Please help victims of typhoon Ondoy in the Philippines

(from Facebook sources)

Typhoon Ondoy has caused great devastation in the Philippines. If you can, please help through the following:

RELIEF/SHELTER/DONATIONS:
Red Cross donation through SMS: text REDAMOUNT to 2899 (Globe) or 4483 (Smart) or contact your local Red Cross Chapters on how to Donate.

FRIENDS IN THE US AND CANADA WHO WISH TO HELP IN THE RESCUE/RELIEF OPERATIONS,YOU MAY DONATE THROUGH THE AMERICAN RED CROSS. CALL 1-800-435-7669. DONATE THRU THE RED CROSS RESCUE AND RELIEF OPERATIONS OR pinoys abroad they can DONATE THROUGH TXTPOWER'S PAYPAL!

You may also deposit your donations directly to ABS-CBN Foundation's Banco de Oro account: *Branch Name: BDO Mother Ignacia Account Name: ABS-CBN Foundation, Inc. Account #: 5630060113 Relief Goods can be sent to Caritas Manila Office at Jesus St., Pandacan Manila near Nagtahan Bridge (tel.no. 5639298/5639308).

Relief goods can also be brought Radio Veritas at Veritas Tower West Ave. Corner EDSA (tel no. 9257931-40). Aquino volunteers: contact Jiggy Cruz who is organizing relief goods collection and distribution. Or call Ms. Clare Amador at mobile no 09285205508 or Jana Vicente at 09285205499 for more details regarding Noy/Mar relief efforts. Roxas volunteers: donations for flood relief can be brought to Balay, Expo Centro, Edsa cor. Gen, MacArthur, Araneta Center, Cubao.

Victory Fort is opening its doors to those affected by the typhoon. Call 813-FORT Charo Limaco has posted a list of specific items needed and where to donate them: Water, blankets, shoes, and clothes etc.. are being accepted at the Hillsborough Village chapel for families whose houses were washed out in the nearby sitios. – Donations of any kind for Payatas communities affected by Ondoy accepted at ARANAZ stores in Rockwell & Greenbelt. –

TeamManila stores in Trinoma, Mall of Asia, Jupiter Bel-Air and Rockwell shall be accepting relief goods (Canned Goods, Ready-to-drink Milk, Bottled Water and Clothes) for distribution by Veritas to displaced countrymen due to Typhoon Ondoy. –

Caritas Manila Office and Radio Veritas (see above) appealing for the following goods: Canned food, rice, used clothes especially for children, milk.


Here is a comprehensive list of coordinated efforts for consolidating and distributing assistance to the needy on Sour Politics.

Another year over, a new one just began...

A few suns and moons later, we are now one year in New Zealand. How time flies.

I can still remember the last few hectic days we had prior to boarding the plane. With so much work still left to do, I stayed on with the company for the full month after resignation. My wife did, too.

I remember that night when I talked to my boss about my leaving and when I returned to my chair and told my colleague Joana that I was leaving, she cried and called up Pauline to tell her about the news.

A few days after that, they taped balloons by my area. I think after the initial shock, they realized they were happy to see me go (kidding).
I miss the Mac laptop. See the bags of MacDonald's beside it? On that day I went on a Happy Meal shopping spree. I bought around 6 meals so I can have all six toys on offer which incidentally was for the Star Wars the Clone Wars movie.

And then they gave me this book (which I brought here with me) containing messages from officemates.

Then they treated me out to lunch in a Japanese restaurant which I wanted to try but never got around to doing. It was truly touching.

During that time I said my goodbyes to many friends, but there was not enough time for all of them. My good friends Yoyo and Roger canvassed a van and they volunteered to help me transport my stuff from Manila to Baguio. We left one night, arrived in Baguio in the morning. They visited a few places then by lunchtime were enroute for Manila. I truly appreciate their gesture. They went without sleep and travelled more than 12 hours to help out a friend.

And then we had week of garage sale at the house while I packed my precious scale model and toy collection and hauled off periodically to my parents' home for safekeeping.

Even at the final hour when we were about to board the bus that will bring us to Manila, we were still packing stuff and had to exchange hurried goodbyes to my mother-in-law, who I knew will miss his grandson so much.

My last lunch in Manila was in Amici, a treat by friends. And our last phone call was to Ninong Dan (our godfather in our wedding) as we waited in the airport. Hw was surprised to hear that we were already leaving that very moment and would have been happy to see us before we go but there was just very little time for a lot of things.

***

Here in New Zealand, we were overwhelmed by the support we received from many Filipino families. In our first couple of nights, we stayed with a family who we only met online. They helped us look for a regular place to stay, shopped for some necessities, and guided us on things we needed to accomplish. Other families gave kitchen supplies, beddings, couches, bed, weekend trips to parks.

We arrived at a time when the recession was increasing momentum. After three months, I still had no job. I worked as a volunteer and seeked the help of migrant assistance centers. By December I was able to land an interview. I got the job. We were vastly relieved, and at least we had a relaxed December and not have to worry about January coming in and nothing to show for it. No more keeping awake til 3AM looking for jobs online.

Jo-Lo started going to Kindy. Many clothes we brought with him are already small; he's growing and is able to carry a decent conversation now. Amazing.

We still have a long way to go but we're taking it one step at a time. I certainly miss my friends, our trekking days, dinners and movie weekends, and I look forward to having a break and go back to the Philippines and see them all once again. Until then, we welcome a new year in New Zealand and look forward to better days ahead.

How Samsung Philippines is Giving Me the Run-Around

Not me actually, but my good friend Bambi who has simple needs and wants. More specifically, she wants Samsung in Manila to sort out their customer service (or lack thereof) because she needs her monitor repaired and so she can continue working. From any angle, it looks like a pretty simply dilemma. But noooo.

Read all about it in Meowok's blog.

Mt. Ruapehu

I never thought I'd touch and tread on snow in my lifetime. But I did. One of life's more pleasant surprises.

Of course, it helped that we are now in New Zealand, and seeing snow is now a car ride away. It also helps that you get invited to a weekend getaway by good friends :-).

Mt. Ruapeho within the Tongariro National Park is one of the world's most active volcanoes. But that does not stop adventurers from having a great skiing holiday in winter and in the early days of spring. And that's where we found ourselves a couple of weeks back, playing about the snow and having a lot of fun!





Happy days!

Bluefin Tuna an endangered species

The next time you plan to order your tuna sushi or sashimi, think again: the bluefin tuna is an endangered species. While the World Wildlife Fund has identified the Mediterranean bluefin tuna as an endangered species, its other cousins such as the North Atlantic bluefin tuna, the Pacific bluefin tuna and the southern bluefin tuna have also seen alarming population decline. The fish is being caught mainly due to the huge demand for the delectable Japanese dishes sushi and sashimi.

The alarm was raised since 2006 of the rapid decline of bluefin tuna population but had been largely met with inaction. What we need now is awareness that this fish is in danger of extinction and WWF has recommended temporary ban on its fishing. Not controlled fishing, not fish farming, but a ban on the trade of Atlantic bluefin tuna.

While we are undeniably at the other side of the world, technological developments in the systematic fishing, freezing and transportation of goods worldwide has made distance a small hurdle. So we have to make sure that we do not consume Atlantic bluefin tuna by checking the source (by asking the manager of the restaurant where their tuna comes from, or checking the label of canned goods). If in doubt, don't purchase/order; the Pacific bluefin tuna is also being overfished so why not steer clear of tuna altogether? Let's do our part and be vigilant of bluefin tuna products: fresh, canned or cooked.

Related links:
World Wildlife Fund (and photo credit)
Greenpeace calls on governments to support a ban on Bluefin Tuna Trade

Scots College's Peter Pan

Scots College Presents its 2009 Production - Peter Pan!

Get in quick to secure your seats to this exciting production

Performance dates:
Thursday 10 September @ 7.00pm
Friday 11 September @ 10.00pm (Matinee)
Sunday 13 September @7.00pm
Monday 14 September @7.00pm

Tickets cost $15.00 (GST incl) for adults and $10.00 (GST incl) for students, and the amount can be debited to your College account. The seats are limited to 300 each performance.

If you require tickets please email: tickets@scotscollege.school.nz, or phone Faye Palmer on 380 7585 by Monday 7 September.

Mabuhay Social Night

Hi there friends! Please be informed that the MABUHAY Association ( a Pinoy cultural group ) is inviting you and family for a potluck dinner to be held this coming Saturday (05 September) at 7pm in the Johnsonville Community Centre, 2nd floor. We are involved in propagating our cultural heritage through dance, song and other artistic means typical of our culture. We are currently enticing families to support this objective and encourage your young children to participate in our activities as a cultural performer in our forthcoming production next year. For more details, please come this saturday so you will have an idea and witness our short entertainment program for all of our guests and members to enjoy.

We have to pass the baton to the younger generation, if we want them to establish their roots from their place of origin while living in a foreign land. It's an awesome task and we need your parental support to achieve this, otherwise our cultural heritage will just fade into oblivion never to be heard and experienced by our children and their children.

Furthermore, MABUHAY is now under a new leadership and it is hoped that the Association will be able to recapture more of our distant but glorious past through our cultural endeavours.

Hope to see you on Saturday night if you don't have any commitments yet...and hope to hear from you!

Warm Regards,

Alice Javellana-Rufino
ajr822@gmail.com

Close a door, open a window

Many have been wondering how come Jo-Lo's blog blog has suddenly become a "by invitation only" blog. Well, I feel that the time has come when I need to close this baby project, and present it to Jo-Lo when he's old enough to appreciate the first four years of his life chronicled, and I will leave it to him to do whatever he wants with it. I am hoping though that he will take it up from there and continue the blog. Wouldn't that be amazing?

And if you were following his blog, I think it's safe to say that you won't be missing much. I will be uploading content there from time to time, but no longer as frequent as before.

BUT if you'd still like to follow Jo-Lo's adventures, all you need is a Facebook account, look him up, become a fan, and get updates on your Facebook wall. You can easily look for him by clicking on his Facebook widget on the bottom part of the left sidebar of this blog.

See ya on Facebook!