Finding Noemi

Oo, hindi ka namamalimata. Hindi ako na-wrong spelling. What you read is correct. It’s Finding Noemi.

**************************************************

January 6. Friday morning. A schoolmate of mine was on the way to school on her own for her enrollment. It was a typical day until her family and friends felt something wrong. They weren’t able to contact the girl anymore.

I learned the news from one of her blockmates. Even if I barely know about this girl, I also became shocked. Schoolmate ko rin kasi. Her cousin also posted a photo with some information regarding what happened. The concerns grew few hours ago, even reaching the attention of the entire school community. I even tried to post the info on Twitter and tweeted some celebrities if they could RT (retweet) the plea. The next day, she was declared missing.

Days passed and it seemed that Noemi Lagman was still not seen. We never heard anything regarding her whereabouts.  The appeals were constantly shared and retweeted, even gaining a trending spot in some sites. Mayor Bernabe of Parañaque City and the authorities also acted in search of Noemi. Her family, friends, and some concerned citizens were tirelessly vigilant and were praying that she should be found safely as soon as possible.

January 10. Wednesday, 11:10 PM. Her father issued an update on Facebook. Noemi was already been found and was with her family.  He acknowledged everyone who helped in spreading the info on Facebook. Due to the authorities’ advice, Mr. Lagman asked for understanding and privacy about the details of how and where she was found yet he shared how exhausting and emotionally tiring , to quote the “longest 100 hours of their lives”, in searching his daughter. He ended his statement with a piece of advice telling us to love our families unconditionally because it matters most.

For more details, click the related article here.

**************************************************

Here are my thoughts:

As I have said, I barely know Ms. Noemi Lagman. Hindi ko siya kilala totally and personally. Naririnig ko yung pangalan niya at if I’m not mistaken, she retweeted one of my tweets in the past. All I know is we have the same course (AB Multimedia Arts), that she is in her senior year at college, and I know some of her blockmates. But what happened to her prompted me to simply help. Regardless of how we know each other, a person who is missing is a person who needs our help.

Social media played a huge role in Noemi’s case. Naaalala niyo pa ba yung kaso ni Lola Auring at ang kanyang nawawalang asawa last year? Both of them reunited thanks to the support and effort of people who used social media sites as a tool to help find her husband. A simple act of sharing the photo and/or retweeting had brought awareness to the community. Malaking bagay ang pagpapakalat ng panawagan; the only resources that we need aside the internet are a short amount of time, willingness, and effort to help.

As I quote a good friend of mine Ms. Justine Roce, “In the case of Noemi Lagman, let us not forget the human component in finding her. The police and we internet folk had a hand in this. +1 for the human race!” We should be proud of this achievement. Nang dahil sa walang-tigil na pasheshare ay nagawa nating makita at makapiling ng kanyang pamilya si Noemi.

Tulad niyo rin, napapa-isip ako kung ano ba talaga ang nangyari kay Noemi, kung papaano at saan siya nakita at nahanap. But we should respect the decision of her family. I believe they have the right to keep it confidential for important reasons. Ang mahalaga ay buhay siya at kapiling na niya ang kanyang kaanak. Also, let’s give her and her family a time to recover for what had happen to them.

To someone who was criticizing  me during the course of finding Noemi, just to let you know I didn’t acted for my own interest at all. Nagpaparinig ka at sinasabing nakikisawsaw ako sa issue para lang sumikat. Well, it’s not my fault if I have lots of connections. I used what you claim my ‘popularity’ to help, not the other way around. So I hope this will make you shut up.

May mga usap-usapin na kumakalat about what really happened to the point na everyone seems to be overjudging. Read the comments on Yahoo! Philippines’ report (above) and I’m sure you’ll be shocked. Too much prejudice, too much name calling. Some even cited she only did that to gain fame and be thrown with stones. Even if hindi ko kilala masyado si Noemi, I felt the urge to step up and defend her right. Kagaya ng nakararami ay maraming katanungan ako pero hindi ko kailangan insultuhin ang pagkatao ng isang nawawala para lang masagot ang mga tanong. Given with a small amount of info, let’s just analyze it by ourselves and learn something from it. Kung may tamang pag-iisip tayo at aware tayo na mayroon tayong ganoon, gamitin natin. Kung siya ay kinidnap or may masamang nagyari, tayo’y mag-ingat para hindi matulad sa sinapit niya. Kung siya’y naglayas at may tampuhang nagaganap, mahalaga ay naiparamdam natin kay Noemi na may mga nag-aalala sa kanya at dapat ay hindi na maulit pa. At sinasabing it was such a waste of effort and time? It might be if we’re too narrow-minded and not compassionate but for her family, friends, and to all who are concerned, it was a test of love and a matter of wakeup call for them.

What made me more uncomfortable is some people are too demanding that they owe the family an explanation. Naging utang na loob pa nila.

Dinakip o naglayas, iisa lang naman ang ibig sabihin. May nawawala. At ang nawawala ay dapat makita.

Sa nangyari, isa pa ang napatunayan ko. God is really good. He never failed us. He answered our prayers. I am wishing that God gave us the gifts of patience and understanding during the crisis, whether you’re involved or not involved. Nagdasal tayo na sana ay makapiling na ni Noemi ang kanyang pamilya kaya marapat lang tayo’y manalingin muli para pasalamatan ang Panginoon. To those who are in doubt and still criticizing what happened, I hope the Lord will guide you.
I hope we learned a great deal of lesson from what happened. God bless us all. Alleluiah!

ITAAS ANG MGA PUTING PANYO! (Ok, pwede na yata ako maging pari. Haha! Pinapatawa ko lang kayo dahil naging seryoso tayon dito. Be happy.)

Hot like Mexico, rejoice!

P.S. Lastly, I advice everyone especially students never bring a huge amount of money for enrolment while commuting. Bring check or use ATM/credit card instead. Or be accompanied by your parents while going to school.

Azkals vs. Kuwait match

The moment that I had been waiting for. Sa wakas, nakanuod na rin ako ng live match ng Team Azkals! Di lang yun, first time ko makanuod ng live sports event. Dapat sana nung Team Azkals – Sri Lanka match last July 7 kaso naubusan na kami ng tickets. I owe my friend Glendale (ang isa sa pinaka Azkal fan sa APC). Kung hindi sa kanya, hindi ko mae-experience ang football craze: ang mag-cheer, mag-boo, at tumawa sa mga laughtrip ng laro.

The game was scheduled last July 28 (Thursday). Hindi ako makakapunta nun sa MR & MS CSIT 2011 pageant since nakapagpabili na ako ng ticket nun. Pero I still sent my best wishes to the contestants and organizers of the event. Yung totoo, kasal? I had work that day pero buti na lang natapos ko yung trabaho ko bago ako naka-alis sa office. I left at around 4 PM (nakanuod pa ako ng Tangled bago umalis, sorry ako na ang late) then rode MRT from Buendia to EDSA-Taft. Good decision since pakiramdam ko traffic ang buong kahabaan ng Gil Puyat. Then I rode LRT to Vito Cruz. Super siksikan! Pakiramdam ko kumapit sa akin ang mikrobyo ng bawat passengers. Haha!

As I was heading Harrison Plaza, inabutan ako ng ulan! I didn’t bring an umbrella; just left it at office since hindi pwede sa loob ng Rizal Memorial Stadium. Tinakbo ko from Pablo Ocampo to McDonalds ng Harrison Plaza habang naulan. Walang patawad ang ulan, pati salawal ko basa. Wagas.

Tignan niyo na lang yung mga susunod na pictures para sa buong kwento. Ia-upload ko sa susunod yung video (I did shoot using a digicam, sabi ni Miki, documentation nga daw).

Finally, I got my P 200 ticket from Glendale. Ito ang pinakamabentang ticket (aside from 300) hindi dahil sa mura pero… you’re about to find out why. Bilib ako kay Glendale. Nakaantabay na siya sa Glorietta 5 the day na nagrelease ng tickets (She bought 7). After 1 or 2 hours, sold out na ang lower-priced tickets.

I was dripping wet when I finally arrived. Parang nagsuot ako ng hindi-masyadong-napigang-mga-binanlaw-na-damit. Kumain muna kami sa Jolibee habang ako’y nagpipiga ng tubig sa mga damit ko. Buti na lang may dala akong tsinelas at spare clothes nun. Pero nagpalit na lang ako ng tsinelas. Feel ko ang wet look.

Bago mag-6 PM, umalis na kami. Usapan was 4 PM pero anong oras na. Buti na lang at medyo tuyo na ako niyan. Me and Jellie demonstrating our wacky faces. Too bad I wasn’t able to buy face paints. Ang mahal kasi. Niloloko ako na sana Boysen ang ginamit namin. Baka naman after the game, di na matanggal sa mga mukha namin. Ano kami, bubong ang mga mukha namin? Waterproof?

The whole stretch of Adriatico street (beside Harrison Plaza) was full of people. I love the energy. Everyone was for Azkals. Mapamayaman o mahirap, boy, girl, bakla, tomboy, butiki, baboy, tsanak, unggoy (ako yun!)… nagkaka-isa para sa Team Azkals. Pero syempre, di mawawala ang mga tindero’t tindera. Sayang ang pagkakataong kumita . Ay eto pala, habang papunta kami sa venue at busy kami ni Jellie sa chikahan, may batang beki na dumaan at ang sabi: “Tumabi kayo, dadaan ang reyna!”With matching pamaypay effect. Diva on the making! HAHA!

BTW, dapat si Mao yung isa sa amin kaso nagkasakit. Kaya si Miki (yung gwapo sa kaliwa) na lang yung sumama. In fairness, pumayat ang mokong. Gwaping! Left-Right: Miki, Ching, Glendale, Ritch, Jellie, and Eileen.

Simon Greatwich being interviewed by a ABS CBN news reporter (si Ginger ata) before heading to the stadium. Pinagkakaguluhan siya. The most funny part was when our group decided to leave that area, 2 old ladies ran into the Simon’s interview scene and 1 of them screamed… “Uy, bilisan mo, andito si Phil Youngshusband!”

Photo-op in front of an event tarp.

We followed the end of the line before we could enter the premises. Guess what, umabot ang pila hanggang Torre Lorenzo sa may Taft! It was 6:30 PM na at nasa labas pa rin kami (7 PM ang kick-off). Ambagal ng usad ng pila, dinaig ang traffic sa EDSA Guadalupe. Nasa gilid pa kami ng stadium nang kinanta ang Lupang Hinirang. Nung makalampas na kami ng security inspection, takbo kaagad kami sa mga entrances. Parang Amazing Race lang .

This was the view when we finally entered the stadium. Napaka-engrande. Ganito pala ang football match, lalo na’t dito mismo sa Pilipinas nangyayari. Plus ang ganda ng view: kita mo yung buildings sa background tapos napakagreen ng pitch, kasing-berde ng utak ko. Haha! Nakalibreng nuod din yung mga nasa buildings, yun lang di nila mararanasan ang audience craze. Para akong batang gigil na gigil sa amusement park nang nakapasok na kami. Alma ko na ang rason kung bakit mabenta yung Php 200 and 300 tickets: mas masaya yung crowd dun. Mas damang-dama mo yung excitement at tension .

Syempre, souvenir photo! For documentation purposes

Ewan ko pero napansin namin to (sorry kung blurred yung pic, I only used digicam): yung blue signage from CityLand tower that says IN GOD WE TRUST. That sent a strong message during the game

And it happened. AZKALS’ FIRST GOAL! By Schrock! The crowd went wild (the reason why I didn’t have any photo during that moment dahil busy kami sa kakasigaw). Super nakakakilabot. Doon ko nalaman kung bakit ganoon yun feeling mga napapanuod ko sa TV, sa tuwing may nakakagoal. It was a schrocking experience. Sigaw ako ng sigaw na parang hyena na bekimon. Haha. Napayakap ako kay Eileen. Yung iba umiiyak sa tuwa, yung iba winawagayway yung watawat ng Pilipinas. Parang lahat nanalo sa lotto.

Astig tong si kuya. Dinaig ang Ati-Atihan festival. Pwede siyang endorser ng Boysen paint . Almost lahat sa side namin nagpapapicture sa kanya. Yan ang certified Azkal fan, kulang na lang tumahol. WOOF WOOF AWOO! Joke

Then hindi ko ineexpect na makikita ko yung family friend/anak ng dating secretary ng erpats ko (si Janjan, middle, with her relative, Trina). I remember Janjan was asking me where I bought my ticket pero told her na medyo mahihirapan siya since ubusan ang tickets. Luckily, she watched. Sabi ko ‘maybe it was God and your mom’s plan na magkita tayo rito’.

Our group. Feeling ko kami yung pinaka-wild sa side namin. Lalo na si Glendale. Walang binatbat ang vuvuzelas (yung sikat na toroto tuwing may football match). Gamit niya ay ngangabu! Hahaha! Tipong napapatingin yung mga katabi namin sa amin. Pero nakiki Bimby rin sila kay Anton del Rosario. Kamukha kasi ni Bimby. Kaya ayun, the next day, wala akong boses. Naiwan sa Rizal Stadium.

Napaka 80s ng hairdo ko. Parang Rick Astley lang.

At nang nakagoal ang Kuwait… mas dumagdag ang suspense at tension sa stadium. Nakakakaba. Halos tawagin ko na lahat ng santo para lang makagoal ulit pero mahigpit ang laban between Azkals at Kuwait. Medyo may illusion effect pa naman yung side namin: akala namin pasok yung bola at goal na for Kuwait. The entire stadium was resounding with boos everytime a Kuwaiti player gets down. Sabi ng katabi ko, pwede na daw pang Oscars ang drama effect. Nasaktan o nagsasakit-sakitan lang, tutok pa rin ang lahat sa laro.

Umulan nung bandang 2nd half. Kawawa kami kasi wala kaming raincoats. Pero ok lang. Wet look . Umaasa kami na ito ang magiging advantage para sa Team Azkals dahil sanay sila sa wet terrain, di tulad nung first game nila sa Kuwait kung saan kasing init ng lagnat ang temperature. Pero huli na ang lahat.

Hanggang sa nakagoal ulit ang Kuwait. Medyo tumamlay ang Pinoy crowd. Malapit na magtapos ang game at parang pagod na ang Team Azkal at nilalaro na lang ng Kuwait para takaw-oras.

Natapos ang laro. 2-1, in favor of Kuwait. Hindi na tayo uusad para sa 3rd round. PERO kahit natalo ang Azkals, di pa rin nawala ang pagmamahal at suporta sa kanila. Biruin niyo, kahit tapos na ang laro, madami pa ring tao at kumakanta ng “Noypi” ni Bamboo at “Posible” ng Rivermaya. The team had their final walk around, para magpasalamat sa mga supporters. Parang Miss Universe lang Syempre, nung dumaan na sila kung saan kami banda, todo cheer kami.

Someone was frustrated and disappointed with the game result. At least dinisplace niya sa mini vuvuzela. Kawawang torotot .

That is only the beginning. I believe Azkals can make it kahit abutin pa ng ilang taon. Faith and intense training are needed. To those detractors and who are mocking them, better have them to be a source of Pinoy inspiration. Kung nandun lang kayo sa loob ng Rizal Stadium, for sure mapapacheer kayo for them. I know it’s a sports event but what I experienced is beyond the technicalities of football. Umaapaw ng patriotism at Pinoy pride. Ako na ang nationalistic! Joke

And to those who say na dapat 100% Pinoy by blood ang ibang players: mas mabuti ngang sila ang naglaro kesa sa mga Pinoy na asal-dayuhan. I salute them for having the Pinoy spirit kahit half-Pinoy lang sila at hindi pa masyado kabisado ang Lupang Hinirang. Haha!

No doubt na magagaling ang Kuwait. Biro nga ni Jellie: parang mga kabayo sila kung tumakbo. Magaling sila mang-ambush ng bola. Ganoon talaga pag sanay na sa football. And our team has a long way to succeed. Just never stop believing.

We left as soon as the security personnel told us. Daming kalat. Yung mga Azkal merchandise at iba pang binebenta sa labas, bagsak presyo. Kahit yung Tender Juicy Hotdogs, per bundle na ang benta, basta maubos lang ang inventory. Parang last minute Christmas shopping lang. Kahit sa labas, hindi pa rin tumitigal ang crowd sa pagchecheer. Di alintana ang trapik, putik na daan, dami ng tao, at gutom. Para sa akin, sulit ang panunuod.

Matapos ang mahabang lakaran, kumain kami sa KFC at doon tinapos ang aming gabi bago magsi-uwian. Di yata ineexpect ng mga fastfood at ibang kainan ang dagsa ng costumers nila. Puro “maam/sir, 15 minutes pa po, ok lang?” No choice pero kumagat na rin kami.

Don’t worry, tuyo na ulit kami nun .
Hot like Mexico, rejoice!

Magbigay Fungi!

Huwag kayo mag-alala. Wala po akong alipunga at wala rin akong tinapay na may amag.

Gumawa ako ng isa pang blogsite (eto yung isa kong official blogsite: Weather Forecast) Pilit kong magkaroon ng alternative blogsite dahil hindi naman ako laging tinatamaan ng “straight English” habit (at kung pipilitin ko man eh aabutin tayo hanggang sa mabaon sa limot ang pagtype)… hence, kaya bakit ko naisip ang current tagline ng site na ‘to (pakibasa sa itaas).

Nakakatuwang isipin na medyo nakakahiligan (may term ba na ganun?) ko na ang pagsusulat ng blogs. Nainspire kasi ako sa mga nababasa ko sa internet; sa mga saluobing nakakapukaw (ANLALIM) ng isipan. Kaya layunin ng blog na ito na mailabas ko ang mga saloobin ko sa mga bagay-bagay na nakapaligid sa akin. Pag-uusapan natin ang kahit ano: politika, pagkain, literature, food, babae, lalake, bakla, tomboy, butiki, baboy, tiyanak, unggoy (ka). Basta kahit ano na masarap pag-usapan (at pagtripan).

For the mean time, ipopost ko ang mga dati kong blog entries mula sa Multiply at Facebook. Wala pa akong maisip na masarap isulat kasi. Enjoy!

Hot like Mexico, rejoice!
The Air Prince

Hello world!

Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!