The Pride of Philippine Infrastructure?

On Hilary Clinton's first time visit in Asia last year, the media (and I, myself) was quick to note that the Philippines wasn't included in her travel plans. The Philippines, together with South Korea and Japan, has a historic security alliance with the United States, and is the most committed (and one of the oldest) American ally in south east Asia. Clinton, however, visited Indonesia where there existed bumpy times between the two countries. Is the Philippines getting increasingly shunned by Western nations?

The Philippines was once poised to be an Asian power. With a promising economy after the Second World War, the Philippines enjoyed one of the highest rates of GDP growth in the world and was second behind Japan in terms of economic and social development. Things went awry during the time of Ferdinand Marcos when he embezzled public funds, giving them to his cronies or even keeping all of them just for himself, and well, Imelda. As of today, the Philippines, still paying the loans wasted and stolen by Marcos, finds it hard to recover from an economic trough as a result of the first People Power and civil unrest.
Once the richest country in south east Asia, the Philippines has continued to lag behind in developments and has now been overtaken by other SEA nations (We're number four now behind 1. Indonesia 2. Thailand and 3. Malaysia ! Vietnam's next, God!).

There are other countries out there that are more economically important to the U.S. than the Philippines, in this case, Indonesia. So it's no wonder why the U.S. (and other prospective investors) is increasingly shunning the Philippines.

Our government has developed a system of political dynasty, which proved to be a bane rather than a boon. Rampant corruption has never left the Philippine government, and with numerous unresolved government scandals of the Arroyo administration, the image of our government and the nation as well continues to be tainted. We badly need a facelift.

A national facelift can come in a variety of ways. The frequent one we're getting is when Manny Pacquiao wins a fight. But this isn't something Filipinos can benefit from economically, unless Manny donates or invest those millions of dollars in creating businesses and jobs. The other one is infrastructure development, and this is the major facelift we need.

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) has just recently begun construction of the Manila Bay Tourism City. This is the Philippines' take on the casino fever that is currently sweeping the world.

Park amenities include:

• The so-called Manila Eye – A Ferris wheel larger than the London eye
• A large performing arts stadium
• An Oceanarium larger than that in Rizal Park (I'm tired of Oceanariums! Scrap this please)
• Universal Studios theme park (Please, don't change this into a Super-Inggo/ Pinoy styled theme park)
• Museums (Yahoo!)
• Kidzania (have no idea what's so special about this, aside from it's a kiddie theme park)
• Large theaters
• Various five to seven stars residences
• World class hospitals (May world class doctors naman kaya? Haha. Sorry)
• Casinos
• Sports Complex
• A high speed train that will connect the Tourism City to the Philippine International Airport

Various amenities right, but the center of attraction is the proposed 2,182 ft (665 meters) Pagcor tower that will be the second tallest structure in the world (The name sucks - ang baho. Can't the name be replaced with a famous Filipino hero?).

I have been told that Pagcor tower may not be included in the overall project, but I'm still keeping my fingers crossed because if they don't include it, there will not be something of a luring aspect to the Tourism City and the project will be seen as something very ordinary.

The Manila Bay Tourism City aims to compete with gaming Meccas such as those in Las Vegas, Macau and Singapore. It will provide 225,000 new jobs and opportunities to Filipinos and will generate US$ 6 billion dollars in revenue. The project is worth US $15 billion and will be completely developed in 10 years with three phases. I've heard that phase two has just started, but I haven't seen any recent construction pictures near the Manila Bay area on the internet.

This could be the "it" facelift the Philippines need. With all the promises of the project Pagcor had said, this again arouses the Filipino's yearning of a better life and a better country. I am hoping that this won't become yet another politician's promise, which ALWAYS just end up being pinned on their ever expanding to-do lists. This project could bring the Philippines back again as the leader in south east Asia, or even better, bring back the good old days when we belonged to the list of the wealthiest countries in the world. Let's not let our hopes down and continue to aspire for a better Philippines.

More references:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pagcor_City

Missing Out on a Backyard Sport

The sport I play is not popular. It involves a racket and a shuttle – Badminton. I am so good at it that I once made it to the JVC open badminton competition and I was like the lead player in our varsity back in my early years in high school. There are virtually no badminton aficionados here in the U.S. Oh actually, there are some…in the backyard.

Badminton is considered a backyard sport in the United States. People do not play it as much as they play football, baseball, and basketball. The most easily seen proof that Badminton isn't popular in the States as it is in the Philippines is the lack of professional badminton rackets sold at major sports shops. I remember one time going to a big and popular sports place selling easily bent with colored strings badminton rackets and with a two proudly advertised free plastic shuttles.

My initial reaction was, "Pfft". I can forgive those rackets, but as a pro-player, I can say that you can't ascend to the higher playing levels of Badminton with a plastic birdie.

This is the real thing...

...not this. :P

There are also a few badminton clubs available. The nearest badminton club from my area is still a hefty 30 miles. Back in the good old days of intense Badminton play, we would just drive 12 minutes from our home to the nearest Badminton club and challenge random players inside. The result wasn't just the one you get from a good play, but new friendships made!

Looks fun, huh? hahaha

Badminton is a good substitute for the boring hours of repetitive activities inside the gym. You can never know what may happen in a Badminton play. Because of the swift movement of the shuttlecock in just a small court, you are ought to use fast strategies, brain and body coordination, eye contact, and swift feet. In just an hour, you can burn 420 plus calories depending on the level of play. That may seem low compared to an hour on a treadmill, but you aren't tired yet in just an hour worth of Badminton play. It can get very addicting that it takes typical players 2-4 hours to get fully exhausted. That's 1,680 calories burned in a fun play! In addition, by just playing Badminton, one can increase levels of good cholesterol by 13%, helps in regulating blood pressure, improves cardiorespiratory fitness, helps regulate sugar production, improves mood, and many more!

Badminton has a lot of potential to be considered a national sport in the U.S. It just needs the media's attention. Badminton wasn't made this popular in the Philippines if it weren't because of the media. Fat Filipino celebrities shared their stories to the media on how Badminton brought them back to shape, and it instantly spread like a wildfire to the populace yearning for a fit body. If Badminton can enjoy the same media attention such as the NFL and the NBA do, Americans will soon benefit from playing this basic yet intense sport, even just in their own backyard.

PS: I'm appealing to the major sports brands out there! You could make this the new fad.

America as Builder of Dreams

China has been growing rapid economically. From the disastrous time of the Great Leap Forward to its 10% annual GDP growth rate, China is now the third largest economy in the world. Just recently, an economist pointed out that by the year 2020, China could overtake the United States as the world's largest economy. Despite the economic boom China is experiencing now, according to the world's standards, it is still considered a poor country. Massive inland migration is happening in China. People are constantly moving from one province to the other in search of jobs, most of them finding one in a factory. Others, on the other hand, seek job and better life opportunities abroad. I happened to meet two of these kinds of people.

China Before

China Now

Can we rebuild our California roads like this one?

I hope Los Angeles can add this to their city.

Their names are Ling Yi Yang and Tong Tong. I do not know where exactly in China they are from. They are cousins in a totally different world. From language, culture, and economic philosophy, the United States and China vary greatly. Imagine these two men with limited English skills living in an entirely different world. How can they cope up with the extreme high school pressure from American public schools, the pressures of being a teenager, the yearning to belong?

This is LingYi. I took this photo from our yearbook using a point and shoot camera, so sorry for the low quality

Ling Yi and Tong, as I used to call them, were high school sophomores the time I met them. They're both 16 years old, and we were in first period math class together. At first, I did not bother to talk to them after I eavesdropped on their conversation one day which was in Chinese. Our math teacher also used to pick on them because they were barely passing the class. I thought they didn't understand English that much and knew only basic conversational skills. But as I came to school waiting for the first period bell to ring, I always saw the two of them sitting together on a bench silent and just observing people. I rarely saw them with other people, and the people they approached were often the 2^nd generation sons and daughters of Chinese American immigrants who could still understand Chinese. I knew it was going to be awkward, but I took the courage to approach them on the bench and introduced myself. To my surprise, they offered me a seat, and from there, the conversations grew from just "How was your weekend?" to how casual best friends talk to each other.

He translated this to me. I now forgot. But I think this says "You are a very nice person" and "Thank you for helping me in our finals"" Chinese translators anyone?

It's so unfortunate that I forgot what these Chinese characters translate into. It would really help me if someone could translate this for me to remember

The bottom part of LingYi's message to me, and his name in Chinese.

There was a day in school when the bell rang 10 minutes late and our math teacher did not come and the substitute she asked for did not come as well. Our class was the only one roaming outside the classroom building. Our classroom was in the part of our campus not frequently visited by the admin and the custodians so no adult took care of us. No one in the class took initiative to ask for a substitute teacher in the admin office, and I did not too because I thought I needed to have a break from all the confusing problem solving and tiresome math lectures. I had just stayed with Ling Yi and Tong and we talked. It was also this day when I asked them about living their lives in the States.

I asked them random things, really. I asked them which do they like better, China or the States. They said they like both countries, but in particular they mentioned about the leniency of education here and how information is not firewalled like the Great Firewall of China. They have visited websites they haven't previously before and enjoy freedom using the internet. I also asked them about the Tank Man, from the Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989.

They didn't get the Tank Man part since it is a slang, but I asked them whether they know anything about the bloody events in Tiananmen Square. They didn't get it at first since I pronounced "Tiananmen" like how everybody else in America would, but it sank down to them soon after and said they were told that it was just a student protest and they knew little about it. I asked about the killings, and they said they don't really know, shrugging as they told me that. However, I asked them one question that really caught my attention.

What brought them here?

When I first asked this question, they both looked and stared at each other, which to me seemed they were figuring out how to answer the question. They simply said that they wanted to finish their studies in the States. I, for some reason, was not contented with their answer so I threw a slew of questions at them which they casually answered yet in a detailed way. They could just simply finish their studies in China and have far better grades in their classes since everything is in their language. In addition, studying in their own country would be so much more fun than in here, where they have been lonely and most of the time talked to just themselves. So I asked for the reason, why not just finish their studies in China?

They explained their reasons and they were as clear as glass, but they did not come to me early. China has a billion people, they told me. Competition for professional jobs is very intense. Competition in university admissions seems just really reserved for the best students since universities can't admit more than they only could even if they want to. Ling Yi and Tong were serious in tone when they were telling me this. Despite loneliness, sadness, the 180 school days of them withstanding high school peer pressure, and living their teenage life in a foreign country, they said they were building the foundation of their future in the United States and will go back to China. They said to come, to work and to live here in the United States is one of the things most Chinese people aim to do. Furthermore, they told me that an American high school and college diploma have a "mysterious" (and that was the word they used) appeal to Chinese employers, giving preference to people who have them. How lucky they are I guess, given the small quotas the U.S. government is setting up against immigrants and students who want to study here.

Then it irritates me that even though they have the money and access to government financial aid programs, there are still many Americans not going to college just because of the lame reason that they believe they won't be able to handle academic loads in their minds any longer . Back in the Philippines, my home country, all of the people (and I mean "ALL") I know who graduated this year is in a university or a college by the time I finish typing this sentence. We believe education is the key towards having a comfortable life, and also education is the only thing in the world that people can't take away from you – a priceless treasure that you can keep for yourself. The only major reason Filipinos do not go to college is financial aid not made accessible by the government because of the extremely low budget of the department of education and rampant corruption.

I wish I could tell this to the immigration guys:

Allow bright students from the third world countries to study here in the States. Allocate a portion from the humongous defense budget to international students (and even to poor American families) who promise to just finish their studies here and would return to their home country. Push for the Dream Act so that bright illegal alien students can be free. Put the cost of the tuition for international students at an affordable rate, if not the same as to the ones who are residents. I want to say Thank You for not letting this Mexican college boy who made it to Harvard be deported back to Mexico for staying here illegally.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAhaFPlEVRU&feature=related]

http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpp/news/local/harvard-student-eric-balderas-will-not-be-deported-20100619

I know that these things I am hoping for can't be granted in just a wink of an eye, but by doing these things, I believe the United States is helping the world become a far better place to live in.

Last Day in High School Surprise

Can you still remember your last day in high school – the emotions, the events, whatever happened that day? You must have felt really sad because of the thought that you weren't going to see your buddies anymore, after being with them for four years or even more. But what about those people who do not have a permanent home, those who move constantly, those who transferred from one high school to the other on their senior year? What did they feel on their last day in high school?

I have met people like them in my school, where people constantly move from one state to the other in search of stability and contentedness in life. Allow yourself to imagine that you are me just for this time. Imagine yourself going to school. You sit on a nearby bench and you are just observing people around the vast quad. While waiting for the bell to ring, you observe and see people who look lost, some of them walking with straight faces looking composed, others are just sitting on a bench just like you.

Not my photograph.

You do this every morning waiting for the first period bell. You see the same people standing by the door waiting for the bell to ring, the same Asian girl sitting on the bench reading a book, the same Latino who is texting, the same tall white guy who looks lost but is apparently trying to look as composed as he can. You are not wondering why you see them almost always like this every morning hanging out on their usual spots, as you have the same situation like theirs – new in a big school, on their senior year. They hang out in each of their usual spots because they have become comfortable with it. You have, too, from your very first day to sit on that bench, observing people with their friends, laughing and talking about their day as if there's no tomorrow. Of course, you felt envious. You wish you had been with your friends back in your old school, laughing with them, talking about your day. But that could never happen now, because you are in reality. As the months pass, you got to know the people you observed. Just as I thought, we all have the same sentiment – what's the worth of making friends with everybody? It is the last year in high school. As much as you wanted to make friends with the other seniors or the people around, you have no time to catch up with their 13 years of friendship experiences together as a group, or as a clique, or as a decathlon team, or even as a gang. It is as if they are in a car fit for just say five people, and as much as they are calling you to hop inside with them to join the fun ride, you feel you don't want to go because squeezing in a 6th person or sitting on someone else's lap is going to be uncomfortable. And it
could spoil the otherwise fun ride because everyone is making adjustments for you to be comfortable with them inside. So why bother, right?

Not my photograph

Taking you out from me now, my case is a little bit different from those new seniors I met. They are from America, born and raised here, while I was not. I emigrated together with my family here two years ago, and the adjustment processes were painful. I have already attended two high schools in two years of my stay here. How uncomfortable. So I was not just adjusting to the school, I was still adjusting to the culture in the U.S. as well. I did not join any clubs because for some reason I had become apathetic. However, as the final day approached, something surprised me, and it was one big surprise I could never forget in my entire life.

It was the final week. Every senior was preparing for their finals, while others just do not care and can't wait to get out of high school. I felt like those people, too. I wanted to start anew in college.

But when the very last day was coming, I felt inexplicably sad to the point that I wrote parting letters to some people.

She told me she almost tear up when she finished reading it.

I had the hug of my life from this girl.

I had the hug of my life from this girl.

Then we took our picture, May 21,2010

Then we took our picture, May 21,2010

They were not farewell letters a friend would tell a friend if they have been in school together for 13 years, but a letter telling them my thanks for making the effort of befriending a new guy in school – me. And that effort was fantastical. It's because even though the car was made to fit only five people, another space was magically created for me to sit comfortably with them and join the fun ride. Magic happens inexplicably; I felt comfortable with their presence for some reason I could not explain.

I also felt sad because even though I had not talked much to my teachers, just the thought of parting with the last set of high school teachers who increased my knowledge and contributed to my being a whole lot made me sentimental, to the point that I asked for their pictures with me.

Monsieur Arigan, once a college professor at University of Southern California, not just teaches his students French, but to acquire it.

I will be forever thankful to this highly respectable man. Merci monsieur pour l'année scolaire memorable.

Caption: She made me love math, a thing I thought I would never learn to do until I met her

This surprised me. On my very first day in Rancho High, I thought that I wasn't going to miss high school.

Now, wow, I am going to miss it. Even though I have been sad for most of my last school year, didn't join any clubs, didn't have that much friends and only acquaintances, they have become part of my life that I will forever cherish and experiences I would be able to look back on while sitting on my rocking chair at the porch after 70 years and telling them to my future grandchildren (I hope I live that long!). After a bumpy ride on the Last Year Train, I came out refreshed, full of hope, and because of the experiences I have gone through, I have never become readier than I am now to face other challenges ahead, even if it is transferring from one college to the other.

… The good you will do will be forgotten tomorrow,

Do Good Anyway….

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable,

Be Honest And Frank Anyway…

…Give the world the best you have

And you'll get kicked in the teeth,

Give The World The Best You've Got Anyway…

… What you spent years may be destroyed overnight,

Build Anyway…

Excerpts from an ode called

Anyway. it can be found on the wall of a children's home

in Calcutta, India where Mother Teresa served.

A Yellow Promise

A boy from an impoverished area in Manila ties a yellow ribbon to a tree. Extreme heat from the sun and rain have poured on this yellow ribbon. Overtime, the yellow ribbon faded into white. The wind blew it out from where it was tied then it got stuck on a pole, making it look like a white flag – a symbol of lost hope, surrender, hardships and sadness.

The upcoming May 2010 elections is very important for us Filipinos and the Philippines. It will be the mark of what the Philippines will become in another six years. This election may be where the millions of poor Filipinos cling their hopes to get out of impoverished conditions and somehow experience the good side of life before dying. This election is crucial and every vote should be well thought out.

NoyNoy Aquino promises to eradicate corruption. He also claims to be an honest man and with a good morale. To be honest I do not know any of his other programs aside from just "eradicating" corruption. His fiercest rivals and the skeptics always say that NoyNoy received this overwhelming clamor to run for President just because of the mournful emotions that came out from the death of his mom and the large influence that his sister Kris has on the masses, which accounts for the greatest slice of the voting pie. It is true, and he admitted to it.

NoyNoy may be just offering the same good old promises told by the other presidents most of which up to now cannot be felt by us Filipinos, or at least the poorest of us. However, isn't NoyNoy all the more pressured to fulfill his promises because he carries the ever-so influential "Aquino" surname? Is NoyNoy not putting his father's name, heroic deeds and the promise of a better Philippines in jeopardy if he is not sure about running for the highest seat, like what most of his detractors are saying? I think NoyNoy is smart enough to know all the risk entailed by his candidature to be stupid, corrupt and heartless if he wins. I know he is feeling the pressure as well. He has his name to maintain clean.

Having track records are worthless compared to not having any allegations of corruption in the past. Saying "Nanggaling ako sa hirap!" (I came from the poor!) is even more worthless a proof of being capable of running the country. Someone who has been convicted of plunder and who said he'll not run again for presidency but doing otherwise already shows a clear sign of dishonesty.

You may have heard or read many information that may have caused you to think twice on voting NoyNoy or his ability to run the country. Nevertheless, let's give him a chance. He can't do all he promises overnight, but he may be able to fulfill them faster with our support and letting go of all the biases we have towards our fellow Filipinos and become one, united citizens under one goal – to rebuild our country abused by politicos lured by the promise of holding the presidency and the destructive power of money.

Let us not a raise a white flag on our country. There is and will always be hope for the better. If for some reason you feel tired because of all the political ruckus that have been going on for years, try to side with the "man" who holds the yellow flag and let its bright tint fill you with the heat of hope, as how the yellow sun does when it rises in the morning.

Twilight and Washington

Tall trees and lush greeneries met my vision when I woke up. They were far from the often brown mountains and foothills I used to see in my hometown. Gloomy rain clouds also blanketed the blue sky I once knew. These sights were all new to me, and as much as I didn't want to let go of them, one exceptionally bizarre thing caught my attention. It couldn't be a bird because it didn't fly smoothly. It could be a frog, but no frog can be that big to go hopping on tree branches that stood 300 feet from the ground. It stopped for a moment on a branch near enough so I could focus my eyes on it. It was a man, carrying a beautiful brunette girl piggyback. These were all surreal, and I told myself this could not be happening. He was impossibly fast and strong. What kind of guy can carry a girl piggyback hopping on trees at highway speeds? He must be something. Up above, the dark nimbus clouds was giving way to a slit of sunlight. The sunrays shone on me and to those two strange creatures. And what added more to my piling uncanny feelings was the man's chest glittering as the sunrays shone on him, like what a person would see from a shore when he/she stares at the ocean water reflecting the sunlight. The girl's cheek was pressed on the man's glittering back and feeling its warmth, while giving a smile that seemed to me that she's just really happy to be with him. Her hands were also wrapped around the man's chest. As green shone on the traffic lights, our car sped off to the freeway and these two strange yet amiable creatures suddenly vanished.

Fail. I was never a fan of the Twilight saga. I was just swept by the fad and current of teenage pressure to keep up with what's in, and so I decided to give the first book a shot (and this was two years ago). As with any other books I have read, no matter how boring they were, I didn't close and turned it down. I finished it! I…liked it, but it felt too girly and awkward for me so I didn't bother reading the next books (Talk about a guy's pride. Hahaha.). But I wouldn't get any more technical about Twilight. Excerpts from Bella's lines translated to my perspective on the first paragraph were enough to show how engaged I had been while reading the first book.

To keep with the Twilight tone of this post, my family and I just came home from Washington, the state where the setting of the book is. We stayed there for a week. As I have mentioned on the first paragraph, tall trees and vast expanses of green surrounded us as a result of frequent rain in the state of Washington. I felt excited as it has been already two years since I saw and felt the relaxing gloominess of rain clouds. It is often sunny and warm in Southern California, so a week in Washington felt like we were back home in the Philippines, where in this time of the year is the rainy season. However, I felt disappointed because they were just simply dark clouds. No rain poured, and sunlight was still penetrating the clouds. I thought I would be having a break from the hot California summer sun. Via car, it took us one day and a half to reach Washington, 1,171 miles from our home in California.

This field is wide and even greener in personal

The trees and these greeneries smell so good you feel paradise

This may look like the grass on our lawn, but these are actually trees that are hundreds of feet on the mountain.

Every Twilight fan knows that this romantic novel was set first in Forks, a city 140 miles from Seattle. We didn't get to go to Forks because we only had one driver, our ever so industrious dad. We didn't want him to drive an additional three hours, so we contented ourselves in Seattle.

I felt as if I was living in the 1960s while we were in Seattle. Nicely preserved centuries old building standed out from the modern day skyscrapers. For some reason I felt safe in Seattle, unlike when I went to downtown Los Angeles, where street walls were full of unwanted graffiti, a sign of gang presence. Some streets and sidewalks have tiled pavements, which felt different when we walked on it, since almost all of the sidewalks in the world are just cement. We went to the Space Needle, a tower I used to just see in postcard stands. We saw spectacular views of the Seattle skyline from up above the tower. The preserved Seattle underground city gave us a glimpse of life in the late 1800s.

Not our photograph...

underneath the space needle!

View of the Seattle skyline from the top of the Space Needle

Various views from the Space Needle

Old Seattle - it really felt good to be here!

My sister and I pose near a big, chess, city decoration...and you can actually move the pieces. haha.

One of Seattle's street performers. I wish there's one in Manila.

At probably the most famous market in the world, Pike Place Market

A performer at Pike Place - he's actually pretty good a huge crowd gathered around him.

Entrance of the underground Seattle tour

Crap. They literally called this a crapper (and the contents of this centuries old toilet), so I'm not in any way cussing here. Haha.

Imagine a WOODEN pipe installed on your home. haha. This was the late 1800s pipe.

A random passageway

Old brick buildings! yay!

The trip to Washington was tiring, but definitely worth it because of the scenic byways and many geologic features that one could not see in the cities and suburbs. As we headed down the I5, we made a quick stop at Mt. Saint Helens, where one of the largest eruptions in the world took place, and where we also learned about a man named Harry Truman (not the president) refused to leave moments before the eruption because of his genuine love of the mountain. You know, in the many American national parks I have been to, I could just really conclude that we humans need at least a month long (hopefully paid) vacation with nature. Studies show that just seeing beautiful ranges of mountains helps to relax our minds and bodies. This could boost productivity in the workplace, thus more profit for the company!

Hoffstadt Creek Bridge - a bridge we passed on the way to Mt. Saint Helens

Isn't this just gorgeous?

Smells so good!

As with how our many travels end, we stopped by the souvenir store to purchase a magnet, showing a miniature picture with the words Washington PLUS, a cup of coffee at Seattle's Best (tasted so original. Haha.).

So we've been all over this place. I wish to add more!

credits to my sister for the photographs.