The below is an article i had taken from the dailiy inquirer online. A very thought provoking article indeed. With the Nation mourning the loss of not just a significant figure in the History of the Philippines but also an inspiration to many. I did not know her personally but I’ve done my own research on her, her works, her life as a wife, mother, public figure, a president and a hero. Just like many, I too, appreciated what she had done for the country, the sacrifices she and her husband had to endure to make the Philippines a better place for the future generation and i think people like the Marcos’, and the Arroyo’s should stop their hunger for power if they want the future generations to see the beauty of our country Philippines..

Cory Aquino puts shroud on Arroyo’s US visit
By Emil Guillermo
INQUIRER.net

First Posted 10:22:00 08/02/2009

Filed Under: Cory Aquino, Diplomacy

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Advertisement CALIFORNIA, United States—I’ll always see Cory Aquino as the demure amateur thrust into the limelight. I first saw her in 1983 in the Santo Domingo Church in the Philippines. I was there for KRON-TV in San Francisco doing a story for the NBC network. I was covering the funeral of her late husband the charismatic Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, the former journalist and Philippine senator who was considered the main foe of Philippine autocrat Ferdinand Marcos.

Cory Aquino wore a black, not yellow dress, as she took to the vestibule in mourning and asked the assembled at the funeral of her assassinated husband, to “not let Ninoy die in vain.”

She then led a crowd of at more than a million people through the streets of Manila in what was a magnificent funeral procession and a harbinger of the “People Power” revolution that would take place within the following three years.

Cory Aquino didn’t do half bad, really, as political wives go.

The feelings for Benigno Aquino and the negative feelings for Marcos were so strong, that the momentum was set up for anyone who dared to stand in the spotlight.

Cory Aquino was it by default.

She had enough in her to inspire the millions ready for change to boldly stand with her in 1986 against the dictator. This was the peaceful revolution known as People Power. The assassination, the distraught situation of the Philippine people, and the unwillingness of the country to accept a fraudulent Marcos election bestowed on Aquino a kind of democratic sainthood.

That was Cory Aquino’s role. She was perfect at that…But as president, she was a bit lacking.

In interviews, she admitted she had no real idea what she was doing. The devout Catholic had her sincerity, her earnestness. But we learned that public policy is not built on prayer alone. Aquino did manage to survive and keep things together, no small task considering that by the time she left office in 1992, she had survived six coup attempts.

The real disappointment of her reign, however, was not that Cory couldn’t do it, but that the Filipino people who thrust her into power couldn’t do it. With Marcos gone, the deck was merely reshuffled among the governing class. The Ins were Outs. The Outs were In.
Exiled leaders came home to their lost fortunes. Former leaders came to America, or accepted lesser posts. The poor did not/could not rise. The country’s collective fate did not improve.

Unfortunately, it’s still debatable if the Philippines is better off now than it was under Marcos.

Since Aquino left office, the Philippines has been reliving watered down versions of its past. Corruption is dialed back, but not eliminated. A bad president (Estrada) is thrown out by “mini-people power,” and is replaced by another oligarch, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Arroyo, who was with President Obama this past week, is the anti-Cory in every way.
I’ve called her Marcos Lite. All the taste of the former dictator, but with fewer calories.
Even Cory Aquino marched in protests that called for Arroyo’s resignation.

Ironically, Cory Aquino’s death may actually make her an even more powerful force in such a devoutly Catholic country. Death solidifies Aquino’s role as the spirit of a democratic ideal for the Philippines.

I can hear the prayers now.

ARROYO’S COLONIAL VISIT TO THE U.S. GOES BUST

Imagine how snakebit Arroyo must feel. She goes to Washington, DC last week for no real good reason other than she desperately needs a photo op with the new imperial leader, US President Barack Obama.

If you are a Filipino nationalist, that must have been a hoot, as has the entire Arroyo era.

Aside from domestic corruption, all Arroyo has to show is how well she sucked up to George W. Bush positioning the Philippines as the flea that backed the coalition against Iraq.

The ploy did get the country ally status equal to Israel and Australia. But it placed the Philippines as an ally to Bush’s losing Iraq strategy. It also made the country a target of terrorists and necessitated this visit to the new pres to make sure there are no misunderstandings.

Fortunately, there are new controversies with Burma and North Korea that push the Iraq mess into the background. Arroyo let Obama know she’ll play with him too, just as she did Bush.

Obama, in turn, gave her a few good soundbites, as in the Philippines “punches above its weight in the international arena,” and the praiseworthy passage.

Ah, the gift of credibility.

“President Arroyo,” Obama continued, “has done outstanding work on a whole range of issues. She mentioned the areas where the United States and the Philippines are of one accord, but as evidenced here today, she’s somebody who knows the issues. She has experience leading the Philippines through some very difficult times.”

Is that not earmarked for a future Arroyo campaign?

Except for die-hard nationalists, most in the Philippines should eat that stuff up. Obama likes Arroyo. That’s like a blessing from the pope. In the US, however, Arroyo’s meeting gets flea-worthy coverage, trumped by the Gates/Crowley race meeting a few hours earlier in the Rose Garden.

So a mixed result with Obama Thursday night for Arroyo. But then to totally obliterate Arroyo from the news, Aquino passes away Friday. It is front page of the New York Times. Aquino is uplifted, Arroyo is under a shroud.

The night before in the middle of the US traveling, I talked to people about Arroyo and no one has a clue who she is. They think Aquino is still president, if they even bother to think about the Philippines. That’s how low a standing the Philippines has in the consciousness of the average American.

Perhaps that’s fortunate for Arroyo. Instead of blame, she remains an anonymous leader of a screwed up, underachieving Third World country in Asia.

E-mail emil@amok.com
Updates at www.amok.com

She squeaks when she blows her nose. He eats like a rabid pig. It’s just not working out.

We’ve all spent some time stuck in a relationship we didn’t want to be in because we didn’t have the heart (or some other equipment) to end it. Maybe we don’t want to hurt someone we’ve been close to, or worse, maybe it’s clear right away we’re dealing with a nut and we don’t want to be the trigger for an economy-sized bottle of Prozac and a six-week stint at the Bendy Willow Psychiatric Center.

So what do you do when it’s completely obvious you’re just not meant to be together? You break up. Or, you try to break up, don’t quite hit the mark, and end up sucked back into the awful relationship for round two, because you just couldn’t make it stick. Is there a way to make it permanent without causing permanent damage?

The key is to have a plan, a good plan.
Location, Location, Location. It”s really important to pick a good strategic break up setting. The best places to have “the talk” are both public but fairly private, with a convenient escape route. The best location? Outside, walking at a park. It’s crowded enough to ensure you won’t have a big scene, but private enough your dumpee won’t feel like he or she is naked at a funeral. Other agreeable breakup locales include restaurants (but not a favorite restaurant) or a walk around the block. The worst place to break up? At a party or work. The only thing worse than being dumped is being dumped in front of people you’re going to have to see on a regular basis.

Another key to effective breakups is precise timing. Breaking up at a park gives both your dumpee and you the chance to leave once the deed is done. If you’re ending the relationship at a restaurant, do it only after the check has come and you’ve paid for dinner. (And by the way, if you’re about to dump someone, you should DEFINITELY be buying dinner.) There’s nothing more horrifying than being dumped and then having to sit around making small talk for another 20 minutes while you’re waiting for the check to come. (As in, “Hey Lula, what are you doing now that you don’t have plans for tonight? Laundry?”)

Never break up with someone within two weeks of a major holiday or his/her birthday. Make that a month for Valentine’s Day and Christmas. There’s no faster entry to the Bitch/Bastard Hall of Fame than permanently destroying the holidays for your soon-to-be-ex. It’s just not nice, and you don’t want that what-goes-around-comes-around thing biting you in the ass when your turn as the dumpee rolls back around.

It’s Not You, It’s Me. The first thing to remember is not to drag it out. The longer it takes, the worse it is for everybody involved. Whenever you end the relationship, be sure to make your reasons relevant only to you. Say, “This is not working for me.” Stick with your basis and keep repeating yourself over and over if necessary. It’s impossible for someone to argue with you about reasons that pertain only to you. If you end up getting sucked into a situation where you have to list grounds for wanting it over, you may find yourself in for an encore. If you say, “we fight too much” or “you don’t seem happy” your soon to be ex partner may offer to change, taking all the air out of your break-up and landing you right back in the relationship.

Hire A Hit Man. Worst-case scenario, you’re too much of a nice guy to breakup with your girl or guy yourself, you can always resort to the newest companion service to online dating. For a fee, lets breakup.com will inform your wish-you-were-my-ex of the relationship’s demise by phone, email or snail mail. Certainly not the most sensitive approach, but it gets the job done.

Below is a copy of the letter that I never sent to Starbucks Guy for the reasons that seemed very obvious to me. The last letter I sent him was ignored and probably deleted, when I question him about it I was told it was never received. Really, the lies that goes on in the open and when questioned about, denies it to the extreme. So, you see that’s the reason this letter was never sent.

Dear Starbucks Guy,

Ei you… How are you? I’ve been missing you, you know? I hope you’re doing great, better than I’ll probably ever be for now.

So, what really went wrong between us? I can only say my side of the coin. I would’ve wanted to know your side of the story but you never really gave me the chance to do that. That was the reason why I wanted to talk about us but each time I try, you always refuse.

You always tell me you have no problem with me and yet you ignore me, you refuse to communicate with me and most of all you always find every reason to dodge me. Me talking all the time was not me nagging at you, it was me letting you know what I feel and I thought being in a relationship with you, you would’ve cared. If you only had given the chance to pause for a while, keep an open mind and hear me out, there wouldn’t be any problem. You didn’t necessarily have to always agree with me but there is a better way letting me know that. We didn’t have to yell and scream at each other like some bratty teenagers but it would rather be better if we could’ve talked to each other like mature adults resolving an issue. What a waste really, coz what I had for you was real. It was so real I thought you found it real as well.

I have always given my best to you coz I believe that love is never an option, it was a choice. I chose to love you and I stood by you and I never gave up on “us”. You gave up on “us”. Every time I asked you if “we” were ok, you always answered me, “I am ok.” It was always about you. You never made me a part of you. And I was always thinking about “us” thinking of ways how to spend time together, how to make you feel my love, thinking whether you are going through anything stressful or if there was anything bothering you.

I know I’ve had my share of faults in this relationship which I deeply regret. I just wished you never gave up on us coz we could’ve been through this. We would’ve survived this. We could’ve stayed longer. We would’ve been happy. If only you also tried along with me. I tried and I tried so hard and all you gave me was “I’m tired of all this! Stop calling me already!” I did my best to adjust to you, to who you are but did you ever try to adjust with who I am? That’s why I always asked you where I should stand. But I guess all these are worth nothing now coz you’ve decided to leave. You gave up on us. But for what its worth… im sorry…. And rest assured I’m grateful to have had you….

Love,
Chelle…

With the recent events, I still couldnt absorb the fact that I begged. After being told the following, “I dont love you anymore and I dont ever want to see you again.” I begged…

Pretty degrading right? But that was what I felt at that particular moment. I was just going with what i felt without even thinking. I thought I could turn my back at him but I guessed wrong.

Dont your think thats how love should be? keep loving until it hurts? But even if I felt like a fool for doing it, i have no regrets, coz by the end of the day, i didnt do anything wrong but to just love… I loved him and even if he doesnt see me the way I see him, someday, when Im strong enough to pick up the pieces and move on, I will look back at this day and thank the Lord for giving him to me even if it was just for a short period of time. Thats how life is, we win some, we lose some.. Im still hoping not to lose this time but if its God’s will, i shall embrace it even if is going to be hard. It will be up to him and up to time… He knows what how I feel for him, I just hope he feels the same.

Ever thought why love is so painful? Have you given enough? Have you thought of just him/her? Maybe you weren’t after all…

Love is never painful. For when you love you give out of joy, you give your utmost capacity of making the other happy. It’s a matter of sharing your completeness and your contentment.

If it hurts, maybe you’re not loving at all. For you still reserve that little space for yourself. A space for him/her to complete you. Then it’s not love.

For when you love and love and love…it will hurt no more…:-)

Valentines day…. is one crappy day commercialized by the public to put all the hopeless romantics like me in desperate measures..
I hate valentines day! Its one of the festivities I hate most next to my birthday.. For the reasons that varies from I was never made special on those days and its another excuse to spend unnecessarily.. hehehe..

i find comfort in strange things.. im not a very materialistic type of person. It delights me when someone just remembers to call, they dont even have to come up with any materialistic gifts. There was one person, a long time ago who had given me the master key to the rooms of the hotel he worked for and carved our names on it..the gesture put a smile on my face..another person told me these words when he felt I was having one of those shitty moods “you seem to be in a shitty mood today, come away with me.” it brightened up me shitty day. I dont need flowers or the extravagant gestures, you dont have to give me a louis vuitton bag [although, that wouldnt be declined ] you can tell me you love me under the mango tree or under that bridge, or invite me to spend the day with you, bring me a manggang hilaw or a blueberry muffin just because its my favorite, and you can guarantee, the memory will last forever..

I find comfort in strange things, Im not very hard to please, so why does the world think im very complicated? Im over protective of the people i care about which im sure everybody is. Why do people have to push me to the limits? to check how far my patience go? Im a simple human being who gets tired once in a while, when i stop caring, I stop talking, when i actually stop, Im finally over you. Im bubbly and loud, happy most of the time but thats all on the outside but deep down inside my mind is like a well, I analyze everything that goes on around me, I marvel the concept of the law of gravity, I think a lot behind the reason of everything…Im a thinker, a settler, I love with passion and conviction, I get hurt easily, I’m super sensitive, but most of all I’m a girl…

So I beg of you if youre not going to stay for long and If you cant love with the same passion please dont make me find comfort in your strangeness…

I revisited the place where we first met, the far corner of my favorite coffee spot (My idea) and as I write this at the very spot where I first glanced at him, my heart is filled with bitter and yet happy memories. It was at this place sometime somewhere mid October of 2008 that I had finally decided to open my heart once more. It was a very hard decision on my part as it took some time for my wounded heart to heal, someone had once broken it to its very core and I took some hard serious time to repair the damage. By the time the Guy finally entered my life, I thought I was ready. Little did I know, my poor little heart was in a lot of trauma. 

The very minute I laid my eyes on the Guy, i knew I was going to like him. He was intellectually stimulating in areas I was never knowledgeable at, like politics and economy and the likes. I still felt the same intense nervousness as I sat on the very spot I sat the day we met and I imagined him sitting in front of me. My chest tightened at the mere thought of the memory of drowning myself with his voice.

Starbucks will never be the same for me, every corner, every table will have his memory. Where did the Guy go? Beats me. But I missed him terribly. I miss the way he makes me laugh with his childish ways, I miss the way he took me away when everything in my house was chaotic, I miss the way he cared, I miss the way he would always call to check in on me, I miss the way he says he misses me, I miss the way he calls me “baby”, I miss the way he says “I love you” but most of all, I miss the Guy terribly.

I dont know what went wrong, probably I turned him off. But why did he decide to go when I have finally opened up my heart to him and allowed him to be the one to hold it, to own it and to occupy it? My mind is in a state of confusion right now. I dont even know if he cares or rather cared, all I know is that my heart is shattered once again…

A good woman is proud,She respects herself and others.She is aware of who she is.
She neither seeks definition from the person she is with,nor does she expect them to read her mind.She is quite capable of acticulating her needs.
A good woman is hopeful.She is strong enough to make all her dreams come true.She knows love,therefore she gives love.She recognizes that her love has great value and must be reciprocated.If her love is taken for granted,it soon disappears.
A good woman has a dash of inspiration and a dabble of endurance,she knows at times she has to inspire others to reach their potential goals.She knows her past,understand her present and faces the future.
A good woman knows God.She knows with God the world is her playground.She does not live in fear of the future because of her past,instead she understands that her life experiences are merely lessons meant to bring her closer to self-knowledge and unconditional self-love.
” WITHOUT GOOD WOMEN ON GOD”S LAND TO HELP THE MEN,
wHAT WOULD THE MEN REALLY DO?..!”

I  Stole this above from a blog I read somewhere and it got me thinking in fact it got me more than thinking. I’m actually putting in a piece of my mind to further elaborate the definition of a “Good Woman”  I may be far from what a good woman is but there are some facts that I know of and should be taken into a rather serious consideration. Like the fact that all a good women will love passionately until all strength and energies are wasted and despite all the efforts still taken for granted. Every women will believe a lie even if deep down inside them they know its a lie.. It is normal for a woman to talk/nag a lot. Something is wrong if she doesnt talk, either shes really angry or she just doesnt care anymore… Once a woman lets go that means shes had it up to the brim… Only a  miracle will make her change her mind.. Most of all the main basis of what makes up a good woman is not where she came from or the clothes she wears or all the superficial things that we see but rather the main foundation of a woman is passionate, loving, a sister, a friend, a drunk buddy, a lover, a respectful daughter, humble, kind, sensitive, and most of all a martyr.

Someday (by: Nina)

“Someday, you’ll gonna realize
One day, you’ll see this through my eyes
But then I won’t even be there
I’ll be happy somewhere
Even if I cared

I know you don’t really see my worth
You think you’re the last guy on earth
Well, I’ve got news for you
I know I’m not that strong
But it won’t take long, won’t take long

CHORUS
‘Cause someday, someone’s gonna love me
The way I wanted you to need me
Someday, someone’s gonna take your place
One day, I’ll forget about you
You’ll see, I won’t even miss you
Someday, someday

But now, I know you can tell
I’m down and I’m not doin’ well
But one day, these tears
They will all run dry
I won’t have to cry sweet goodbye

CHORUS
‘Cause someday, someone’s gonna love me
The way I wanted you to need me
Someday, someone’s gonna take your place, Ooh
One day, I’ll forget about you
You’ll see, I won’t even miss you
Someday, I know someone’s gonna be there

Someday, someone’s gonna love me
The way I wanted you to need me
Someday, someone’s gonna take your place
One day, I’ll forget about you
You’ll see, I won’t even miss you
Someday, someday

Ahh yeah yeah”

The way Im feeling right this very minute can be only be described by the song’s lyrics illustrated above. Im at my worse right now. I pray that someone’s going to hold me and take me away… someday…. someday…

When determining if you should let things get serious, remember: actions speak louder than words. With that being said, here are ten dating red flags. If you see any of these, do yourself a favor and reconsider if it”s worth it for you.

1. You are not on the VIP list for breaking news:Were you the last to learn about this person”s job promotion or newborn niece or nephew? Once things are serious, you should be among the first to know about exciting news, or bad news.

2. They avoid meeting your family or friends:If they are shying away from meeting your friends/family consistently, then there are problems. Even if they are very shy, they should want to meet those who are important to you.

3. They don”t make any sacrifices:Healthy relationships don”t require bending over backwards all the time, but a certain amount of sacrifice is necessary in a selfless union. When two of my friends first started dating one another, she demanded that he go to Farm Aid for her birthday, which was also the opening NFL football Sunday. While all the guys gathered to watch the games, he was sweltering on some field attending Farm Aid — an event he never would have gone to if she hadn”t have invited him. Now that”s sacrifice.

4. They can”t fit in your future:I admit it. When I meet girls, I envision future moments I may some day share with them. Most of my scenarios are her with me and my family at a Thanksgiving holiday or at a summer crabfeast. If I”m really into her, I usually relish the thought. If not, I kinda cringe.

5. They are too controlling:It”s scary but I”ve seen many relationships where guys forbid girls to hang out with certain friends, or wear certain clothes. Major problem if someone is controlling you and not allowing you to be who you want to be within a relationship.

6. The “what are we” conversation fails miserably:Almost every relationship hits that crossroads where you both decide if it”s worth taking the plunge into being exclusive and calling each other boyfriend/girlfriend. If they are confused and surprised that you”re ready to get serious, the timing is not right, and you should try to figure out how long you want to wait around until they are ready.

7. They talk about plans that don”t involve you:My sister has major wanderlust. She”s always talking about heading off to Chicago or living in London for a year. She often talks about these things with no regard for the fact that she has a boyfriend at the time. If you find that someone is making plans or talking about far off places without inviting you along for the ride, don”t let yourself get too into this person.

8. Your friends or family don”t like them:Remember that your friends and family know you best. Don”t take their thoughts with a grain of salt. It”s one thing if a person or two don”t get along with your significant other, but if a lot of them are saying you should reconsider, then do it. Unfortunately, we often find out about how much our friends hated that person after this person is gone.

9. They violated your trust:Whether it”s cheating or a little lie that they got caught in, it will be hard to regain trust. Trust is something we don”t give away easily, and once it”s gone it”s hard to get it back. We”ll always be wondering about that lie, and doubt will creep in more and more as our minds fixate on that lie. Too often, people take trust for granted and once they lose it they never get it back.

10. You practice “unbalanced dating”:Are you always seeing his friends or doing things that he wants to do? Do you just let him pick the restaurants and events? Or is it the other way around? Relationships are fun when you are both able to contribute. If you”re not taking turns creating fun times together, it will most likely fizzle out.