YES 2009

"SEACHANGE is an ongoing movement connecting Southeast Asian Youths to projects, organizations, businesses, and leaders who can help them with the change they want to see!"

This year Seachange is holding the Youth Engagement Summit 2009 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The event will feature a lot of interesting people such as chess wizard- Garry Kasparov, twitter co founder- Biz Stone, facebook director of market and development - Randi Zuckerberg and many more to inspire and share their knowledge with us. Sounds really cool, right?  I am sure they will be tackling a lot of heavy issues.  Hopefully, humane treatment for animals will be included.  There have been a lot of animal related abuses and I hope that more folks will be more aware on how to help.   I am not updated on dog sport, but for a good example of proper treatment of sporting dogs you can click here for information on sport dogs.

Anyway, I hope that I will be lucky enough to be included in this summit :D

Big orange ball

There is a big orange ball in my living room right now and his name is Nugget.

This is the view from the back :) look at that tummy bump. another view. he looks like a cat now with the ear and legs more visible :)top view. i can watch him for hours!one of these days i'll take a video. he moves, meows softly and wiggles while he is sleeping!i love you orange cat!

Trip to Malaban Elementary School

"BIÑAN, LAGUNA—With classrooms crowded with evacuees and the school grounds still flooded, where could the students go?

A report from the Department of Education in Laguna province on Friday said 51 elementary and high schools were still being used as evacuation centers for typhoon-stricken families, but said all had already resumed classes.

In Biñan town, teachers found a solution to the deluge that was seen to last three to four more months. They volunteered to open their own homes to accommodate the students and resume classes on Oct. 12, two weeks after Tropical Storm “Ondoy” left the town and several others flooded."

Taken from Teachers convert homes to schools
Maricar Cinco
Inquirer Southern Luzon

After reading this article, we decided that Malaban Elementary School would be our next beneficiary. I am really amazed at the teachers' initiative to offer their homes as temporary classrooms :) I can't imagine how it must be to have about 500 kids in your house everyday. Anyway, we headed to Biñan today to assess the situation of the school and to get a more concrete idea of what the students need the most.

some parts of the school are still flooded until now. The classrooms behind have been turned into evacuation centers... note the laundry hanging on the railing dirty stagnant water infront of the rooms. The smell is horrible!a makeshift kitchen with damaged books and notebooks in the background. I'm not sure if they have started using these items for fire... I was very surprised to see a sari sari store in the school! some evacuees are still enterprising!the hallway filled with sludgeclassroom turned into a home for a few familiestemporary classroom for 500 kids

garage turned classroom. look at the jeep parked inside!

we'll be back :)

Mac and Cheese by Lucky Me!

I am a big fan of instant food hence my full rubenesque figure :) But don't get me wrong because I also like taking time out to prepare meals but sometimes instant is the way to go... especially if you have to eat while working! Anyway, I was really pleased to have found out about Lucky Me's newest offering - Mac and Cheese! Yay! I really love mac and cheese and the best part is each pack only costs p14! There are 2 variants: baked mac (red pack) and mac & cheeze (blue). Personally, I prefer the blue pack better since the red one was a bit too sweet for my liking. My kidneys are thanking me for this yummy sodium packed snack. haha!a yummy bowl of mac and cheese :) The serving is quite small so there are actually 2 packs in this bowl. haha!

Feeding 120 Families

We usually have school related projects but because of Ondoy (Ketsana Typhoon) we had to shift our focus from collecting school supplies and funds for our library project to gathering food, clothes and raising money for relief goods. One of our recipient schools in Montalban, Wawa National High School was badly hit during the flood so we decided to organize a relief program for them. I am still pretty amazed at the fact that in 2 weeks we were able to raise around P52,000 (US$1,100+) and collect several boxes of goods. Thank you so much to all our friends and family from all over - Philippines, USA, Australia, UK and Singapore :) Without your generous donations, this relief operation would not be possible.

Anyway, we headed over to Divisoria today to buy pails and towels for the 120 families that we are donating to this Sunday. I was amazed that we were able to get the pails for only P38 each! We had to haggle a bit but it was all worth it. We actually had an initial budget of P70 and since we got the pails at a low price we were now able to buy enough towels for all the kits :) Yay! Right after Divisoria we went to SM Supermarket to get the good to be placed inside the pails. We wanted to save and go to a cheaper supermarket but since we received a few SM gift cheques we figured that it would be best to do all the shopping there. I can't believe how excited I am... Just look at all the things we were able to buy for them!We got a lot of pails instead of plastic bags to hold all the goods :) The pails are pretty cool since they all have a mini basin as a cover!towels that can be used as blankets120 Tide "taba" bars!120 bags of brown sugarmilk and chocolate drink for the kids120 cans of meatloafat the checkout counter with fellow volunteers Roselyn and Grace :) i'm not in the pic. heheEach pail will have the following items: 4 boiled eggs, 4 boiled bananas, 5 packs of sardines, instant noodles, 1 cupcake, 5 biscuits, 1 box of milk, 6 sachets of Chocquik, 1 can corned beef, 1 can meatloaf, 2 kgs rice, 1 kg sugar, 1 Tide bar, 1 bath soap, 1 towel, 1 pack of Sanitary pads, 1 toothbrush, 1 tube toothpaste, shampoo and 1 gallon mineral water! Yay! so exciting :)

Hello!

I'm here!

Get your Krispy Kreme doughnuts!

Yay for Krispy Kreme for sponsoring this amazing project! I Hope that there will be a lot of doughnut sales tomorrow :)

Indulge in the Uniquely Singapore experience

More often than not, people associate Singapore with being an expensive place to visit. I guess this is because there are so many places to go to for luxury brand names and the top of the line electronic gadgets. For me though, when I think of Singapore I think of diversity... And the best way to indulge in the Uniquely Singapore experience is to immerse yourself in this diversity :) Here is my Uniquely Singapore Experience itinerary:

Start the day early and head out to the Chinese Garden in Jurong.
I think this is the perfect way to start the day because not only do you get to see the beautiful plants and Chinese architecture but you also get a mini workout to prepare you for a busy day ahead! It would be great to bring a light snack that you can munch on while taking in all the beautiful sights. The garden is open daily from 6am to 11pm and the best part is that admission is free!

After the Chinese garden, hop on the mrt and head of to Chinatown for a nice hearty lunch, shopping and sight seeing! Must sees in the area are the Buddha Tooth Relic Museum and the Chinatown Heritage Center. For yummy treats there is the Chinatown food street where you can choose authentic Singaporean dishes from the many hawker centers. There is also Hong Lim Food Center where you can find one of the best curry puffs! Look for the Tanglin Crispy Curry Puff stall and try the sardine puff for just $1.20!

After exploring Chinatown, hop on the mrt and visit Little India. I really love seeing all the colors of the buildings, flowers and trinket stalls that line the streets of Little India. The Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple should not be missed as well... but of course proper behavior should be observed at all times since it it a place of worship. Right after visiting the temple, it's good to have a chapati and teh tarik break in one of the cafes nearby :)

Next stop for the day would be Suntec City to visit the world's biggest fountain, the Fountain of Wealth... but we must make sure that we make it there before 6pm so we can make a wish inside the inner ring for good luck! At 6 pm they turn on the huge fountain which is also a nice thing to see!

After visiting the fountain, take bus number 10 or 196 to go to Singapore's most famous landmark, The Merlion! Visit and take photos beside the 2 Merlions in the park :) After that take a quick walk to the another famous site, The Esplanade Theaters! The durian shaped domes are an architectural masterpiece and are definitely worth visiting! By this time we are probably hungry again so the next stop would have to be Makansutra in Glutton Bay. Boon Tat's crispy baby squid and sting ray are a must when ordering! After that hearty meal, head out to the River taxi to enjoy a scenic river ride along the Singapore river. Don't forget to take photos of the Merlion and other sights as their lights are turned on for the night! Alight at Clarke Quay to enjoy a night cap to finish off your hectic yet amazing day! Truly the best way to indulge in the uniquely Singapore experience!
photos by meow :)

No more blackouts please!

"MANILA, Philippines - As the country struggles to rise from the devastation of storms “Ondoy” and “Pepeng,” Metro Manila and Rizal province are facing long power outages after a fire forced the shutdown of a power transformer in Taytay last Wednesday.

The rotating blackouts that the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) had hoped to end today are expected to drag on after three of its substations tripped “due to critical loading and in its attempt to shift load” to compensate for the shutdown of the Dolores substation of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP).

Meralco said the development “will result in longer duration of power outages in affected areas.”

Meralco, in a statement, said the three substations that conked out were Mandaluyong, Hillcrest and SM-Shangri-La.

“Both the NGCP and Meralco are doing everything to restore normal state of power,” the Meralco statement read. “We beg your indulgence for this inconvenience.”

Eleven cities and towns in eastern Metro Manila and Rizal province were subjected to rotating blackouts yesterday. Meralco had targeted to restore normal power today but its substations tripped.

The blackouts yesterday lasted three to four hours each twice a day in Makati, Marikina, Mandaluyong, Pasig, San Juan and parts of Quezon City, and Binangonan, Taytay, Angono, Cainta, and Antipolo City in Rizal." taken from yahoo news

* * *

I think they got it wrong because sadly the blackout lasted for about 12 hours here in Ortigas. My friend shared this list with me containing the blackout schedules. I really don't know how long this will go on but hopefully things get back to normal soon.

Help needed for Montalban

"60,000 people are looking to us for help! People are getting sick. Immediate dangers now are infections, water borne diseases, dengue, cold and flu. Hunger, thirst and lack of basic goods are still a big problem. All houses were out of electricity and water and the stench was terrible.

It was shocking to see that nothing had been done by any big aid agencies there. We were still the only ones there.

People need to get started with their lives again. "

This excerpt is from an email about Montalban, one of KaEskwela's focus areas. Students from our partner schools there have reportedly lost their homes and everything else they own.

Help us help them. KaEskwela will be visiting Montalban on Oct. 18, Sunday and we hope to give donations to at least 100 families.

Although helping hands are welcome, what KaEskwela needs more are material donations. Here are some ideas on what you can donate:

Food: the usual canned goods, rice, but also those that do not need to be cooked-- biscuits, bread, fruits (eg, mga saging na di pa gaanong hinog/ nilagang saba)

Toiletries: toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, toilet paper, sanitary napkins

Medicines and medical supplies: alcohol, betadine, medicines for colds/cough/ diarrhea/ skin infections, cotton, gauze

Beddings: blankets, pillows

Household items: cooking utensils, pots, pans, spoons, forks, plates, cups, glasses

Old clothes and new underwear

Slippers and shoes (no fancy footwear please)

Pails, basins

Diapers, milk for babies

Any other extras that you have at home are most welcome. You don't have to buy. Ransack your closets! We don't mind getting random, assorted goods.

Donations may be brought to these dropoff points:

1. WEEKDAYS 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM ONLY

Padilla Asuncion Bote-Veguillas Matta Carino Law Offices
5th floor, Strata 100 building
F.B. Ortigas, Jr. Avenue (Emerald Avenue)
Ortigas Center, Pasig City 1600

2. WEEKDAYS, 10AM TO 5PM

Citrus Productions

Unit 1015 Medical Plaza Ortigas

San Miguel Avenue

Please text 0920-9534294 before going there

Cash may also be deposited to KaEskwela's account. Email us at kaeskwelavolunteers@yahoo.com if you want to give cash. We will email the account details to interested donors, and inform you what we bought with your money.

Deadline for donations is on Oct 16.

Good Morning!

Good Morning! Today is going to be a happy and productive day :) But before anything else it's time for the most important activity: spot the nugget!meow?

oh, there you are!

meow meow meow!

Don't leave your pets behind

I come from a family of cat lovers. I remember hearing stories of how my grandmother packed her pet cat in a bayong (straw bag) when they were fleeing from the war. Coming to think of it I don't think I recall a time in my life when we didn't have a cat in our home. It's funny because even when I am away from home I am constantly on the look out for cats... Yes, I think I am a little cat obsessed, don't you think? haha!

Our pets play a very important role in our lives and we should always be thinking of their safety - not only during normal days but also in times of calamity. I really was very sad to hear so many reports of pets dying in the flood.

Anyway here are a few safety tips taken from PETA

Before a disaster:

• All animals should have collars with identification tags. Make sure you have a current photo of your companion animal for identification purposes.
• Hotels often lift "no pets" policies during emergencies, but keep a list of hotels that accept companion animals just in case. Include the Philippine Animal Welfare Society's (PAWS) phone number, (02) 475-1688, in your list of emergency numbers. It might be able to provide information during a disaster.
• Keep packed a carrier, lease, extra animal food, and any other supplies that you will need so that you can grab them easily if you need to evacuate in a hurry.

In case pets are left behind:

• Do not tie animals outside, leave them caged, or keep them in a vehicle unattended. Leave them in a secure area inside your home.
• Leave out at least 10 days' supply of water. Fill every sink, bowl, pan, and plastic container with water and set them on the floor. Do not leave just one container because it may spill. If your toilet bowl is free of chemical disinfectants, leave the toilet seat up to provide animals with one more source of water, but do not let that be the only source.
• Leave out at least 10 days' supply of dry food. Canned food will go rancid quickly.
• If you can't get to your home, contact a reliable neighbor or friend to check on animals and get them out, if possible. Provide specific instructions for care.

Orange days

We miss our warm sunny afternoons!

“It’s Krrunch Time, Get Playful!”

I think I have a pretty cool job since I work from home. Thanks to the internet, I get to talk with my officemates and partners from all over the world! But of course there are times when I find it hard to concentrate with all the distractions around me. When I start feeling unproductive or uninspired I know that it is time for me to take a quick break. I usually walk around for a few minutes or get myself a nice cup of coffee... but so far, the most effective "get back in the zone" technique for me is to grab a quick bite :)
I like having Krrunch snacks like Pringles! My all time favorite flavor is Cheese but I also like the newer varieties such as Salt and Pepper and also Salt and Vinegar. Yum! After my Pringles Krrunch moment I feel really happy and energized to go back to work... or take another mini break to play with the chips :) haha!


“It’s Krrunch Time, Get Playful!”

Sleep buddies!

Erman sent me this photo of the cats in his house. He said that they are mortal enemies when awake or during meal time but friends when asleep! So cute :) I love them both!