Wake Up Call

The recently concluded CloseUp Forever Summer held at the Mall of Arena concert grounds last May 21st still sends chills down my spine.


The annual party ended tragically with 5 casualties Bianca Fontejon 18; Ariel Leal 22; Lance Garcia 36; Ken Migawa 18 and American national Eric Anthony Miller 33, all death caused by a massive heart attack. Two of the victims, Fontejon and Garcia have blackened hearts and bleeding internal organs which is highly unusual according to NBI medico-legal officer Dr. Wilfredo Tierra who conducted autopsies on their bodies. Reports say that victims ingested a designer drug that is a mixture of ecstasy and shabu called Green Amore pill.

Apparently, the concert organizer security measures were not followed that led to usage and illegal selling of party drugs in the venue. Authorities say that according to witnesses, the party drugs have been mixed with alcoholic drinks and was passed on to different partygoers. Some of the witnesses also said that the security and bouncers at the event were fully aware that there were a group of youngsters on drugs but no one kicked them out of the venue or stop them. 

When the news about fatalities from the CloseUp Forever Summer event broke out it got me really concerned. I thought what if this happens to a loved one? I'm not against youngsters partying or having fun as long as they are responsible enough and know their limits. It is a given that they are curious but they must be taught how to be vigilant.

Illegal selling of drugs victimizing the youth has been going on for ages. It is becoming more rampant, a worldwide concern actually. I hope that the government will focus on raising awareness about harmful drugs and closely monitor events that may be a target for drug syndicates to smuggle drugs.


No more precious lives wasting away.

Back In Black

It's been two years since my last post and a lot of things happened already. My mom's passing left me and my family uncertain on how we can continue on with life without her... it's an empty home whenever I spend my rest days at our once vacation home but, after a year without her, we've all learned that the death of a loved one is the beginning of life for those whom they've left behind. I've accepted the fact that my mom's not coming back but wherever she is, I'm sure she is at peace and that she's in a much better place because when people leave this world, they just live in another without their physical bodies where they can continue with life without pain or hurt. I still miss my mom every day but I visit her whenever I can and I know that she's still watching and protecting us.


I had my first operation two months ago. My gallstones and gallbladder was removed by Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy (removes the gallbladder and gallstones through several small cuts (incisions) in the abdomen). The surgeon inflates your abdomen with air or carbon dioxide in order to see clearly). It was just a minor operation but I had to go on Leave (LOA) from work for three weeks so I can fully recover.  Thank God the operating expenses were covered by HMO so it's a hassle-free recovery for me. You see, I'm a health buff, I even worked out and tried boxing and started eating healthy few years back because I wanted to lose weight but I think it was way too late to save my gallbladder from being removed. My twin sister started having severe gastric attacks three months ago until the worse came when she can't contain the pain anymore so she was rushed to the ER. One of the doctors suspected she might have gallstones so she was advised to undergo an ultrasound and upon confirmation that she has one, she decided to have it removed as soon as possible. As soon as I realized that my sister has gallstone because we have the same diet, I went to consult a Gastro for ultrasound recommendation. I had medications before I was advised to undergo Endoscopy but still, my lower back pains won't go away until a week after my sister's operation that I decided to have Lap Chole. Now I'm feeling much better like nothing was removed inside me, I don't experience hyperacidity anymore unlike before whenever I eat anything high on fat or drink coffee I had to deal with gastric pains I thought I just have to endure it for as long as I'm alive. My gallstone is about ten years old according to my doctor, so imagine how it got there without me feeling anything unusual until my body finally told me I had to know that it's there, whew.


'Ber' month is up and it's less than a hundred days before Christmas. I wish my sister and I can travel again before the year ends but I doubt it due to time constraints. We spent our birthday in Cambodia last April so I'm hoping next year we can go to some place different again. Time flies, I hope that better days are here to come.  

Sleepyhead

I almost fell asleep in the fx on my way now because I'm so tired after my graveyard shift good thing my iPod kept me company, it was such a boring trip. I put on loud music intentionally, I'm beginning to hate listening to FM stations they don't play good music that makes sense anymore. 


I've been watching a lot of new programs on TV and just recently I started watching Project Runway Philippines. I think that this is a good venue to showcase local designers and show the world what we got. To be honest, I'm not really a fan of international franchising but it seems inevitable that this is the "in" thing nowadays. I think I'm okay with the local franchise of Survivor (we have Survivor Philippines) but not movies. The movie "Desperadas" for example is obviously derived from the popular TV series Desperate Housewives. A few years ago I was one of those that got hooked watching for crying out loud the Tagalized version of Taiwan's comedy/drama series Meteor Garden. The infamous Mexican star Thalia once captured the hearts of Filipinos with her Mexican Telenovela Marimar (aw!) I think we can do better if we will try to come up with anything original or is it too risky to do so? I guess I'm just curious. 


When I arrived home I noticed a tent set up in front of our neighbor's house so I asked my elder sister who died and got shocked to find out that our long-time neighbor whom we call Aling Ludy who's a good friend of my mom, already passed away due to cardiac arrest. I sort of felt guilty especially when I learned from my mom that Aling Ludy told her that she misses us because she doesn't see us anymore. I think I saw her last month maybe a week before Christmas but I didn't realize thought that it would be the last time I'll see her alive. She even looked at me, I did not even smile or say Hi, I guess I'm just really shy. Aling Ludy used to deliver us food every time there's a birthday celebrant in their family. She would bring us Spaghetti or Pancit (I love her spaghetti) and cake and we always look forward to that. She will be missed especially by my mom because she always keeps her updated on what's going on with her life. 


My friend's grandmother also died yesterday I thought she got sick that's why she was absent for last night but I heard about what happened from our team leader she never told anyone except her so I texted her to give my condolences. 


Death is like a thief, indeed.