On the 31st of July, she was put to rest as she victoriously battled Cancer. Although she passed away, she has lived a full life. On the 31st of  July, my beloved country mourned as we tried to celebrate her short-lived life. On the 31st of July, the icon of hope and democracy, President Cory Aquino left our world to join her husband Ninoy.

   As she left, I wondered what will happen afterwards; will someone be there to continue her legacy? We still needed her there. In a time where outright corruption is mandatory to become a powerful leader, President Aquino proved that simplicity and service are the only ingredients to gain people's respect and trust.  She demanded authority and not power effortlessly. As she left, I pondered if her death will at least bring our politicians into realization that my country is in need of great leadership and not a race for power? Will they soon understand that in order for Philippines to thrive, we have to start taking care of each other?

  I believe that Philippines is a little piece of paradise bestowed upon us by Higher beings "anitos" - as what our ancestors call them.  Most of Filipinos are educated with good manners and right conduct which should be enough reminder that we need to treat others as our equals.With this, we are continuouslly bombarded by the idea that education is the priority.  Ironically enough, the people in power (who are mostly born and raised in wealth) are the ones who act uneducated as they lead our people into atrocious debt and cycle of poverty.  There's one thing the Philippines leads the world in: we are the most corrupt in Asia. At least we're number one is something right?
 
  Remember the time when we were the agricultural centre in Asia? People all over our continent earnestly visited our country to learn how to propagate agriculture in their own nations.  How about when we were globally recognized because we speak English fluently (minus the accent of course)?  My mom used to tell my that although we were not number 1, we were in the top 5 at least.  Our economy was booming. Our leaders did what they were supposed to do- lead. We were not a desperate country in need of enormous change.  Look where we are now- our palms wide open waiting for the remittances of our OFW's (overseas filipino workers).  SHAME ON US.

  With this in mind, I think we owe it to ourselves to become our own leaders. Lead by example. As simple citizens, we can epitomize the legacy President Aquino has left us.  We do not need to be in power to manifest justice.  Let's try to live simply and justly. Inevitably, one would not be able to do it alone. Kailangan nating magkaisa  - We, Filipinos need to do this together.  We're known for coming together in countless festivities - we should start doing it more often .. coming together I mean.

Mabuhay.

  It truly is amazing how life balances out at the end of the day.
 
    Three weeks ago, we received a call from my tita(aunt) in the Philippines saying that my Lolo (grandfather) was very ill.   You have to understand that my lolo was bed-ridden for the past two years and after hearing that he was "very ill", we knew he was in bad condition. He was apparently rushed to the hospital because he was vomiting. My tita said that his lungs collapsed due to fluid build-up and the only thing supporting him were the tubes.  She was hopeless, desperate and alone.  She called up all my titos (uncles) and tita and they have all decided to resort to DNR (do not resucitate). My mom, sister and I were of course apprehensive for the reason that my lolo was still fighting. He has always been a fighter. From fighting for our country to fighting loneliness when he lost his wife, we knew that he would survive this battle. Two days after, my dad flew to the Philippines and so did my tita from LA. Amazingly enough, our thoughts were right. My lolo was indeed fighting harder.  He was confined in the hospital for a week and the doctor advised them that he was more than able to go home if the recovery goes well. It went as planned.
 
   Tuesday of this week, God decided that he is not needed in our world anymore. Maybe God thought that he has fought enough battles. It might have been enough for my lolo to see my titos and titas together after so many years. He might have felt a sense of peacefulness and the essence of "coming home" as soon as he felt them congregating around his hospital bed. See, although I have not seen my lolo in years, I felt his presence despite the distance.  Besides the fact that he could only speak Ilocano and English, I understood him. We might not have been close, but I have always been proud of being a Dela Cruz and for having a lolo who's been an outstanding lawyer and an excellent citizen of the Philippines. 

   I believe that we did not lose lolo, he just evolved into a new sort of "being" and we're in the process of adjusting and learning how to cope with the "change". 

    We are blessed because our lolo somehow managed to be a part of our lives.  We are blessed because we know that he has won all the battles. We are blessed because we know he still is present amongst us.

   

   

  I may not be the prettiest thing, and I may not have all the desirable qualities that one can posses so I do not have any right to be pulling bitchy moves.
 
   Seriously, it's for your own good. I admit that the guilt is overwhelming. But it needs to be done.  I am trying to save you from more disappointments. Please understand.

*breathes**

 

yes. I am planning to resort back to the "original plan".
 
     Truth be told, I am a wuss and I am not big on risk taking.  Sure enough, I would remain in the safe side this time and go on with my life as I planned. Speaking of which, I signed up for gym membership and agenda 120 at 20 is definitely on its way.

Prayers needed: My sister is taking her nursing board exam on Wednesday and it would be nice if you could pray for her.  Thank you!

  It's been three days since my sister and I breathed in Manhattan's polluted air (lol) and for the five days we were there, I have indeed learned a lot.

1. New Yorkers do not follow pedestrian street signs.  They just proceed on walking when there's no car in sight and hilariously run if they see one coming.

2. In every fast food/restaurant joint, they have choking hazard posters on the wall. Well, we do not have it here. We have warning signs of traces of peanuts in food.  Apparently, peanut allergy is very prominent in this part of the world.

3. Cost of living is waaaaayyyy too high. It costs almost 10USD for a pack of Marlboro Menthol! If you go to duty free, you can get yourself a carton of Marleys for 28USD.

4. If however you would like to save money on food, there's a chinatown and some places do offer lunch specials for 3.50 such as Yi Mei along division street. There's also another one by Madison Square Park (i think) called L'annam and they have 6.50 lunch special (ambiance more decent than Yi Mei).

5. Goodluck studying their subway system.  It was too confusing for us so we resorted to using what we got.. our pair of legs.

6. They can rock them rain boots. lol

7.  You get what you pay for, accomodation-wise.  Our hostel resembled a jail cell. However, we did our research before hand so we knew what to expect.  We just tired ourselves out so we could sleep soundly.

8. New York Cab drivers are the unsung heroes of today.  Seriously, they drive like maniacs and they get you places safely.

9.  New York  drivers have an amazing reflex of honking as they wait for the car in front of them to drive through the green light.. even though they've only waited for .00004539 seconds.

10.  DSLR's are everywhere simply because there's a gazillion tourists lurking around the city.

11. I loved how Strand Bookstore was filled with people at 2 in the afternoon. You should see our Chapter's (bookstore),  the only reason it's busy is because of the Starbucks next to it.

12. Do New Yorkers love their coffee that much? There's literally a Starbucks every two-three blocks and they open at 5 in the morning and close midnight! I was in awe.

13. Goodlooking men are everywhere. (I just had to get that out. haha)

14. Burger King does not only serve you food but also internet. 2.00 for 10 minutes. 

15.  Sadly, the racial hierarchy is still evident.  Visible minorities who ironically enough do not live in Manhattan work in their retail stores to cater to the dominant majority. 

  Overall, the experience was priceless.  Visiting Mahanttan was indeed a step out of my comfort zone.  Every minute we spent walking down the blocks of NoHo to Tribeca and back to the Fashion District was definitely worth it.  I am now aware that even though their streets and avenues are marked by simple numbers, I lack sense of direction.  Good thing my sister was there. Our gullibility paid off as one of the ladies from chinatown directed to where they hide the "good stuff" (imitation bags).  It was like a Jackie Chan movie where the transactions were hidden very well. Lastly, we got to experience the culture different from ours and we managed to adapt.  I think that in itself is the sole purpose of travelling.

Next stop: Ottawa.