With the recent natural calamity that stuck Baguio, I am hesitant to greet them a “Happy Baguio Day!” Since I learned last Tuesday about the thrashslide in Irisan dumpsite that killed some residents, I have been worried about the safety of some people that I know who lives in Irisan. Mayor Mauricio Domogan is wise in saying that history will judge how the present (Baguio) government is performing in terms of rescue operation and clearing up. Instead of blaming anyone or getting dramatic, the mayor simply issued a simple statement with a lot of meaning. I know that this recent calamity is no match to the 1990 killer quake that rocked Northern Luzon. Nevertheless, it is still a calamity and nobody would like to see babies and old people sleeping on evacuation centers. I know that just like the old days, Baguio can rise again and rebuild itself for the better.
The Baguio government needs to clear up 15 metric tons of garbage in Irisan dumpsite. Several years back, the same thing happened in Payatas dumpsite where some scavengers were buried alive on mountains of thrash. We have thrash-related floods in Metro Manila, too. Obviously, thrash is a big environmental problem that we must not ignore. What happened in Irisan, Payatas and the flooded streets of Metro Manila is an effect, not the cause. But how do we really get rid of thrash, much more, mountains of thrash?
It’s holiday in Baguio today. I don’t know if big schools there like Saint Louis University, University of Baguio and University of the Cordillera have an outreach program today. These schools have always been charitable but involving their students is a better way to express empathy on those affected by the calamity.
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What’s your local version of M&M? Jack and Jill’s “Nips!” During the 80’s, the packaging was a white sachet with dots representing the colors of the rounded chocolates inside. The chocolates are 10% bigger and rounder then as compared to now. Today, Nips are packed using a blue sachet instead of the original white one. Nips may not be as tasty as M&M but comparing it with some local brands, its cocoa to sugar ratio is fine.
Jack and Jill could have spent much money on the fabrication of new molds, if the existing ones could not be revised. Or maybe, there came a time when the old molds need replacement. Thus, it must be the reason why there seems to be a 10% decrease on the chocolate candy size. Whatever size and whatever price, Nips is still a good alternative to M&M. =)
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I just found out that I am one month on the family way. Mixed emotions. I texted my husband, he must be too busy, he’s not yet replying. I texted my sister-in-law, she replied quickly, excited about the good news. I texted a friend whose wife has just given birth to their second child. I will inform my father about it later in the evening, then my brothers, then my children. I don’t know how Adi will react to the good news. He’s the baby of the family, the beloved, the most special one. I, myself, am confused about my emotions. I always belittle my capabilities as a parent and I always have this thought that raising a child is not my core competency. My husband and I have plans of having another child in a year or two; reading the test pack result stunned me.
Anyways, I decided to document this pregnancy. This is my first month. I feel sleepy most of the time since last week. I feel that my temperature is up sometimes. I feel a dull pain on my lower left abdomen. That’s the weird thing about pregnancies, it will make you lose weight on the first trimester then it will make you gain weight on the second and third trimester. I will stick to my diet plan. I promise NEVER to gain so much weight on this pregnancy.
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Mario: Carla may gusto ka bang sabihin sa akin? I got your email?
Carla: Ha? Ay oo. Na hindi niyo pa ako naiinterview tapos may lumabas na article.
Mario: Natanggap mo ba email ko sa iyo?
Carla: Hindi pa. O sige I’ll read it.
Mario: What I said was, I used to be very fond of you. When you signed up with Regal, I was there. I think I was the first one who wrote a full article on you.
Carla: Yes
Mario: I’d been very supportive of your career from Rosalinda to all others na ginawa mong soaps….basta sa lahat ng ginawa mo sa GMA sinuportahan kita.
Carla: Yes and I’m thankful of that of course.
Mario: No.
Carla: Oo naman.
Mario: No, you never said that. Not once did you acknowledge anything I wrote positive about you.
Carla: No the whole article naman po was very positive. It’s just that you quoted me po well in fact you haven’t interviewed me yet.
Mario: Makinig ka sa akin yung sinasabi mo na hindi kita na-interview, lahat yon nanggaling sa Regal.
Carla: Okay.
Mario: So hindi mo alam ang slant ng Regal para sa pag-promote ng movie.
Carla: Okay.
Mario: MInsan lang akong may naisulat sa iyo na parang di mo nagustuhan, magrereklamo ka?
Carla: Hindi po.
Mario: And all the while I’ve been writing positive things about you, but you never acknowledged it or even said ‘thank you’ kahit minsan.
Carla: Opo.
Mario: Yun naman pala eh.
Carla: Paano ba natin ito aayusin?
Mario: Ang ibig kong sabihin, kapag may nasusulat na maganda sa iyo, wala kang reaction. Mayroon lang akong nasulat na binase ko lang sa press release ng Regal, sinulatan mo agad ako. You even went out of your way to find out my email address, you’ve never done that before.
Carla: Hindi po sa Facebook lang naman yon. Madali lang, well anyway, the point is not that I’m thankful for all your support Sir, pero nakakagulat lang po. I’m sure anybody would react to anything negative.
Mario: Wala akong isinulat na negative sa iyo.
Carla: Opo opo. wala naman akong sinasabing negative yung article.
Mario: Eh yun pala eh, bakit ka nag-react ng ganoon?
Carla: Hindi po. But in all fairness naman po maganda po ang article, inumpisahan niyo na ’3 years ago nandoon ako noong ni launch.’
Mario: Yun pala eh.
Carla: Opo but I hope Sir you will understand lang that I was reacting because I was quoted in the article.
Mario: Carla, I wrote articles about you based on press releases of GMA-7 not once did you complain.
Carla: Because not any of them were untrue. with this one po kasi..
Mario: Ito nga sinasabi ko sa iyo, lumabas na sa ibang column eh.
Carla: Opo, hmm sige po kung ibi-base niyo sa press release ng Regal, well siguro po may problema.
Mario: At saka lumabas na sa columns ng iba eh, bakit ka sa akin magrereklamo?
Carla: Hindi naman po lumabas yon eh, well hindi na lang po ako makikipag-away.
Mario: Hindi naman ako nakikipag-away. Gusto ko lang linawin na ikaw ang dami dami kong sinulat na maganda sa iyo, not once did you acknowledge it. Pero ngayon, may hindi ka nagustuhan bigla kang magrereklamo ng ganyan.
Carla: O sige po, ok lang po yon.
Mario: Alam mo, kumpara kay Lovi Poe na talagang when you write something about her, she acknowledges it, she thanks you, wala akong masasabi, she has more manners than you.
Carla: Ok, siguro po I think I will just finish this by apologizing. Kung kayo po ay na-offend, in a way, ako din po. I was just reacting because na-misquote po ako. I hope that you will understand me coming from my end po kung bakit ako nag-re-react. It was not my intention to make you feel bad, never po. Sana po ay maayos natin kung ano ang nangyari at bakit umabot sa ganitong point. So sorry po if you feel bad, sorry if you feel I’m not thankful I am po very much thankful for all your support for all the good articles you’ve written about me, maraming salamat po and I’m really sorry if I offended you in any way.
Mario: Okay, but I just wish you would re-read what you’ve written me because you are telling me what to write in my column. You even made a threat against me. Basahin mo ang column ko, ang sabi mo ‘if you are not going to issue an erratum’ which is not the right word. What you want is a retraction, which I will never do because I based it yun sa ano ng Regal, basahin mo nga yung letter mo.
Carla: Hindi po, ayusin po natin yan after ng press con para po malinawan po tayo. Pero I’m sorry po, I’m sorry.
Source: http://usnewslasvegas.asia/entertainment/veteran-columnist-scores-carla-abellana/Is this just a promo for Regal’s latest movie, “My Neighbor’s Wife?” I don’t think so. Why will Regal “sacrifice” Carla Abella just for the promo when Lovi Poe is the more controversial actress? Unless Mother Lily favors Carla the most among the four stars, she can “fabricate” this controversy to create noise on Carla’s image. Carla has always been portrayed as sweet and intellectual, maybe it’s time for her to be daring and unpredictable to make her more exciting. The last spicy thing that she said before the press was when she said that although she and Marian Rivera both came from DLSU, she graduated with honors. But that was forgivable. She was launched in Rosalinda and the rest is history.
Patulan ko ba ang awayang to? Wala lang. I just think that both parties have shortcomings.
1. According to Carla, the things that she supposedly said on Mario B’s column were not hers. Later on, she will find out that those were supposed to be promotional materials from Regal Films. Had Carla called up Mario to discuss about the article, she would have known where Mario’s words came from. Sometimes, it’s better to talk to the person rather than write an email. Emails are subjective unless you write about figures (money, statistics etc) Words that are okay with the sender might not be okay with the receiver.
2. Should Carla be grateful for all the positive write ups that Mario wrote for her in the past. Yes. I think Mario was more hurt than angry because Carla seemed to disregard all the positive write ups that he did for her in the past. But Mario went overboard when he compared Carla with Lovi in terms of who has better manners? The issue is between he and Carla and a single incident of ungratefulness does not mean that Carla has lesser manners than anybody else.
3. I wonder why Mother Lily did not interrupt the press con when it was obvious that the veteran one would not stop until he voiced out his concerns. Unless this is a promo for the movie, then why bother to interrupt the exchange of emotional words?It wouldn’t surely take long and this feud would end. After all, as they always say, showbiz is just a small industry.
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Two of my favorite dishes are sinigang na hipon/baka/baboy and nilagang baka/baboy. We seldom cook beef so beef steak and nilagang baka are considered special dishes. (The mini-market near our house does not sell beef, we buy beef from the supermarket) Cooking in our house is alternatively done by my husband and I. Call it regional differences but we sometimes have small arguments about how a dish is supposed to be cooked. Do you put ginger on nilagang baka? We don’t do it in Bataan. Do you put saging na saba on sinigang? The taste would be weird! Do you put tomato on nilaga? Ah, that would appear to be meztisang sinigang! One thing that I notice about Visayans are their simple taste in food. They don’t prefer foods with a lot of spices and ingredients. They would rather eat sinigang sa sampalok na isda instead of afritada or menudo. Okay, maybe this only applies to the Visayans that I’ve met.
Going back to cooking nilaga and sinigang, I still prefer my nilaga with corn kernels, stringbeans and cabbage. My sinigang should have lady finger, kangkong and eggplant. Minor things like what ingredients must be put on the dish should be discussed by couples of different regional background because eating together should be harmonious.
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Have you ever experienced that feeling when you think that you are acting not your usual self? I’ve been on the fighting mood since middle of last week. Something snapped in me when a co-worker disregarded me in one of our activities. I felt used and abused and powerless. I wouldn’t mind being disregarded had it been the first, second or even third time. But this person has a habit of treating everyone below him as thrash; I hate it. Things were not okay at the province, too; some family issues. I hate it when relatives fight with one another. I hate it even more when their judgment is clouded by emotions and pride. My toddler’s nanny got into my nerves last week. She just couldn’t get it why SECURITY was very important to me; she had a habit of leaving the door unlocked. Worse, my husband did not get it why I was upset at the nanny! The nanny had a habit of using my personal things which I found disrespectful. My husband did not make a big deal out of it and it just fueled my emotions against the nanny.
I assessed myself and discovered that I’ve always concealed my emotions in the past. That is why when I couldn’t take it, I tend to explode and turn nasty. I realize that I have the right to voice out my concerns when I am still at the “cool” stage rather than tolerate the intolerable and explode later. I had this feeling in 2009 after my mother’s death. I felt that the world was so unfair and unkind.
Life is a cycle and so are emotions. I’d like to learn how to manage my high tides and low tides.
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Adi’s toy cabinet needs some good housekeeping or 5S. Some of his toys are broken but can be repaired, some needs to be thrown away and some needs a new owner. Most of his toys last year were birthday gifts when he turned one while the most recent ones were bought by his loving parents. Adi has a collection of books, too. Some were given by his cousin Kai while most were bought by his loving parents. At two years old, he has a CD collection of nursery rhymes, Sesame Street and cartoons. I’d like to justify our generosity to our toddler but at the back of my mind, too much exposure to material things might result to Adi being a spoiled brat. He might think that things are easily taken without working hard for it as long as his parents are there. He might think that it’s okay to break toys because new ones can easily be bought by his parents.
Having a toddler as bubbly and handsome as Adi will melt any parents heart. But I don’t want to raise a spoiled brat. I have the obligation to raise him and teach him positive values like contentment and gratitude.
The World of Second Chances 