i was stumped due to what is happening in our country, and the world in general (floodings and wild fires). the Philippines is again in the headlines due to typhoon "frank". i could say "frank" has a mind of his own. he did not conform to his forecast - which-was-he-will-not-landfall-and-that-he will only-cruise-along-the-shores-of-Luzon-then-go-to-Taiwan-and-that's-the-end-of-him.
with that reassuring statement from the masters-of-the-weather-agency, we turned back to our ordinary lives. however, "frank" will not do-as-forecasted. he made his own-route. he made landfall. and worse, he made a circuitous way. "frank" was supposed to go to Luzon, but he went to visit the Visayas region. on Friday(June 20), the rains and winds were already pounding our region (Eastern Visayas). we are on signal no.2. power went-off. classes were suspended.and the office allowed us to go home. at home, we tuned-in to the old-reliable-radio to monitor "frank". outside it was chaos. debris were flying around the city. one can't see what was in-front of him because of the rains and winds. my sister texted me that their plane circled for three-hours in tacloban. but they were not able to land so they went back to manila. floodings were everywhere. many were stranded since no transportation were available. we prayed for mercy.
we slept through all this. at around 2 a.m. i woke-up. power were already restored. rains and winds had abetted. we turned on the tv and monitored on "frank". he was still in the vicinity, but his wrath was turned on the neighboring regions. then we heard of news on the ship "princess of the stars" that it had an "engine" problem somewhere between manila and cebu. and the next time we heard it has capsized! with her 800 or more passengers.
it was like a deja vu! it was like doña paz and doña marilyn all over again! the same shipping line - sulpicio lines. images of crying and angry relatives, bloated bodies, the mass graves, futile-efforts of identifying relatives, rescue efforts, tearful reunions of survivors and families, survivors relating their traumatic experiences, and the after effects - investigations-here-and-there, and the finger-pointing-of-who-is-to-blame.
when will we ever learn?



i was off for a week. my father died. and our family deeply grieved his passing. my father was a "jack of all trades".
with this predicament our country is facing, i have apprehensions of the coming days and months. i am praying that tuition, come enrolment time will not increase. i don't know how we'll be able to send the kids to school. i don't know what strategy we will be using to manage our meager salaries-just-to-make-ends-meet. aside from the usual process of having "utang" and "advancing our salaries", and in-what-household-expenses-we-can-cut-and-make-tipid, and appealing-to-my-siblings-for-a-loan, and of course - imploring the ALMIGHTY to hear our prayers and asking for guidance and divine intervention... 
to those who had not seen the movie, I say to you – go, see it at star movies. It will surely make your day. The gods really must have been crazy when they made this movie.
praying is a natural way for me in times like this. and listening to music. i've tried to think of positive ways. we tried to prioritized what problem to solved first and the next and the next. maybe our problem is not that heavy like the what the rest are experiencing. maybe its trivial for others. but, this is how i feel as if everything comes at the same time. why don't these problems come one-week-at-a-time? wherein this week a problem is solved and the following, another one to solved. but, life is not like that. our life, especially the unexpected are always beyond us. but then i guess, its not really "unexpected". maybe, we've seen it coming but was not prepared when it came.