On Elbi Crimes and Solutions

I've been quiet for too long about the rising crime rate in my beloved hometown (Los Banos, Laguna) and my beloved school where I graduated (University of the Philippines Los Banos). I poured my silent prayer for justice for Given Grace Cebanico, a UPLB student who was raped and murdered last year.  I hoped that the crime such as that would not happen again.  But then, just a few months after the incident, another hideous crime happened again in the same town.  Not just one...but two, which happened within a week! One of them was a female high school student who sells sampaguita just outside the university campus (Rochel "Cesil" Geronda) and a male third year college student from UPLB (Bernard Penaranda).  My anger began to rise because of the incompetency of the local government and police officials to protect the town from dark hearted people.  And now, I finally find myself blogging about it.

Having 3 murders within a short span of time in the same town is very alarming.  It's like terrorism itself.  A large group of population inside Los Banos are students from University of the Philippines.  So I can just imagine the shock and fear of the parents of the students, especially those who came from afar.  And I'm sure that incoming freshmen are already having second thoughts whether to pursue their studies in UPLB or not.

What made me actually upset was Mayor Anthony Genuino's (the current mayor of Los Banos) proposed solution to the problem.  He blamed illegal drugs.  He said that illegal drug usage is the root cause of the serial killings in the town.  His solution was to put up more street lights on strategic locations and to put up police outposts nearby the university. (Read news article here).

Will his solution solve the problem?  It may decrease crime rate (hopefully), but it would not eliminate the root cause of the problem--- which is illegal drugs.

He did not say anything about combating illegal drugs users and pushers in the town.  He did not say anything about putting up check points so that suspicious cars, tricycles, and motorcycles can be searched strictly (so that holdups can be avoided).  He did not even give words of comfort or assurance to the people that everything is under control, and that he has this heartfelt urge to protect his townspeople (or probably this part wasn't written in the news, that I didn't know).  In my opinion, his proposed solutions are insufficient. Just thinking that the supposed-to-be-who-we-call-leader of our town showed inability to give adequate solutions that would address the root cause gives me the headache.  If what he's going through now was a college thesis or research paper, he would probably have failing marks.  Disappointing, isn't it?

3rd Year Wedding Anniversary

My husband and I just had our 3rd wedding anniversary last January.  But our celebration this year was different because we are not together--- he is in a business trip right now outside of the country.  Because of this, I was not really expecting anything from him but a simple greeting...until a delivery man entered our office, looked for me and gave me a box.  At first, I thought the box was office supplies, but when my officemates started teasing me (they knew it was our anniversary!), I came to realize that the package was probably from my husband.  And when I opened it, I was surprised.  Too surprised that I blushed.

Inside the box was a dozen of pink half-bloomed and long stemmed roses--- my favorite flower.  Actually, it was more than my favorite flower; it actually became an important symbol for me before when I was still single-- that whoever would give me pink half-bloomed and long stemmed roses would be the right one for me (and my husband, who was then my boyfriend and did not know about the sign before, gave me the exact flowers during one of our bf/gf monthsary).  Now, he brought me another dozen again (but this time, he already knows about the sign. Harhar!).  And I was touched.  And surprised.  And felt really loved.

I love you hunny...and I miss you so much!  Happy 3rd Wedding Anniversary!

My 3rd year wedding anniversary roses.  Only 11 roses were in the photo because I left 1 rose in my office desk.

Pack Up Tips for Travel

I had this idea to blog tips on packing up clothes for travel when I was helping my husband pack up his things for his business travel in United States.  Since he will stay there for 6 months, we had to fit his clothes in a big luggage bag altogether.  I, being somehow an OC on packing up things for travel (since it is a nature of my current job), fixed his things in a way that it will be easier for him to carry, open and search (in case the immigration officer would check his things), and unpack.

It was a challenge for me to pack his formal polos because it shouldn't be crumpled inside the bag.  My husband could have iron it anyway once he gets to U.S.  but he's not "iron" man (means he is too lazy to iron his clothes).  But then, I thought of a way so that his long sleeves polos wouldn't be too crumpled once unpacked.  That's what I would like to share to you, too.

To pack a polo inside a luggage bag:

1. Neatly lay the polo on a clean flat surface.

2. Button up the polo.

3. Turn the polo upside down and lay it on the clean flat surface neatly.

4. Fold one side of the polo, sleeves stretched (see photo below):

5. Fold the sleeve neatly until aligned to the edge of the side of the polo, as shown in the photo below:

6. Fold the other sleeve until aligned to the edge of the side of the polo.  Observe the encircled edges of the photo so you would know the alignments.

7. Fold the polo starting from the bottom side of it then upwards until the collar.  Do not press the polo hard while folding to prevent fold lines.  It must look like these:

8. Place the formal polo in a clean plastic bag (resealable bag may do).  You may place all the polos either altogether in the plastic bag or separately.

9.  Put the sealed polos in the luggage bag.  You may want to place it vertically in the luggage bag to avoid it from being pushed heavily by other clothes which can cause fold lines on the polo.  If you want to place it horizontally, make sure that it is on the top of other things in the luggage.

10.  Lastly, casual clothes and other not-so-fragile clothes may be rolled and placed in the luggage vertically so that it is easy to see and unpack.  Placing the clothes vertically will save space and will not make the luggage appear bulky.

I hope this tip will help you solve your packing up dilemna.  I also hope that when my husband will already return home, he maybe able to remember these steps so that he would not get stressed over when packing up his things.  Maybe I'll just send him this blog link to remind him of this useful tip. :D

Lesson Learned on a Mixed Prayer

Everyday, before I go to my office, I drop by the chapel to say a quick morning prayer.  Since I often feel stressed at work, the first thing that I pray is for Him to give me strength and will to go on with my job and to guide me in my everyday tasks and projects.  With all my energy focused on this hope, I would always feel better once I'm on my desk already and my days become more manageable.  It shows that God really lifts our burdens and produces miracles to make our prayers come true.

However, my mistake, I think, was this: What comes last in my quick morning prayer is for my family, to keep them safe, happy and healthy.  And to be honest, my heart usually is not really set on this prayer because my focus is on my career worries.

This new year, I promised not to be late for work because I had too many tardiness and leaves last year and I am quite worried that my attendance would affect my career.  My tardiness and absences are all because of family matters, especially when either I or my daughter was sick.  And of course, I couldn't help but to excuse myself from work if my daughter is sick because...well, I am a mother and I want to personally take care of my daughter.  Anyway, just last Wednesday, I broke my new year resolution--- I was again absent from work because my daughter suddenly had very high fever (and I didn't know why.  She was her usual self the day before).  I informed my officemates and they replied positively.  The next day, my daughter still had fever and I had to bring her to the hospital for check up (thank God it wasn't dengue.  Actually her CBC and Urinalysis tests were normal).  That was the 2nd day of my absence.  Then Friday came, she still had the fever and I was planning to take her to another doctor for second opinion.  That was the 3rd day of my absence from work.  My work colleagues didn't already reply to my texts and probably they were already pissed off because we still have a report to work on.  My conscience nagged me whether to go to work and leave my whining and crying daughter who was begging for my embrace or stay at home to take care of my daughter and get ready to be nagged by my officemates (or boss!) next week.  Obviously, I decided to be with my daughter for those 3 days.  A mother's heart is truly stronger than being a career woman.

On the afternoon of my daughter's 3rd day of being sick, her fever suddenly cooled down and she became her normal self again.  I guess she just wanted to feel secured and loved because her daddy just went abroad last week and will be back after a few months.

In this light, I learned that  no matter how much I prayed for my own self growth at workplace, if I do not put the well-being of my family first, everything that I've worked hard for will crash down.  I guess I had my prayers all mixed up.  I should first pray for my family's safety, health and happiness then other personal hopes should come next.

And of course, though I knew this all along, I would always remind myself that being a mother is a mother's main job.