'm doing. i'm doing great. i have always been the type to be dubious when things are great and i'm happy but i feel a certain sense of fulfillment when i see gary first thing in the morning and last thing in the night, or when he suddenly shows up at the door when he should be at work, or when i send him off in the morning knowing that this time, i don't have to wait months for him to come back.
so yes, i'm doing great. i have to go ask him to take me out to dinner when he gets here though. the whole mama sita red sauce multi-mix thing just isn't working for me. :P
2.09.2009
12.29.2008
12.09.2008
cleaning out my closet
i'm moving out of my apartment of three years. how i'll manage to do that, i still don't know, but to convince myself that i was making a little progress, i started sorting my stuff last night.
needless to say, i was overwhelmed by the junk i accumulated as a struggling young urban professional. i found my old curriculum vitae that says i was a journalism graduate with no work experience. 1x1 photos of my much younger-looking self. bank statements and pay slips, which didn't seem to have much activity all throughout the years.
i found worn out plane tickets from traveling to the visayas and mindanao for sorties. maps and brochures from trips abroad. exorbitant cellphone bills. branding documents for my boss during the campaign. old love letters (yup yup yup :D )...and my dad's death certificate. i didn't even know it was with me--it was an original document. i guess my brother, who used to share the apartment with me, left the certificate when he moved out of the house. the document carries my dad's cause of death, and at the bottom of the page, my eldest brother's scrawled signature. i can imagine how hard it must have been to put his name there.
when i finished, i had a huge shopping bag filled with mementos that i can't take with me anymore. i'm starting with a clean slate, as i should. :)
where have all the boxeadores gone?
and so it happened again. another great mexican fighter forced into retirement by pacman.
i was rooting for de la hoya, not only because of the four-inch height advantage but because of my longtime fascination with mexican fighters which started even before manny pacquiao hit the bigtime.
growing up with a dad who loved boxing and two brothers, some of my fondest childhood memories were earmarked by great boxing fights. and to me, boxing equals all these tough mexican sluggers. so forgive my lack of team spirit.
as for de la hoya, i can only remember thinking one thing when i first saw him fight: what's someone this good-looking doing inside the boxing ring? from his loss against felix trinidad to his dramatic unification bout with rival fernando vargas, the golden boy really brought the game of boxing closer to so many people.
but as de la hoya himself admitted, he no longer has it. i take consolation in the fact that it's somebody carrying our flag who ended this legend's career.
10.17.2008
inanity
after staying at my place for three days, my doctor friend gay and i travelled back to bataan for the weekend. as the bus stopped in front of an elementary school in our hometown, we saw practically every kid running back and forth--to go home, to play, to get into a building.
me: bakit kaya napakanormal sa lahat ng bata na tumakbo?
doc gay: oo nga no. ang matanda, kahit nagmamadali, unless sobrang importante, di pa rin tumatakbo...parang nakakahiya.
me: imagine kung pati matatanda tumatakbo...
we looked at each other and pondered some more.
10.12.2008
behind the scenes
I was suddenly asked to sit in a meeting last week...and I don't know if I should be divulging these details but along with the two members of our legislative unit, I found myself in the same room as former Supreme Court Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban and the Nation's Fiscalizer, former senator Jovito Salonga. It was a party of nine, and I was so starstruck just to be in that exclusive gathering, breathing the same air as two of the country's most outstanding public servants.
Anyway, here's the column of CJ Panganiban, which appeared in the Inquirer. This is basically what the meeting was about.
With Due Respect
Responsibility for selecting justices
By Artemio V. Panganiban
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:33:00 10/12/2008
I AM glad that the members of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) are preparing to face the challenge of nominating only the best and the brightest to the seven Supreme Court vacancies to be created by the retirement of an equal number of justices in 2009. Never in the normal history of the Court has almost one-half of its membership changed within just one year. (I say “normal” to exclude extraordinary events like the judicial cleansing undertaken by the Aquino revolutionary government in 1986.)
Scrutinizing the JBC. The Constitution provides that members of the Supreme Court (and the entire judiciary) shall be appointed by the president from a list of at least three individuals nominated by the JBC for every vacancy. The president’s power to appoint justices is severely limited; the field of choice is restricted only to those nominated by the council. Having been pre-screened by the JBC, judicial appointments are no longer passed upon by the Commission on Appointments.
Clearly then, the primary responsibility for choosing worthy justices falls squarely on the JBC. If the council nominates only the most qualified as it should, and expunges politics and favoritism from its selection, then every appointment made by the president would be unquestionable. However, even if just one undeserving candidate is smuggled into the list, the whole selection process tumbles because the president could then appoint that unworthy one. For this reason, the JBC’s process of searching for, screening and selecting (I call them the “three ‘s’ functions”) nominees cannot afford a single mistake.
Yes, the task of the JBC is not easy. The Constitution specifies three quantifiable requirements for Supreme Court members: natural-born citizen, at least 40 years of age, and practice of law or judgeship in a lower court for at least 15 years. More significantly, the Charter requires all jurists to possess four non-quantifiable qualities: “proven competence, integrity, probity, and independence.” Of these, I believe the most important are independence and integrity. How to find these most elusive but most essential qualities is the JBC’s ultimate task.
The selection process for the first vacancy that will occur when Justice Ruben T. Reyes retires on Jan. 2, 2009 has already begun. The JBC set tomorrow, Oct. 13, as the deadline for the filing of applications. This early deadline is not generally known. I think it should be extended.
Monitoring the JBC. Relevantly, the initiative of Sen. Kiko Pangilinan, the Senate’s representative in the JBC, to convene the “Bantay Korte Suprema” is laudable. He is inviting the legal community, academe, civil society and business groups to organize themselves and participate actively in the selection process and to make sure that the public understands it.
The Pangilinan initiative dovetails with an existing method of checking the background of candidates. Authored by Dean Amado L. Dimayuga, JBC member representing the academe, the system was derived from the Judicial Nominees Evaluation Commission, the JBC’s equivalent in the state of California.
Under this method, the applicant is required to fill up a personal data questionnaire that asks for a list of courts in which he or she has appeared as counsel during the last two years as well as the names of the prosecutors, private attorneys, court personnel and other references in the legal community. If the applicant is an incumbent judge, he or she must list colleagues in the judiciary. Then, survey forms are sent to randomly picked references. From the responses (at least 20 must be received), the JBC makes an evaluation of the candidate. This system has been piloted and has produced some good results.
Judging the JBC. Also praiseworthy is the proposal of J. Conrado P. Castro, JBC member representing the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, that the votes cast by JBC members be recorded and made public. At present, the voting for Supreme Court nominees is done by secret ballot. Hence, there is no way of knowing who voted for whom.
However, the Castro proposal will make the process more transparent and the JBC members more accountable for their actions. When magistrates misbehave and are sanctioned, the natural question is: who were responsible for the appointment of the errant jurist? At present, there is no way to divine who among the eight JBC members voted for the penalized magistrate. The Castro plan will pinpoint responsibility for bad choices.
The votes of individual justices in all Supreme Court decisions, including the most controversial, are made known. Thus, I see no reason why the votes of JBC members should be hidden from similar scrutiny. Transparency translates to accountability that in turn breeds public confidence in our institutions and officials.
Obviously, the JBC is expected to nominate only the best and the brightest from among the most eminent, not from those who barely qualify. To select the finest for the seven vacancies is a monumental task. The JBC members will be praised or condemned by the quality of all their choices. Will they pass the test?
Aside from Pangilinan, Dimayuga and Castro, the other JBC members are Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno (chair), Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, Rep. Matias Defensor Jr., retired Supreme Court Justice Regino Hermosisima Jr., and retired Court of Appeals Justice Aurora S. Lagman.
Anyway, here's the column of CJ Panganiban, which appeared in the Inquirer. This is basically what the meeting was about.
With Due Respect
Responsibility for selecting justices
By Artemio V. Panganiban
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:33:00 10/12/2008
I AM glad that the members of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) are preparing to face the challenge of nominating only the best and the brightest to the seven Supreme Court vacancies to be created by the retirement of an equal number of justices in 2009. Never in the normal history of the Court has almost one-half of its membership changed within just one year. (I say “normal” to exclude extraordinary events like the judicial cleansing undertaken by the Aquino revolutionary government in 1986.)
Scrutinizing the JBC. The Constitution provides that members of the Supreme Court (and the entire judiciary) shall be appointed by the president from a list of at least three individuals nominated by the JBC for every vacancy. The president’s power to appoint justices is severely limited; the field of choice is restricted only to those nominated by the council. Having been pre-screened by the JBC, judicial appointments are no longer passed upon by the Commission on Appointments.
Clearly then, the primary responsibility for choosing worthy justices falls squarely on the JBC. If the council nominates only the most qualified as it should, and expunges politics and favoritism from its selection, then every appointment made by the president would be unquestionable. However, even if just one undeserving candidate is smuggled into the list, the whole selection process tumbles because the president could then appoint that unworthy one. For this reason, the JBC’s process of searching for, screening and selecting (I call them the “three ‘s’ functions”) nominees cannot afford a single mistake.
Yes, the task of the JBC is not easy. The Constitution specifies three quantifiable requirements for Supreme Court members: natural-born citizen, at least 40 years of age, and practice of law or judgeship in a lower court for at least 15 years. More significantly, the Charter requires all jurists to possess four non-quantifiable qualities: “proven competence, integrity, probity, and independence.” Of these, I believe the most important are independence and integrity. How to find these most elusive but most essential qualities is the JBC’s ultimate task.
The selection process for the first vacancy that will occur when Justice Ruben T. Reyes retires on Jan. 2, 2009 has already begun. The JBC set tomorrow, Oct. 13, as the deadline for the filing of applications. This early deadline is not generally known. I think it should be extended.
Monitoring the JBC. Relevantly, the initiative of Sen. Kiko Pangilinan, the Senate’s representative in the JBC, to convene the “Bantay Korte Suprema” is laudable. He is inviting the legal community, academe, civil society and business groups to organize themselves and participate actively in the selection process and to make sure that the public understands it.
The Pangilinan initiative dovetails with an existing method of checking the background of candidates. Authored by Dean Amado L. Dimayuga, JBC member representing the academe, the system was derived from the Judicial Nominees Evaluation Commission, the JBC’s equivalent in the state of California.
Under this method, the applicant is required to fill up a personal data questionnaire that asks for a list of courts in which he or she has appeared as counsel during the last two years as well as the names of the prosecutors, private attorneys, court personnel and other references in the legal community. If the applicant is an incumbent judge, he or she must list colleagues in the judiciary. Then, survey forms are sent to randomly picked references. From the responses (at least 20 must be received), the JBC makes an evaluation of the candidate. This system has been piloted and has produced some good results.
Judging the JBC. Also praiseworthy is the proposal of J. Conrado P. Castro, JBC member representing the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, that the votes cast by JBC members be recorded and made public. At present, the voting for Supreme Court nominees is done by secret ballot. Hence, there is no way of knowing who voted for whom.
However, the Castro proposal will make the process more transparent and the JBC members more accountable for their actions. When magistrates misbehave and are sanctioned, the natural question is: who were responsible for the appointment of the errant jurist? At present, there is no way to divine who among the eight JBC members voted for the penalized magistrate. The Castro plan will pinpoint responsibility for bad choices.
The votes of individual justices in all Supreme Court decisions, including the most controversial, are made known. Thus, I see no reason why the votes of JBC members should be hidden from similar scrutiny. Transparency translates to accountability that in turn breeds public confidence in our institutions and officials.
Obviously, the JBC is expected to nominate only the best and the brightest from among the most eminent, not from those who barely qualify. To select the finest for the seven vacancies is a monumental task. The JBC members will be praised or condemned by the quality of all their choices. Will they pass the test?
Aside from Pangilinan, Dimayuga and Castro, the other JBC members are Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno (chair), Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, Rep. Matias Defensor Jr., retired Supreme Court Justice Regino Hermosisima Jr., and retired Court of Appeals Justice Aurora S. Lagman.
10.02.2008
the funniest guys on this imaginary earth
you gotta see this! flight of the conchords...
ISSUES (Think About It)
Jenny
Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenocerous
ISSUES (Think About It)
Jenny
Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenocerous
9.27.2008
b.o.r.e.d.
after three weeks of isolation in the province, i'm dying to get my city life back. but no go, says the chief. my doctor said i'm not contagious anymore, but so as not to take chances, my boss advised me to work from the house for another week. i need to grab more junk food.
9.24.2008
9.21.2008
a follow up on kt's stunning guitar
wala akong masabi. $3000-$4000 lang naman...sweet!
MODEL NAME G7593, White FalconTM I
MODEL NUMBER 240-1406-(805)
SERIES Professional Collection
COLORS (805) White
CATEGORY Hollow Body Guitars
BODY STYLE Single Cutaway
SCALE LENGTH 25.5" (648mm)
TOP Arched Laminated Maple
BRACING N/A
BACK AND SIDES Laminated Maple Body, 17" Wide, 2.75" Deep
NECK 3-Piece Maple
PICKUPS 2 High Sensitive Filter'TronTM Pickups
PICKUP SWITCHING 3-Position Toggle:
Position 1. Bridge Pickup
Position 2. Bridge and Neck Pickups
Position 3. Neck Pickup
CONTROLS Volume 1. (Neck Pickup),
Volume 2. (Bridge Pickup),
Master Volume,
3-Position Toggle Master Tone Switch:
Position 1. Medium Level, High Frequency Roll Off
Position 2. Switch Out of the Circuit, Pickup is Wide Open (That Great Gretsch Sound!)
Position 3. Slight Level, High Frequency Roll Off
WIDTH AT NUT 1-11/16" (43mm)
FRETBOARD Ebony, 12" Radius (305mm)
BRIDGE Ebony-Based Adjusto-MaticTM Bridge
TAILPIECE Gretsch Bigsby¨ B6GW Vibrato Tailpiece with Wire Handle
HARDWARE Gold-Plated
FINISH Gloss Urethane
CASE Includes G6242L Deluxe Hardshell Case, US MSRP $220.00
NO. OF FRETS 22
MACHINE HEADS Grover¨ ImperialTM Gold-Plated Die-cast Tuners
UNIQUE FEATURES V-Shaped Falcon Headstock,
Block Pearloid Inlay Position Markers,
Gold-Sparkle Fingerboard and Headstock Bindings,
Gold-Sparkle Bound F-Holes,
Multiple Gold-Sparkle Body Bindings,
Gold-Sparkle Inlaid Gretsch Logo on Headstock,
Gold Plexi Pickguard with Falcon Detail,
Knurled Strap Retainer Knobs,
Adjustable Truss
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