Shirt Street Wants to Help

Help us help others by getting one of our button pins.

A lot of donations have been given to aid those affected by Typhoon Ondoy but a lot more is needed especially medicine, toiletries, and antiseptics. Part of the proceeds of our button pins will either be used to buy these things or donated as cash to one of the charities. For only P20, you can make a difference in someone's health.

We will be at the Araneta Center before the finals games today, October 1, and on Sunday, October 4. If there is a third game, we will be there too. Just look for a person wearing any one of the Shirt Street shirts. For orders and other queries, please text Steph at +639178407280.

It's Sunday. Let Me Sleep.

First of all, Happy Mothers' Day to all your moms and all the mothers out there. Have a fun day.

So, I haven't slept yet. That's right. You can now imagine how humongous and dark my eyebags are. I look like a raccoon WITH a black eye. Imagine that. But anyway, since it's mommy's day, I decided to get out of bed and go with them to do whatever mom wants to do. I heard that it involves shopping, so yay for me! Dad said something about buying some clothes for summer... I don't get it. Summer only has 3 weeks left in it. But whatever. This is one of those very rare shopping moments, and I fully intend to take advantage of it. A couple of tops wouldn't hurt. I mean, nothing fits me anymore. Yes, I've eaten that much in the past two months.

Anyway, what occupies me this blisteringly hot time of the year? Well, besides summer class, or should I say, summer torture, I've found some great sites! Where you could earn money, that is. What, what were you thinking? Uh-huh.

So anyway, I really wanna save up because I wanna do something after graduation. True, that is still 2 years away. But I need all the time I could get.

What is it, you ask?

Well...

Okay, okay. I'll tell you.

You see, since two years ago, I've been wanting to do some volunteer work abroad. Not that we don't need volunteers here at home, we really do, but I just wanna do it abroad. Travel and help at the same time! I initially wanted to go to Africa and take care of the children there. I'm not going Angelina Jolie though and adopt all of the orphans there. Well, maybe if I've found my Brad by then I would... And if I've got as much money as she does. Which I doubt I would. Unless luck decides to take pity on me and make me win the lottery or something. So there. Then I found this great site: Global Volunteer Network. It offers volunteer work in a whole lot more other countries. I didn't know there were others that needed help. So now I'm torn between Africa and New Zealand. And Romania. I'd like to go there. Or South Dakota. Then after volunteering I could just drive all the way to Disneyland Florida! Woohoo! I know, it's all the way at the other side of the US, but I a girl can dream. The thing is, registration alone costs $350. That's like 16,500+ in Philippine Pesos. That's like, 4 months' allowance. 2 weeks of volunteering (I'm having NZ as example) costs $600. That's 28,314 - another 7 months' allowance. So we now have 11 months of allowance eaten up. I have to not spend anything for 11 months (which is impossible as I have to eat some time). I don't even know how much plane fare costs. I'd say, I need about $2500 all in all. Plane, fees, pocket cash. That's 117,975 php. Equivalent to 2 whole school years of allowance (I don't get allowance during summer, even now, when I'm suffering in school I don't get allowance. Argh. I'm on the verge of bankruptcy.) including birthday money and Christmas money and whatever money I get my hands on. I don't think it'll even be enough.

Thinking about it makes me depressed.

But anyway, I've found a few sites that I think can help me with my dilemma. (Click on the links to check them out)

1. MyLot - this is a discusion site. You post, you earn. Simple as that. Enjoyable too since you can talk about whatever you want. Just keep it nice and clean. People are really nice too. They pay through Paypal or E-gold.

2. SlashMySearch - this is a search engine. You search, you earn, and you give to charity too! It's that great. They pay in Paypal, E-gold, or checks.

3. TaketheInternetBack - this is one of those survey sites that mails you surveys and you just have to click a link to confirm it and then you earn. It's fairly easy and it's free to join so you won't lose anything. They pay through PayPal, E-gold and checks.

4. Hits4Pay - another one of those read emails to earn survey sites. Pretty much like TIB.

So there. That's what I've been up to recently. My favorite, of course, is MyLot and SlashMySearch. They're the most enjoyable ones!

Anyway, let's talk about TV. Heroes, most specifically. Who watches Heroes? Mmm-hmm. I see a lot of hands up. Isn't it great? It's just a really really amazing and exciting and unpredictable show. Keeps me on my toes all the time. And kind of hard to remember. The details, I mean. When summer classes are done, I'm gonna re-watch the whole season one. If they don't already kill Sylar by the last episode, that is. It's almost finale time, and I'm really really excited. What will Hiro do?!?! The poor little guy doesn't have a murderous bone in his body but the comic book is telling him that he has to be the one to kill Sylar! So what does that little girl have to do with this? I wonder when she'll come into action. Will Claire really leave for Paris? What if Peter explodes? And he will.

Speaking of those two... I know they're supposed to be uncle and niece in the show. But they just really really look cute together! Just don't mind the 12-year age gap. Here, take a look.




Aren't they adorable? Hollywood has pretty strange hook-ups after all. So why not them? In real life I mean. They seem to get along really well. But with me only two years older than Claire (Hayden Panatierre), Peter (Milo Ventimiglia) does seem really old. I mean, really old. He's 30. That's really old. But only because we're still in this age group. When we hit mid-twenties he'd be about just the right age. Ha ha!

And look how Peter Petrelli turned out. In the beginning, he is the most useless and pathetic character ever. Now I believe he has the coolest power! I think he's the most powerful of all. He can absorb powers without killing people. (Hiro's is the second coolest! Yatta! Lol!) I found out that he was also in Gilmore Girls, for quite a long time at that. Really, I have to watch Gilmore Girls now. All the cute guys are there. And Alexis Bledel is just beautiful and sweet. Really. I mean, does she look 25 to you? No. She can still pass for a high school freshman. I wish I looked that young! But Milo on the other hand, looked really weird before Heroes. Well, okay it wasn't that bad. But he looked so young when he was at Gilmore Girls! Check this out.


See? I think guys get better looking as they age. Okay, not all. Some. Most Hollywood guys. I mean, I saw McDreamy in this movie which title is unknown to me and he looked really young and frail. Look how he turned out now. Some guys just looks better when they hit 30. I wish all 30-year-old guys are like that. But alas, the normal people have beer bellies by then. But just look at Milo. I thought he was cute-ish before. Now I know it's a lot more than that. He's freakin' gorgeous!

I guess that's why they picked him to be the exploding one.

Anyway, it's WWE time! I wanna see the Undertaker and Batista hack on each other. Although the outcome of the match has already been spoiled for me, and it was a very disappointing one, still. It's a cage match! With Batista and the Undertaker!!!

Later!

History

"Ang ating nakaraan ang humubog sa atin upang maging kung sino tayo sa kasalukuyan."

Of course. Without the past, there would be no present. We talked about this awhile ago.

We were asked to make a timeline of our past experiences and decisions that led us to where we are today. An explanation of our work followed.

It didn't occur to me that we had to really delve into the bottommost parts of our souls to make that timeline. So I did the really basic thing. I started from my birth, and then I got to elementary. I almost transferred to another school, but I decided later that I wanted to stay in SJCS, so I did. I studied well, so I passed several entrance exams. I couldn't decided between two universities. So I decided to follow my mom's advice and went into ADMU. After being depressed my whole first year there, I finally "saw the light" and have never been happier. (well, yes, but that's another thing) So now, I have close friends, and we decided to apply for this leadership program, and here I am. The End.

As I listened to my other groupmates' sharing, I began to feel stupid and shallow because they incorporated really private personal things in their explanations like their "special someones" and specific high school tragedies. They really poured their hearts out. Damn me and my reservations. I felt like I came across as an ogre in an NSTP shirt.

Even though virtually nobody, not even my group mates, will be able to read this, I decided to do justice to my timeline's explanation. It isn't much, but it's worth jotting down.

Okay, so I was born. Yes, I'm a jolly little kid. I was baptized a Catholic, and I entered a Catholic school. The line goes up because as I child, I didn't have that much problems. I viewed everything with rose-tinted glasses. I was confident back then. I didn't mind the flabs, although they made me cry for several occasions.

Teenhood started, and so did the insecurities. But the line still went up, because it was this time when I met my friends, sisters of the blood. (it sounds creepy, right?) What I mean is that I feel like we are really sisters, my friends and I. I should've made the lines go up and down, zigzaggy, because it was a bit of a turbulent time. Hurtful rumors, backstabbing, and spiteful comments surfaced I felt like I was in a tug-of-war and I'm the rope. By late high school, the waves of friendship calmed down, but my studies was a disaster zone. I wasn't flunking; the pressure was killing me. I broke a couple of times, but I picked myself up and went on. I had no choice. If I didn't get a move on right then, life would go and without me. It resulted to severe mood swings. They told me that it was as if I was menopausal. But I had a great senior year.

Blessings showered. I got accepted to my mom's dream college for me, ADMU, and several others. I had a hard time deciding where to go. I didn't want to conform to my cousins' tradition of going to DLSU. My family needed variety. I'm giving it to them. At the same time, I didn't want to be away from my friends. I considered going to UST.

I'm not really sure why, maybe it's because I wanted to please my mom, make her dreams for me come true, or because I just wanted to pursue the opposite of my cousins, or maybe it's this divine voice somewhere inside that told me. I secured my slot in ADMU the day after graduation.

The first days of first year was hell. It only took a snap of the fingers to make me cry. I missed my friends so much, and I thought about transferring to DLSU every single day. I voiced that out to my friends, and they told me to go ahead. The more the merrier! But still, the divine voice was resilient. It told me that I was meant to be in ADMU. It didn't say why. But I remained. I got through it, a bit shaken and stirred, but still fighting. Summer was a blast. Bum days went by. I visited my friends a lot. I didn't want it to end.

I didn't do much the previous school year because I felt really low, like I didn't measure up to these round-the-clock English-speaking people. Pinoy ako, matigas ang Tagalog ko. Kahit utot ko Tagalog ang wika. I wasn't accustomed to rapid translations in my brain. I really felt small and slow, like my brain, compared to theirs, was only of a sea slug's. I didn't want to be with them back then, I didn't feel good enough. But during the summer, I reflected and got to the conclusion that this is the time to do everything I want. Every stepping stone to success is just around the campus, and if I don't take hold of those, then my dreams would just remain dreams.
Alas, the time came when I had to go back to the nest of the Blue Eagle. Clutching a newly formed resolution, I braved the forest once more. I had no choice. I had to go back. No company would take a person with a degree of MasKom (mas komportable sa bahay).

I put a lot of effort to blending in. I banished my aloof tendencies. Instead, I sacrificed precious sleeping time to be with my friends. I went along with them to eat, leaving my usual library seat empty. I thought that being alone was better than being with other people. What a pleasant surprise it was when slowly, I got to know them, and got closer. Now, sleeping in the library was only a second choice. I've never been happier.

Still, the question remains. Why am I in this university? What am I supposed to do here? Quality education can be found in many different places, but why did I feel like I was meant to be here? While walking from a class to somewhere else (my episodic memory is failing me), it suddenly hit me.

"Men and Women for and with others"

Helping is a great passion of mine. I don't even want to call it "charity" because there's a sort of notion that the "charitable" person is far more superior to the "charity case". I just want to call it "helping out". I believe that every child in this country, or even the world, deserves what I have. I want them to experience the lightness of life, a part that they, sadly, never tasted. I just want to give as much children as I can better education. I just want them to finish college and get a job and help their family out. This belief has been in me for the longest time, and I've just realized it. This is the reason why I'm here. This institution will help me work on that passion. God had already given me the answer. It was here all along. It just took me a little longer to ask the question, and realize that the question has already been answered.

With that, I bid you goodbye.

As a last request, please take a little time to visit this website.

World Vision Organization Philippines---->Helping another is just a click away.

The Hand

In the car, on the way to school awhile ago, I lay back on my seat and close my eyes. I've been solving Math problems sinec the night before, and the formulas running through my mind are making me dizzy.

So I close my eyes.

Then three sharp knocks startled me.

Knock-knock-knock.

They came from my window, where I saw an old man, grime sticking to his body, a hand held out for that spare coin I might have. But what caught my eye is his other hand.

He doesn't have one.

I closed my eyes again.

Yeah, you might think I'm such a cold-hearted piece of sh*t for snubbing that poor fellow.

Well, I'm not.

First thing: I forgot to bring any money. I was rushing to get to school that I didn't put the coins I took out last night back into my pocket.

Second thing: I can't stand looking at such a conditon. It breaks my heart.

He kept on knocking, but I ignored him. It was such a relief when the traffic lights finally gave way to us. In my mind, my plan was reinforced with even more certainty that I have to do it.

I have to HELP.

Sometimes, these beggars aren't really sympathetic figures. Well, the ones who carry their babies around traffic and exposing them to pollution and using them to get donations, they're the ones that don't need our sympathy. I mean, they're clearly abled people. They think poverty is their disability and that it's a perfect excuse for them to just thrust out their hand and money will come instantly from the soft-hearted suckers. They need to work to earn money.

So maybe some of you think that I'm being a cold-hearted b*tch here because I'm not in their situation. To be honest, if I'm in their situation, I won't know what to do. I can't imagine myself being like that. Maybe now you're thinking that it's easy for me to tell them to go get a job because I'm not in their situation, and that I can afford to blog about it so I probably don't need one right now.

Well, I know it's not easy to get a job, even if you've finished college. So how could they? Most of them didn't even got into high school, maybe have never gone to school ever. There are other jobs. Like applying as maids, janitors, or making rags and sampaguita garlands and stuff. At least, even though those jobs generate meager income, they won't be freeloading off of sympathy.

But seriously, even though I said those things above, I'm not a sympathy-proof heart. I hate seeing people suffer. I hate seeing people homeless, dragging their kids around the streets, sleeping on the sidewalk. I hate seeing outstretched hand at the other side of my car window. If only I could make something happen that all of these street nomads would have a home.

I'm supporting charities that aim to help these street people. But of course, my allowance can only provide so little. There's too much poverty in this country, let alone the whole world, for the few giving people that exist to be able to compensate.

2nd World White Band Day ---> TODAY!!!

September 10, 2005 ---> White Band Day 2

Wear a white band wherever you are today and show that YOU CARE!
Help make poverty history!

This is a campaign by the Make Poverty History organization. I texted everyone to wear a white band, even just a simple white ribbon around their wrists to show their support and to remind world leaders meeting today in New York that we're still waiting for them to take action and make poverty history.

Get involved! Click on the link above and join the organization! You don't need to do BIG things. You can help by simply spreading the word about this org or by adding a white band to your website/blog! (See upper right corner of this blog)

Let's Do Charity!

I've just been watching tv, and then this commercial (i think) came on about Bantay Bata 163. There were 2 mothers carrying their infant children on their laps. These children have swollen noses. I mean, the lumps were HUGE!!! I think it's called ...I forgot. Sorry...bad memory! Hehe! Basta it starts with the letter "M". I can't help but to feel sorry for these children. And to think that they're only that little... I want to help. I want to donate. Yeah, I've said this loads of times before, and yet, I still haven't done anything. Except for the Pondo ng Pinoy. That was required in school so I had to... I'm not as charitable as I thought I was.

I read in a magazine, there's this girl who wanted to go to Spain badly because of this World Youth Festival. It was her dream. She had attended the previous WYF in China, and she said that she found out that she's really good at communicating with people of different cultures. She wanted to find out more about herself, that's why she wanted to go to Spain. And then people started to respond positively to her blog! They paid her in exchange for a good deed like visiting an orphanage and community service. Some people just donated. And in three weeks time, she earned the money she needed!

So I thought, I'm addicted to blogging right now. And I spend a lot of time and money (for prepaid cards) just to get online... Tamad kasi ako ngayon magsulat sa regular diary ko eh hehe! So I figured na I can make a difference while doing something I like!

Summer break's coming. In a week or so, I'll be back here in my room bumming around, waiting for my college days to start. I'm sure all of us are saving up for those cute bikinis and suntan lotions for the beach. Me, I'm saving up 'coz I heard Usher's coming to town! Yeah! I'm a concert bum! But maybe, just maybe, we could sacrifice a little for those who are really in need. Save that 10 pesos you're gonna spend for DIC (dirty ice cream) or that 100 pesos for a set of cute earrings. Maybe we could just do this for a week, maybe...this Holy Week? It's supposed to be a week of sacrifice right? With that little sacrifice, it'll go a long long way, maybe even save a life! Yeah I know it's hard, I haven't even done it yet! So maybe if I had someone else with me, than I'd have the motivation to do it. Look at what sacrifice did to Constantine, it made him welcome to heaven once again! *oops, spoiler for those who haven't seen the movie yet!* ;)

to help, just click this link.
I WANT TO HELP