After Mumbai Attacks, Indians Turn to Twitter
Posted: 2008-11-29

“As fierce fighting continued between soldiers and those behind this week’s attacks in India’s southern port city of Mumbai, so did the frenzy of Twitter messages complaining about how media were covering the event.

Twitter is a highly popular micro-blogging site, which boasts a membership of 6 million worldwide. Messages can either be sent online or via SMS, providing the faster sending, uploading and exchange of information.

Among the most popular posts by Twitter users is how reporters from the mainstream media, both foreign and local, were putting lives in danger by revealing on air vital and sensitive information about planned military operations against the attackers holed up in the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels. “These idiots on CNN-IBN relaying now that the commandos are combing the 3rd floor. Stop it!.” said an exasperated Tweeter with the username nishant842…”

Read the rest here.

ok, i slept at 4 am and now i’m already alive at 8:30 am. i seriously lack sleep because of that friggin’ book, about a girl falling desperately in love with a handsome vampire.

i read it because i’m supposed to accompany my best friend to see twilight, probably next week when she comes to manila. so i got the ebook from my cousin and read it so i won’t get lost when i watch the movie adaptation.

it was like reading sweet dreams all over again, only with vampires and a lot of kissing and hugging. i thought i would feel so kilig with it because edward cullen (the vampire) is mushy in his brooding, sweet and sensitive way. strangely though i didn’t feel as giddy as my bestfriend probably because edward was too mushy na for my taste. if i could re-write twilight, i’ll probably cut the mushy moments because it was too long.

but if i do that, millions of people would burn me at the stakes, just like what they used to do to suspected vampires and witches.

or probably i have grown up.

hindi rin eh. i read fantasy for young adult fiction now (diana wynne jones et al) so i can’t say i’ve grown up. probably i just have a more realistic view of men in general and i know they are not edward cullen. as i’ve been saying to my cousin through YM, edward cullen is clearly a male created by a female writer who could not exist in this plane, in this universe (excluding the fact that he’s a vampire who does not kill people).

as one you tube commenter said: “its makes me mad that the most perfect guy in the world only exists inside of a book…”  

ok, i’m talking with my sister now through YM. she tells me i’m just a cynic kaya di ako kinikilig katulad ng pagkakilig ng mga friends namin. and also through YM, scribbledbabbling told me that it’s difficult not to be a cynic with my work, my environment.

should i go back and try to read old sweet dreams to get my kilig back? i think i’ll watch love letter by shunji iwai first. what’s wrong with me?

–
update: i guess nothing is wrong with me. another colleague (who is not in the same league) said the book(s) is like the fantasies of a housewife…

that was kinda harsh but it’s somewhat true. i had trouble with reading through the books (still halfway with the second since i got tired of it) and i wanted to edit and rewrite them. but then, i should not expect too much from a book(s) that is aimed at tweens and teens. great prose doesn’t come that way that often. LOTR is a heavy read for them but then that’s good literature…i read the the 4 books (including silmarillon) during christmas break every year.

but i have to admit i read the vampire books to see how it will end, how the author will tie it up. closure ba. just like with the dan brown books, it’s not great writing but the premise is intriguing enough for me to finish it.

the problem with me these days is that i haven’t read any good books lately, by those authors that can make the english language dance, if you know what i mean. i need those to keep me from being mechanical in my writing. my steady diet of pulp fiction is not helping me at all. but then i tend to avoid books that make me think because i am already exhausted at the end of the day and all i want to do is escape.

so i’m stuck with young adult books. hahaha.

since i’m confined at home today (my gastritis is a blessing in disguise), i am now able to post my long-delayed entry about balaw-balaw restaurant in angono, rizal. we went there two months ago when i was still on leave.

masks in the dining area

they serve traditional, cholesterol-rich pinoy fare at reasonable prices. it’s an art gallery-cum-restaurant and the place feels like i’m back in laguna.

dona who?

this guy reminds me of mike arroyo


sculpture of the higantes

Other Half has been bugging me for a whole year about eating in balaw-balaw. he has been telling me that it’s just practically at our backyard since cainta is not that far from angono. all we had to do was exit from the farthest gate of our subdivision (which was already situated in the town of tanay).

with my parents-in-law, we bundled up in our 13-year old lancer and away we went to this famed balaw-balaw restaurant.

if you grew up in the city, you’ll be fascinated with the place. but i have lived in laguna for most of my life so the place was not that impressive for me since 1) my side of the family often dine in palaisdaan, a restaurant next to our town where diners eat under huts floating on huge fish ponds. the food is similar to what balaw-balaw offers; 2) the art and handicrafts in balaw-balaw is similar to what i see in paete, liliw, etc.; and 3) the ambience is like that of any laguna restaurant offering native foods.

i can’t give you directions on how to get to balaw-balaw since i was just a passenger then. when you reach angono, just ask around town how to get there.

was rushed again to the hospital yesterday afternoon, this time in my hometown. and this time i was diagnosed properly (curse you, medical city!). total damage? P300 only. that’s for the medicine injected into me and the other medicines shoved into my mouth. the rest (service) was free because i am still a UP student, ergo, i am still entitled to the free medical services the university offers to its constituents.

anyway, the ER attending physician was my ate’s highschool classmate and my mom’s student who is now finishing her thesis for her master’s degree in UP-PGH, so i guess i was in good hands. she only had to get my clinical history and do occular examination to be able to see what was wrong with me whereas medical city had to have 3 doctors attend to me and to do a lot of tests only to tell me i probably had hyperacidity. my doctor yesterday explained to me the indications (plus i vomited all i ate that day and described to her what these looked like — eww) that led her to her conclusion.

the diagnosis? i’m candidate for ulcer. stress, bad eating habits (like skipping meals), stress, stress and stress are killing me softly. the bad thing here is the attacks are becoming more frequent and they’re getting more painful and worse. i have to have my tummy undergo an ultrasound exam and do some more tests to see whether acids had already eaten away my intestines, stomach lining or whatever.

no coffee, fatty foods, beer, salty and spicy foods…in other words i should only eat ‘hospital foods’ and munch on crackers every hour to calm my temperamental guts. no wonder my father was so grouchy when he was subjected to this kind of diet. this is like death sentence.

i should probably change jobs before my present one kills me.

and my mother texted me this morning that when i get pregnant it will be much worse and i wouldn’t be able to work. geez.

i was chatting with a colleague (who is not-so-colleague since she is belongs now to a higher league) one day and talk veered towards frustrations in the industry. told her that yeah, in school (at least in UP anyway) and PCIJ (news for sale) they tell about crookedness of our industry and things like that but they never prepare you for the frustration of facing them.

my sister, who used to deal with the media, told me one time na “kadiri ibang reporters, parang mga patay-gutom. hindi ba nila kayang bumili ng sarili nilang pagkain? nakakainis pag hihirit sila ‘uy, pakain ka naman’. araw-araw na ginawa ng Diyos ganun na lang. parang obligasyon ong gawin yun.”

–

she said in hong kong, pack reporting is virtually non-existent — well, in our segment anyway. she said she doesn’t know whether this is just a pinoy thing or hong kong is an unfriendly place.

since i don’t know what will happen to me in the next 3 months, i figured i have to scrimp, save, pay off debts and bahala na si batman. just like what companies are now doing (hoarding cash, cutting back on expansion and spending and deleveraging).

one of the things i picked up from them is asset disposal. and i never realized that i had a lot of income-generating assets sitting inside my cabinets.

old clothes that i haven’t worn since leaving government service

bags i seldom use

Other Half’s office is having a rummage sale. i’m selling some of my old clothes there for P50 each, some for P100 while the bags are being sold for P100 each. the freebies i got like local beauty products and calling card holders are also on the rummage table.

i computed that i can earn quite a sum to help me deleverage and get rid of that expensive debt i.e. credit card. in case i lose my job or my office loses me (unahan na lang kami siguro), at least my debts are at a minimum, if not obliterated.

tough times ahead. my overseas customers in my online business have quit shopping on ebay. since september, when markets worldwide started crashing at frantic pace.

now i have to look for other “legal” (legal i.e. ethical in journalism) money-making schemes…i may have to sell some books and magazines to unload stuff and hoard cash. don’t talk to me about how much we lost in the market. i’ll just have to sit on it for two years. to make matters worse, our mutual fund is…let’s just say the company that is managing our mutual is being auctioned off by the parent, ergo, management may change.

tough time ahead.

heard that two heads rolled since friday. wonder what would happen to the rest of us…

i got some of these on facebook and i’ll add some of my own…

…when you come to work sick because the paper will come out whether you are there or not, so you as well be there! (geez. i’m like this all the time)

…When high profile sources purposely avoid calling you back on a story (they pretend the signal’s out of whack and they allegedly can’t hear you when you said your name and your paper. happened to me several times this month)

…People expect you to know what’s going on when you pass a large event or group of people

…You dislike PR people (those PR people who do not know the nuances in “newspapering” like making kulit when will the article come out when you don’t have the power over what comes out on print the next day; or when they insist to have their press releases published when it is about nothing at all)

…Your best work is done a couple hours before deadline

…When you are sitting in a meeting and the person speaking stops and points at you and says “Don’t print that.” (it usually happens over lunch or dinners)

…you haven’t had a lunch hour in 25 years (and you just grab a bite because lunch has become nonexistent to you)

…you think it’s normal to be able to call the Governor and get an answer (that is, if they’re not avoiding you)

…You have honed the art of busting liars. ie: asking the same question no less than 4 different ways looking for loop holes (i just did this last week and still they were lying through their teeth)

…when you don’t know what means the word “overtime” (overtime? what overtime? *insert bitter laugh here*)

…making social plans becomes a joke and people hardly ever expect you to show up (tee hee)

…You know you’re a journalist when you can’t figure out why no one’s returning your phone calls……until you realize that everyone ELSE gets time off for the holidays…(i don’t have holidays. hurray!)

…Oh yeah, Christmas Day, New Years Eve/Day and Bank Holidays aren’t really any different from the rest of the days in the year other than the fact there’s often less news about…(and wish the paper would just shut down on these days)

…you know you’re a journalist when you are treated to the same disdain as politicicans, real estate agents, and injury lawyers. (and i’ve noticed, some treat us like we’re a half notch higher than the shit on your shoe. sometimes we’re even lower than horse shit)

…You can’t commit to a sports team because you NEVER know if you’ll leave the office on time, any time. (AMEN!)

…You’re cynical about EVERYTHING!

…When you read the newspaper over your breakfast, you have a coffee in one hand, a red pen in the other, a clipping file handy for the headlines worth saving, and a ready swear word for the dreadful editing.

…When you work 24/7 occassionally missing 48 hours of sleep just to meet a deadline

…When your friends have to send you an e-mail one week before a gathering wondering if you’re alive and can actually make it (somebody really wondered whether i was still alive)

… always have five pens and three note pads in your bag and actually write stuff on them in public… (i feel insecure without a pen and paper)

…breakfast is a double espresso and five marlboro lights….

…when you realize it’s not glamorous, the pay’s crap, the hours are long, nobody likes you anymore and you still want to do the job. (call us crazy)

…You’re not able to get anything done, unless there’s a deadline involved. (thesis included)

… You think it’s perfectly normal to measure the length of a text in words or characters. (i always call to ask how many pages are we getting and column space i’m provided for the day)

… You seriously believe that the fact that everything is fine is not worth reporting.

… Your desk is so crammed with notepads, post-its and press-releases, that doing any actual work becomes practically impossible. (i waste so much paper)

… You consider any technical device, which can be used to record sound or video, to be a reporting tool.

…You never go anywhere without at least one of your several reporting tools.

… You even consider yourself a reporting tool.

…you can read memos and documents upside down

…you don’t know when are the public holidays in your country…or any other country, in fact. (but people call me to ask if today or some other day is declared a holiday by malacanang and my god i don’t know and don’t care ‘coz it’s the same to me anyway)

there are so many things i want to add here but it’s taking too long already.

i say almost since i entertained the idea of claiming the prize…

while i was interviewing somebody on my wireless landline this afternoon, my cellphone kept on ringing. twice. it looked like an important call, probably related to the story i was working on yesterday afternoon.

when i finished with my phone interview, i picked up my cellphone and texted the caller. then the caller rang back.

she said i won a raffle, a 4-day,3-night accommodation in any crown regency hotel in boracay, davao and cebu. she told me i joined the raffle when i was at the consumer electronics live exhibit at SMX. oh yeah, i remember filling up that form as a lark since i knew i don’t win such raffles.

she said this and that and the awarding was today at 2.30 pm at crown regency hotel office, 19F room 1902, the Centerpoint Bldg, garnet st. cor. j. vargas, ortigas center, pasig city. i just thought this awarding was like the other corporate ek-ek that i’ve seen or read about in press releases that i’ve received.

the address didn’t register well with me since i had tons on my mind yesterday.

the caller just said that i will not have to shell out money for this. she insisted that there is no need to bring money or credit card as proof that it was not marketing trick of some kind. i just let her talk and talk since the previous phone conversation (interview) i had was still on my mind.

the only suspicious thing about this was that the girl was asking a lot of things about my job since i disclosed in the form that i worked in media (i had a tag that says my name and media outfit when i was at the CEL exhibit so how could i lie?).

when i told Other Half just now, he said it we go to cebu and use the gift certificate. then the skeptical me surfaced. i told my husband that if they had chosen me because i work in media and they would ask for an x-deal with me, then i would drop the whole thing.

then Other Half said the whole thing sounded fishy to him.

i checked the website, the hotels didn’t impress me that much. especially the one in davao. i searched through google about the hotel and voila! here are the stories:

from aboutmyrecovery.com

“A friend asked me over Yahoo Messenger if the Crown Regency Hotel is legitimate. I remember Crown Regency Hotel. They entice you with

    “You have just won a FREE 4 days 3 night package for two including 2 children from Crown Regency Hotel.”

You get this text message whenever you are willing participant in some “raffle contest” in those events you attend. Then you will receive this text message:

    “There is no catch. The gift certificate is valid for 6 months and you have the choice of staying in our Mactan or Davao Hotel. All you need to bring is a valid ID. You don’t even have to bring cash, credit card or a checkbook“.

What kind of freebie is that when you have to pay 4,000 pesos as booking fee to get your room? Not only that, you have to sit down and hear their boring lecture on vacation ownership? How cunning they are to tell you not to bring your credit card, cash or checkbook? It makes them look “clean”.

I told my friend : “While not exactly a scam, it’s a total waste of time. If you’re looking for investment in vacation ownership, then this is your kind of thing.”

Read more on Crown Regency Hotel Scam story

And yet another innovative marketing strategy…”

here’s another one from jaydj.blogspot.com

“Thursday, February 08, 2007
4 Days/3 Night Stay at the Crown Regency Hotel ?

I received an unexpected call this afternoon from a certain Ms. Michelle Chavez that I had been a lucky pick from over 1000 registrants who won a 4 day /3 night hotel accommodations for 4 people (2 adults and 2 children) at the Crown Regency Hotel with my choice of either their Cebu or Davao hotel.

At first I was surprised cause I don’t recall joining any contest. When it was explained to me that I was one of 50 lucky draws from over 1,000 registrants during the PALMM expo at the World Trade Center late last year, it kinda made sense. However, I was still skeptical with the whole thing, knowing that it may all be a scam.

Here are some details given to me which makes me skeptical about the prize:

   1. She said there are no obligations, financially that is… However, winners need to watch a 1 1/2 video showcasing the hotel and its amenities, services and highlights.

   2. After saying that the hotel accommodations are free, there is a P3,000. booking fee though which should be placed 1-2 weeks before using the prize.

   3. Claiming of the prize is anywhere between 6-8pm at Room 1902 Centerpoint Bldg. I checked the hotel’s official website, and this is not their Manila address.

   4. When I asked for the hotel’s website from the person I was speaking with, she told me that she can’t divulge any info about it and just told me to search for it on the net.

   5. I searched for her name “Michelle Chavez” on the net and it’s a generic name, also a name of an actress.

Because of my skeptisim, I’ve asked my friendly friend Aileen to accompany me to the presentation. As much as it’s an exciting prize to actually win, I’m still not 100% convinced it’s totally legit. I really do hope it’s legit.

______________________

Update:

Just got back from picking up the prize. And my suspicions were correct. Upon entering the building lobby, I immediately looked at the tenant directory and Room 1902 was unlisted. Strange. I then asked front desk what company occupies Room 1902. The guard said “Crown Regency”. So at least I knew I was going to the right room.

Upon entering 1902, Aileen & I immediately saw what seems to be a conference and showcase area. While we were asked to be seated, our couch was directly across a cabinet of what looked like beauty products. The first thing that came into my mind was MLM (Multi Level Marketing). I’ve been through the experience of avoiding this years ago and here I am, a victim of a somewhat similar experience.

After filling out a form with some personal information extracted from me, we were accompanied to a small cubicle which resembled a videoke room. This was where we were to watch a 1 1/2 hour video. Fortunately, they only let us watch around 15 minutes worth of it. It seems that we may have not passed as being credible clients to what they were offering.

And so here it is… they were offering club membership to access their chain of hotels. The prize I got was actually not totally free. If I were to use it, I had to pay the 1st day (worth P5,000). and the next 2 days would be free. For someone who hasn’t been travelling out of the metropolis nor the country for that matter, this has no appeal to me whatsoever.

And so I was finally given my prize check of the hotel accommodations but I will only be able to brag about it by showing the certificate to others but will never get to use it especially that it isn’t transferable…”

—

Other Half said technically it was not a scam but it was just a very ugly and stupid marketing ploy. maybe they could be charged with misrepresentation if somebody would waste his time suing these people. but then there may be a lot of loopholes in this situation.

i’m still mulling what i should do about this…

“Friday November 7, 10:19 am ET
Jobless rate bolts to 14-year high of 6.5 percent

By Jeannine Aversa, AP Economics Writer

Jobless rate bolts to 14-year high of 6.5 percent in October; 240,000 jobs cut WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s unemployment rate bolted to a 14-year high of 6.5 percent in October as another 240,000 jobs were cut, stark proof the economy is almost certainly in a recession.

The new snapshot, released Friday by the Labor Department, showed the crucial jobs market deteriorating at an alarmingly rapid pace…”

so more or less you will know what to expect from the markets on monday, manila time. wheeee!

–

hay. this is the only time i am able to squeeze in blogging after a somewhat emotionally tumultuous week. i was feeling so blue on monday that i texted Other Half i wanted to tender my resignation and told him i just want to be a taong-bahay, tambay, palamunin, whatever.

hormones, i guess.

but life goes on and there are other people more problematic than i am. i saw a man begging along ayala ave. cor. edsa without hands and with disfigured hardly any feet. i wanted to kick myself for feeling this way. i’m too self-centered, that’s why.

a colleague from another company emailed me, “Do what is right. Gawin mo lang ang trabaho mo. Hindi naman sila ang nagpapasweldo sa iyo.Iyon ang lagi mo iisipin. Kaya mo iyan.“ gee, i love that girl.

–
i am a student again. again, again, again, again. for the 5th straight year. undergraduate students are getting younger or i am getting older. geez, i really should graduate by april.

surprisingly, because of the online enrollment system that UP is implementing, my registration on wednesday was relatively calmer compared with that of my undergraduate years. those years were horrible when you talk about enrollment/registration. you are already considered one very lucky biatch if you were able to finish registering and paying in one day.

i experienced camping overnight in front of the admin bldg. just to get my form-5 or some stupid form. there were hundreds of us doing the same thing, may reservation na agad sa linya. one time, i had to queue up starting 4 am just to get in one math 14 class. i had to use my connections (through my mother) just to be able to have my name in the list of one chem15 class. then i had to suffer loooong lines just to pay my 45-peso fee for the semester (and that is just for miscellaneous fee). and there was a time i had to take up a redundant subject because i wasn’t able to get any technical course i needed to have my regular load because all the sudjects i needed were already filled up or the prerequisite subjects were unavailable.

kids in UP these days have it so easy. plus they can choose their own GE courses. kung ayaw nila ng english, they can substitute that for some lamer subject. kaya nga sabi ng boss ko (who was invited to critique the mock newspaper projects of journalism students at CMC), ang sasagwa ng grammar ng mga estudyante.

that is a different story for another day.