Sometimes...

We need to die a little to live longer, better.

We need to fall to rise up again.

We need to stop in order to continue.

We need to make mistakes to learn.

We sorrow to feel the sweetness of joy.

We need to cry so we can later smile.

We need to shout to break a silence.

We need to silent ourselves to be heard.

Sometimes, we need Ondoy to make us realize that...

there is something far greater than all of us;

we, Filipinos, are very much capable of uniting together for a cause;

there's a hero within us all;

there's hope;

there's always a tomorrow;


rains revisit;

there will always be another storm;

there's always a next Ondoy waiting to happen.

We need to learn.

(Arab News, a daily English newspaper in Saudi Arabia, carried today an editorial about Ondoy's wrath. In part, it reads: "...Philippines has made it clear that it cannot cope with a disaster...The world must be generous. Saudi Arabia in particular must be generous. It has special reason to be so. This country would not be where it is today without the contributions over the years from millions of Filipinos. Plumbers, electricians, drivers, secretaries, office managers, mechanics, accountants — the list of jobs that Filipinos have filled and continue to fill is endless. Where would the Kingdom’s hospitals be without the army of Filipino nurses who are the backbone of the service? It does not bear thinking about."

Full article here.

PEBA and KABLOGS enjoin volunteers and organizations in the relief efforts for those affected by Ondoy especially the urban poor relocatees in Kasiglahan Village in Montalban Rizal. "The sky is downcast right now in the Philippines and another typhoon is expected", according to Pete Rahon, PEBA Manila Coordinator. It will surely hamper relief operations and the more we should quicken our assistance for our fellow kabayans.

Our own PEBA Adviser Noemi L Dado's family was stranded in the second floor of their Kasiglahan Village house without food and water.

We, hence, need your assistance in any form.

For more information on how you can help, please call the following:

Pete at (632) 920-2595 local 107
Beth at (632) 922-0246 / 927 -0794

or email the following: peba09@gmail.com and kablogs123@gmail.com.


In another effort, Migrante Middle East has opened its doors in accepting your help for the victims of Typhoon Ondoy.

OFWs in Saudi can contact Kapatiran sa Gitnang Silangan (KGS, Brotherhood in the Middle East) via the following numbers:

Riyadh
Eric Jocson (0531822766)
Mike Garlan (050562989930)

Alkhobar
Choie De Leon (0569117563)
Gerry de Guzman (0507373906)

Jeddah
Bob Fajarit (050502745340).

For your UAE support and Donations you can call MIGRANTE-UAE coordinators:

Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman
Nhel 0504238851

Abu Dhabi
Bhel 0502375106 / Bhoy 0501341465

RAK
Noel 0503724778

For Filipinos in other countries in the Middle East, they may contact John Leonard Monterona via phone number 00966 564978012 or email migranteme@gmail.com or via Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/people/John-Leonard-Monterona/1297246521.

Migrante accepts used cloths, blankets, any foods that will not spoil immediately, medicine, cash, etc.

This post is off for comments. Please redirect your messages to PEBA, Kablogs and Migrante Saudi Arabia sites. Some information were sourced from Philippine Daily Inquirer and Migrante Saudi websites.

Late last night, I had trouble sleeping. It was the last of my very long Eid vacation and I'm supposed to have gone to bed early. But no, I didn't. Instead, I'm nursing this Eid cough which I thought is already gone. And as if to taunt me, I saw a rerun of Criminal Minds with the opening line: "Elbert Hubbard said no man needs a vacation so much as the person who has just had one."

Ggrrrr....

So what became of my Eid? Except perhaps for that pesto pasta that I planned cooking and much lesser of those movies that I planned watching, I was practically right when I second-guessed what my Eid will be: boring. And unhealthy.

I met two old friends and we stayed up until wee hour in the morning catching up with stories about a lot of personal things; mostly nothing. The next day we woke up early and cooked cholesterol-laden fried fish with inihaw na talong and bagoong.

With another set of friends, we attended an alcohol-free beach party until two in the morning. (When I say alcohol-free, I didn't mean free alcohols; I mean, without a single drop of alcohol. So just imagine how boring the party was). There's a lot of glib talking and cigarettes and card games but practically nothing else which (or no one else who) could have prevented me from going home early.

Wednesday last week, Corniche in Alkhobar was lit with fireworks which I tremendously enjoyed. I was literally jumping with joy like a kid as I admire the beautiful (I think, China-made?) fireworks which lasted for fifteen minutes. A friend muttered: mukha kang tanga! I said: hey, you gotta enjoy these things because they happen only once a year.

Anna's Apple of My Eyes have some wonderful photos of the Corniche fireworks if you want to see them.

So that's what my Eid was. Today is my first day of work and I have a lot of catching up to do. Like a new post for my blog. (Grins sheepishly). Hehe.

Seriously, if I were to believe Morris Fishbein, I think I still need a longer vacation (and better vacation activities) because I'm not yearning yet for work.

More seriously, I've got to stop this. I'm here in Saudi to work, not to waste time. I need to re-channel my current state to a more pro-active tune...(as if I know how!).

I leave you with the following photos of what happened in Alkhobar last Wednesday during the celebration of Saudi Arabia Day. Full news here. I'm glad I stayed home after watching the fireworks display at Corniche.





(These photos were circulated via email. I tried googling who Sultan Al Sharqiah is for credits but was unsuccessful, hence, I linked the photos to the Arab News report).

I self-nominated my blog at Philippine Blog Awards and I luckily landed as one of the finalists.

That's the gloating part.

I was hoping to see other Kablogs in the list like The Pink Tarha, Ed's Sandbox, Azel's Panunumbalik, Wits and Nuts, RJ's Chook-minder's Quill, NJ's Desert Aquaforce, etc because I honestly believe they deserve to be there more than I. (And by 'etc' I mean practically all those OFW blogs listed in my Blogroll).

That's the sad part. I don't think they need validation as much as I did.

The afraid part is that, like in Oscar's, most who won the Best Actress trophies (okay, the comparison is sooo way off but that's the closest thing I can think of right now), end up without a decent follow-up movie. Not that I am sure of winning because I gauged my co-finalists as better written, more OFW-ish in subject than mine but if in case I do (God forbid), I pray that my blog doesn't suffer the same fate as the Oscar's best actress winners. (Okay...this qualifies as partly afraid and partly gloating!).

Finally, I'm glad to see Pope's Palipasan, Baul ni Noel, Tambay sa Dubai and (sorry for missing you, Rey, when I first posted this) Rey Asis' As Is as among the OFW finalists and Ever's Pamatay Homesick too as a finalist in another category. Way to go Mideast OFWs! Way to go Kablogs!

In bed.

I think I know how I'm going to spend my Eid holidays in Saudi.

With a cough.

Just arrived from Riyadh at 3 in the morning and I'm totally exhausted. Still had to go to the office to tidy things up before a long holiday. I literally wanted to doze off while writing this journal. This dry cough is killing me.

Things to do today:

1. Buy lemon and honey. I heard a hot lemon tea is good for the throat.
2. Plus, sleep early. I needed that. I think this cough is my body's natural in-house MD saying I've gone overboard and exhausted my physical self once again.
3. Plus no blog hopping for 12 hours.

Things to do - Vacation Day 1:

1. Watch movies.
2. Doze off.
3. Blog hop but strictly no goofing around particularly on the layout section of my blog (because it was Eid last year when I accidentally deleted my blog! Realization: I do bad things in my blog during Eid!).

Things to do - Vacation Day 2:

1. Try creating this basil pesto pasta which I first saw from QTV's Secrets of the Masters and tasted last night from Pizza Company in Riyadh. It sure looks easy to make but I'm not just sure where to get pine nuts in Saudi. Will try Tamimi Market.
2. Watch tv.

Things to do - Vacation Day 3:

1. Play mahjong with friends. Don't worry, it's literally for fun because whatever amount we win, we spend in eating out after the game.
3. Watch tv.

Things to do - Vacation Day 4:

1. Oh, clean a little. Dust a little. Just to say that I've done something this holiday.
2. Watch movies.

Things to do - Vacation Day 5:

1. Someone's inviting me to a beach birthday party. I'll go and pretend I'm enjoying. But I'll sneak out after an hour so I can...
2. Watch movies.

Things to do - Vacation Day 6:

1. Worry on how unproductive my Eid holiday was.
2. Start planning for activities on the next Eid al Adha holiday (come November).

The photo of 'Old Saudi Door' designed by Salwa Al Hokail is part of Unicef's Eid cards sold throughout Saudi Arabia.

Eid ul Fitr in Saudi caps the (almost) month-long fasting of all Muslims around the world.

Whew! One day short of a full week vacation; we're off from 20 to 25 September! That's how long our vacation is next week when Ramadan formally ends.

It's a bakasyon grande for Filipinos in Saudi (by grande, I mean grand; not grande, the San Mig beer!).

I'm sure most our kabayans will be on the go during this Eid Holiday. Those who are based in Riyadh and Jeddah will travel to the beaches of the Eastern Province (particularly in Alkhobar, Ras Tanura and Jubail). And those in Alkhobar will travel to Riyadh and Jeddah to visit their family and friends.

Piece of advice: Although Eid means "festivity" while Fitr means "charity" doesn't mean the mutawwa (the religious police in Saudi) will be laxed in imposing Saudi rules during this period. Be careful, guys: No over-speeding, no drinking, no pork, no illicit datings, no gambling, etc.

Just have a pure clean and fun enjoyment!

Check out Pink Tarha's page for things you can do during this holiday.

Saw Hope Floats by Sandra Bullock. Seen it too many times but can't keep myself from watching it. I particularly liked the last line of the movie.

"Childhood is what you spend the rest of your life trying to overcome. That's what momma always says. She says that beginnings are scary, endings are usually sad, but it's the middle that counts the most. Try to remember that when you find yourself at a new beginning. Just give hope a chance to float up. And it will...

And yes, also saw Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and particularly liked this line:

"Love is magical comfort food for the weak and uneducated."

and this...

"The power in a relationship lies with whoever cares less."

Not that I'm going to use those lines as my new mantra but at my current stage (and just for kicks), I think I will for a few days.

:-) The wisdom of poor kabayan

My housemate had a visitor, an OFW, who narrated to me his sob sorry story about his work, i.e. how small their salary is, how everything is deducted from their meager salary (costs of uniform, housing, ID, iqama, etc), how unjust the management of Al Tazaj is and how cruel their Palestinian supervisor is. I realized:

1. That if a similar thing happens to me, I will not be as patient and resilient as kabayan was. I will kill the Palestinian and flee from Saudi never ever to return. (Of course, it's just a thought! In reality, I will likely take that similar road that kabayan has taken to survive);

2. That real OFW heroes are those whose fates are similar to kabayan above; not I who always find time to emotionally glib-talk my state in Saudi. And not you too who are reading this in the confines of your rooms, cuddling sitsirya and coke, enjoying the cool breeze of your A/C!;

3. That if kabayan can afford to take life easy amidst his sorrows, the more must I when my 'so-called problems' are nowhere near his' (mine is not really a problem; it's only an emo!).

I really felt bad after listening to his story and I told him this. He said: why be sad? That's our fate! But it's sure is going to be over soon! (They're leaving on Exit Only this November). To kabayan, good luck!

:-) Friends can color you yellow from blue

Late Thursday afternoon, went out of the house to get rid of this numbing feeling of being hopeless and blue. Saw some old friends and I realized:

1. I am maybe old (in comparison to you who are reading my blog) but I'm the youngest among my pals (hence, I consider myself young);

2. I have no logic most of the time;

3. Sometimes it's good to lie. Like when a friend asked me yesterday if his pansit is delicious, I said yes and I sensed his satisfaction. (Another friend, some days back, asked me if his banana cake is good and I said it tasted like banana peel. Of course, I'm just kidding. We are not in speaking terms yet up until now).

4. The world is full of good and evil. I was seated in a table with two friends. I told them I haven't been sleeping well for the past two days. Simultaneously they said: "Jack off!" and "Pray".

5. There's no cure for a sad weekend except being with friends who treat you to a halo-halo.

This magnificient oil painting is entitled Understory by Isabella Kirkland.

The painting features dozens of species, from mammals and birds to insects and plants discovered during the last 20 years.

I saw it from Seed Magazine.

What amazed me the most about this painting is that it includes newly-discovered animals from the Philippines: three butterflies (Delias Hedicoea, Delias Noydaorum, Papilio Hermeli), Camiguin hanging parrot, flying lizard, Panay cloudrunner.

If you visit Isabella Kirkland's site, you'll find a scaleable copy of the painting and ID tags of each featured animals (so you can see what a Panay cloudrunner looks like -- it's actually a rat which, for me, looks more like a tarsier!).

After you've marvelled at her work, consider this: we will only know some of them for a short period of time because most of these newly-discovered species will soon be extinct. Says Seed Magazine: "It represents a moment that is likely to be brief: a moment when the euphoria of scientific discovery still outweighs the losses driven by our unrepentantly techno-optimistic culture".

Artwork courtesy of www.art.com

Tired, bulging eyes kept opened by distracting thoughts
Tired, wandering mind kept skipping in ropes of fears
Unpeaceful.

Sins of today play incessantly like an old movie,
Colorless, soundless, and jumping from scene to scene,
Without a pattern.

The body's aching, the heart beating abnormally,
Ears pierced with an echo of warnings coming from within,
The end is near.

Mind if you open the door, Lord, silently says I,
perhaps a prayer would appease my tormented thoughts, and finally
in comes surrender.

Sometimes, in this vast nothingness, sprout a spring
of good memories, of a better tomorrow, of a different you -- and then
sleep of death beckons.

This news from Arab News, a daily newspaper in Saudi Arabia, has the words sad and bad and sorry written all over it. I honestly don't know what to say about this except perhaps this:

--- News below ---

150 Filipinos want to go home
Sultan Altamimi | Arab News
Published on 02 September 2009

HELPLESS: Filipino overstayers and runaway workers take rest in a makeshift camp near the Philippine Consulate in Jeddah on Tuesday. (Photo credits: Adnan Mahdali, Arab News)

JEDDAH: Around 150 Filipino overstayers and runaway workers, including pregnant women, are living and sleeping in makeshift tents made from blankets and plastic sheets on the street in front of the Philippine Consulate in Jeddah.

“They are trying to attract the attention of the police and the Passport Department to be deported to their home country,” said a man who lives close to the consulate in the Al-Faisaliah district of Jeddah close to Serafi Mall. The workers have been there for the past few days, and can be seen begging for money from passersby. “This is an unfortunate situation. We are hoping to resolve it in a timely matter,” said a consulate official.

“These are mostly workers who have run away from their previous employers. Some of them arrived on Umrah visas and then overstayed. We are working with the Saudi deportation authorities to send them back to the Philippines,” he added.

“My iqama expired a long time ago,” said a former decorator who was identified by the rest of the workers as their leader. “I ran away from my former employer in Dammam over a dispute regarding holiday entitlements. I had been working for five months and when I asked for my vacation he refused to give it to me so I left Dammam and came here to the consulate,” he added.

Among the people are pregnant women and some small children playing in the afternoon heat. “There are 150 of us right now. We have given the consulate our papers and complaints showing our demands. We need someone to take us home,” said another Filipino.

The caretaker of a nearby building said he was fed up with the Filipinos sitting close to his building. “They sit here in the shade and leave rubbish. I sympathize with them. There are two pregnant women sitting there by the plant and one lady is carrying a child. It wouldn’t bother us as long as they were to clean up. We also give them food at iftar time,” he added.

--- End of news ---