The World of Second Chances

Kae’s Case

September 21, 2013

Life & Love

One of the five suspects in the killing of advertising executive Kae Davantes is now under the custody of the NBI. In as much as I’d like to commend the authorities for solving the case promptly, there are still some questions that need to be answered.

1. If the group tailgated Kae’s car, from where did they start doing it? For sure the CCTV’s can answer that.

2. If robbery or carnapping was the motive, why did they cut off the seatbelt? Why did they gag her with a handkerchief? Kae was alone and they could just fled with her car instead of killing her; unless she knew one of the assailants.

3. How old was the Shann Kervin handkerchief that the assailants used to gag her mouth? If it was a pre-meditated murder, definitely the assailant would use something that would not be associated with him.

4. With sticker or without sticker on the vehicle, isn’t it the subdivision’s guard’s duty to record the plate number of all incoming and outgoing vehicles?

5. If Kae was abducted along the way inside the Moonwalk Subdivision, who was driving the car when they went out of the subdivision?

6. The SOCO recovered some hair strands that belonged to a woman (not Kae). Who is that woman and what is her role in the group?

Kae died of stab wounds. Her mouth was gagged with handkerchied, hands tied with seatbelt. She must have crossed path with an old enemy and given the opportunity and number,they ganged up on her. The woman must be an old enemy or somebody who envied her so much. Maybe the motive was just to scare her but she identified the woman so the group took her to a house to liquidate her. Being amateurs and confused, they dumped her to a bridge in Cavite and went back to Las Pinas to get rid of the car.

The homeowners did not care about seeing the missing Altis because probably, it was a quiet neighborhood where crime rate is low or nil. It maybe another man’s Altis for all they knew.

Conclusion, I don’t believe Samuel Decimo’s story. He must be telling half-truths or he is not the killer at all.
To Spank or Not To Spank?

September 20, 2013

Wedding & Family Life

The hardest thing to do is to see you crying because of me.

I have always been the spoiler and the giver, I am fine with it. I am comfortable with it. I always want the other person to feel comfortable and loved. At work, I am the type of leader who sees the best in my subordinates. With my friends, I am the type who assures them of my loyalty. In the family, I am the good cop and my husband is the bad cop.

Between our two young boys, the older one is more prone to being disciplined. He loves to break the house rules, he loves to test our patience and he is NAUGHTY in every sense of the word. But I love him and I can’t afford to see him cry because of my spanking.

According to Hebrew 12:11, “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”

It gives me the vindication that spanking or disciplining my child is not bad at all as long as I don’t overdo it. It is every parents’ goal to raise responsible and good citizens; teaching the young ones what is right and what is wrong from an early age will let them embrace the value from there on.
The Journey Continues

September 10, 2013

Wedding & Family Life

Picture taken from the web.

Six long months, yes it has been six long months since we started scouting for a house. A house is not an investment, I know, but it’s the only piece of luxury that I really want. The kids are growing and I am not getting any younger so I just want to buy something that they can use in the future.

My husband and I are open to buying second hand property as long as the cost of renovation is reasonable. We intend to avail of our PAGIBIG housing loan or bank financing; whichever is more appropriate and cost efficient. The only hassle in buying a second hand property through PAGIBIG is if the owner will not agree to transferring his/her TCT (titulo) to us so as to proceed with the PAGIBIG housing loan.The element of TRUST is very important in this kind of seller-buyer transaction.

On the contrary, buying a house from a developer takes minimum time for the processing of housing loan. The only downside is buying an overpriced unit and probably, the amount of equity that you need to pay. This is however, predictable because developers usually charge 20% of the TCP (total contract price) for the equity. RFO (ready for occupancy) units have a higher equity as compared to pre-selling but if you’re renting a house at a high rental fee, the savings when buying pre-selling units versus the equity of RFO units will probably be just the same.

I have a young child who’s now in nursery so our main consideration when looking for a house is its proximity to schools, never mind if it is far from our place of work as long as our child’s comfort will not be compromised. This is the reason why, despite the tempting offer, we decided not to get the two-storey house in a subdivision here. Not only is it very far from schools but the subdivision itself is inside another big subdivision. When I inspected the units, I found cracks on the second floor and it must be the reason why the units come cheap.

My husband fell in love at first at a second hand house just very near our place of worship. It is also near Adi’s school so it must be the ideal location. The house structure looks strong and the materials used are of superior quality. It has two bedrooms in the first floor and another two at the loft. The living room and dining area are small and the kitchen sink is not big enough. The spiral stairs leading to the loft is non-value adding to me because of safety issues. Plus, how are we supposed to carry heavy furnitures on a spiral staircase? The asking price is beyond its fair market value and the owner is not enthusiastic about lowering it so there, the house is not meant for us. Bye!

Maybe a townhouse will do so we checked two of the many subdivisions here offering townhouses. Subdivision A (SA) is disconnected from the main road and the location of the townhouse is approximately four kilometers away from the entrance. Not a good location if you’re a public commuter. The only good thing about their townhouses is the quality of materials. The garbage collection is poor and hey, I thought that NO PETS are allowed in there? I saw a lot of dog shits everywhere; the homeowners were just cool about it. =p

Subdivision B (SB) looks crowded and the quality of materials that they used look so-so. Most of the homeowners look scary, husband and I want to get out of the subdivision FAST.

Every time my husband and I go home after a tripping, we can’t help but compare the house sizes with the ones that we are familiar with. For example, a 40 sqm floor area of a two-storey house here is just the size of his grandfather’s living room in Bohol. When I thought that a 20 sqm bedroom is too small, well, the bedrooms of the houses that we saw were just 10 sqm!

Location.
Price.
Method of financing.
Neighbors-to-be.
We are far from our house-hunting journey. We’ll get there someday, I hope. =)
Claudia Zobel: 29 Years Later

August 30, 2013

That’s Entertainment

The late Claudia Zobel

Reference: http://www.philstar.com/cebu-news/2013/08/29/1146771/claudia-zobels-body-intact-after-30-years

I was trying to catch a sleep last night when 24 Oras showed the remains of the 80’s bold star, Claudia Zobel who died in a car accident in 1984. Seeing her lying on her coffin with grayish skin was enough to keep me awake just when I badly needed to get some sleep.

She was 18 years old when she died; too young for someone who could have been the next important actress of her generation. She would have been 47 years old this year if she survived. Her youth was sealed in her mummified face, her niblings would at least have an idea of how their aunt looked like when she was young–yes, there in the “flesh.”

I was expecting some sort of media and occult frenzy but from the looks of it, Claudia’s family would proceed with their father’s burial on the same grave that she occupied. At least her family is not publicity hungry and they would rather let her rest in eternal peace than take advantage of the situation.
Pamamahayag – August 26, 2013

August 27, 2013

Life & Love

“Humayo kayo’t mag-akay ng panauhin.”

I would like to share my “pag-aakay experience” with my brothers and sisters in Iglesia Ni Cristo. I have been a member of this church since 2009 but this is my first time to go with the group to literally go out and invite people to attend the “Pamamahayag.”

Being a convert, I always have second thoughts if I can do activities that old-time members do. In college, my brother and I lived in a place where majority of the dwellers were members of the INC. We were not invited to any of their church activities and I thought that it was a good deal because I used to be sensitive about other people preaching about their religion to me.

Monday morning (August 26), my husband reminded me about the “pag-aakay” and I told him to go ahead; a hint that I would not be going. While eating lunch, I thought, “what’s wrong with pag-aakay, anyway?”
What’s wrong with finding people to spread the word of God?
What’s wrong with inviting people to see how we do it in INC?
I am not inviting them for a gambling session!
I am not inviting them for a pot session!
I am not even using a gun to force them to go with me to the church.
Take it or leave it, it’s up to them.

The first person to receive my invitation was a sales agent. Funny and awkward because I wasn’t even looking for a house in their subdivision. I just looked in her direction and she gave me her brochure. In return, I gave her my invitation. She was trying to sell a unit, I was trying to “sell” the word of God. Haha!

What’s so good about “pag-aakay” is enjoying the social interaction with almost all kinds of people. The positive thing in our area is that, the people are receptive. Last night, we were able to fill the church with our guests alone! All of them were curious what the invite was all about so they came. I hope that most, if not all, of our guests will be a member by next year. It’s their choice; nobody’s forcing them to convert. 🙂
Bye-bye Rebond!

August 5, 2013

Career, Finance & Product

Hindi lahat ng kulot ay salot.=p

“Would you like to try our hair rebonding?”

That seems to be the SOP of every hairdresser here in the Philippines. Hair rebonding is a lucrative business in a country where the standard of beauty is having fair skin and straight hair. My hair is wavy though it does not fall under the rough and kinky type. My hair is effortlessly wavy and resembles a beach hair. It has a lot of volume so a good conditioner like Tresemme is what I need to keep it tidy-looking.

I started with hair relaxing in 2003 but I hated its effect on my hair. My hair’s texture became rough and dry and I needed to spend too much on hair treatment. My first rebonding was great but it limited me to certain hairstyles that would not break the strand or else, I would have “crooked” hair.

I stopped rebonding my hair when my youngest child was born. Robi has curly hair and though people find him cute with it, the question on where he got his curly locks sometimes gets into my nerves.

“He got his hair from my father’s side of the family and oh, my mother was curly-haired, too!” I would often reply. At that time, the effect of the rebonding treatment was still evident on my straight hair.

I realize that my son does not have to pick up that having curly hair is NOT normal in a society that appreciates fair skin and straight hair. He does not have to feel different because his siblings and parents have straight hair. I don’t want him to feel how I felt when as a child, I felt out-of-placed whenever people would say that I looked different from my brother and parents. Children like affiliation and acceptance. If the basis of Robi’s sense of belonging would come from his mother who share the same physical trait with him, then bye-bye hair rebonding!

To those who prefer their hair to be rebonded- it’s your money and your choice. Get a good hair treatment afterwards.

To those who prefer to maintain their curly/wavy locks- try Tresemme! Promise, it’s a very good conditioner for our type of hair.
Bakit Hindi Ako Naging Crush Ng Crush Ko?

August 1, 2013

Life & Love

Ganito ako noon. Noon yun!

Bihira akong magka-crush. Mabibilang sa daliri ang mga taong hinahangaan ko, babae man o lalaki. Dahil bibihira kong maramdaman yung pakiramdam na natataranta, namumula, di makakilos ng normal, mabilis din sa aking bumalik ang mga ala-ala kung bakit nga ba hindi ako naging crush ng crush ko?

Crush Number 1: Grade school ako noon. Hindi ko pa alam kung ano ang crush. Basta natataranta lang ako pag nakikita ko sya. Uso noon ang autograph notebook. Malaking pagkakamali ko nung isulat ko ang initials nya sa tanong na “Who is your crush?” Grabe, kumalat sa classroom. Tinutukso ako palagi dun sa C#1 (crush #1). Naiinis ako sa atensyon ng nakakaalam. Naiinis ako sa sarili ko kung bakit ko nga ba sinulat-sulat pa. Years later, nagkita ulit kami ng di sinasadya. Wala na ang crush ko sa kanya pero hiyang-hiya pa rin ako sa mga pinaggagawa ko nung grade school ako at iyon ay ang aminin sa autograph na sya ang crush ko. Hindi nya naibalik ang paghanga although mabait sya akin that time. Napaka-gentleman, ni hindi nambastos o nagyabang. To answer my own question, hindi nya ako nagustuhan kasi hindi pa fully evolved ang hitsura ko nun. Wala akong dating. Baka natyempuhan pa nya na naka-tsinelas akong pumasok noong bumaha sa amin. Baka natyempuhan pa nya na nag-iiyak ako dahil natalo ako sa tumbang-preso. So yun.

Crush Number 2: High school na ako neto. Nung una, kaasaran ko lang. Dumating ang time, aba, nahihiya na naman ako. Masamang senyales. Pag nako-conscious, it means gusto mong i-please na lagi kang maayos, mabait, cute, funny etc. Pati sya nanibago sa biglang katahimikan ko. “May sakit ka ba?” Grabe, namula ako ng itanong nya yun. Hindi ko syempre masabing “Wala, crush lang kita!” Sa lahat ng crushes ko, sya ang pinaka-nagtagal. Iilan lang ang nakaalam ng “sikreto” ko na yun at hanggang ngayon, wala syang kamalay-malay na minsan sa buhay ko, I admired him from a distance. Naks. Paano ba nya ako magugustuhan noon eh talong-talo ako ng mga schoolmates ko pagdating sa pormahan. Sabi nga ng kaibigan ko na naging kumpare ko years later, “maganda ka pero may mali sa sinusuot mo, may mali sa hairstyle mo. Hindi namin type ang babaeng nagpo-pony tail. Hindi namin type ang masyadong geeky.”

Ngayong matanda na ako, happily married at tapos na sa stage na kilig-kiligan, natatawa na lang ako sa kababawan ko na may pa-emote emote pa noon kung anong mali sa akin at hindi ako nagustuhan ng gusto ko. Eh ngayon, ang naiisip ko, bakit ko nga ba sila nagustuhan eh better naman ang mga dumating na lalaki sa buhay ko after them? Kung ngayon ko ba sila nakilala, may chance ba na magustuhan ko sila? Baka hindi.

Gaya ng friendship, ang crush, hindi mo yan maipipilit. Hindi naman porke gusto mo, gusto ka na rin nya. Kung may criteria ka kung bakit mo sya nagustuhan, malamang, may criteria din sya ng gusto nyang tao na hangaan. Walang personalan. Para sa akin, ang crush, inililihim na lang. Mabilis mawala yan at kung matapat ka sa taong malaki ang ego, lalo mo lang palalakihin ang ego nya na isa na namang tao ang nabighani sa kanya.