KUMAGCOW - The Goodlooking Guy on His Journey : )

I'm a sweet tooth. I can't tell you how many tons of sweets I've already consumed during my lifetime, but by the time I do you would have finished reading a whole set of encyclopedias. Never in my wildest dreams would I have lived without one thing in particular. No its not one of the three bears, but Goldilocks!

It's the time we share these things and take grace from God that we celebrate life! Every year, every day and every hour, the things we get from these will always be remembered. You're the one Goldilocks because out of the 7,100 islands the Philippines, there is only one place to enjoy food with my family. Only Goldilocks does that!

It's a nice day today. See what talking could do to people? They have all agreed to push through with the automated Philippine elections on 2010. TIM and SMARTMATIC brainstormed and worked out a win win deal for both companies since today is the deadline for all things related to this. I knew it would turn out like this, otherwise we all would go back to manual elections. The 2010 election will be administered by the Commission on Elections in compliance with the Republic Act No. 9369, also known as Amended Computerization Act of 2007. It will be the first national computerized election in the history of the Philippines.

I just hope when it comes we would not be recognizing failure of elections on some parts of the country where often times there are security risks and lots of cheating. Yeah, I know how remarkable that is to even know there is massive cheating... I mean everybody knows it already!

I don't know if that is going to change, but it would be never really nice to stay that way forever. I hope it changes, I hope it all works out. If the results don't come out as sudden as they say it will be then there would be a lot of speculation that it did not work.

Oh wait, I gotta stop dreaming... Megan Fox is eating Gummy Bears... LOLZ!

This weekend was really hard for me financially. Aside from the regular utilities I paid for, I spent a lot buying the camera bag and that darn annual fee CITIBANK charges its clients every year. So in half a month I paid around 14 thousand pesos cash for that single card. Now I know how it feels in the US, where everybody lives by this plastic rule... the credit card.

Not to be outright mad at these banks I searched for ways that I could do in order to make ends meet since I am spending a fortune on just one bill. I learned more that what I could chew, because I now have information about debt consolidation. Yes, it is how some people handle their debt in the US. Some have pretty much suffered on their credit report because of the economic crisis that struck the United States. I watched thousands of people leaving their homes because they were not able to pay for mortgage they loaned from banks. Some of them only carried the basic necessities and the clothes on their back. I was also seeing some of them not able to afford moving from one house to another. Leaving large furniture pieces behind that could have gotten them the extra money they need for the new one. Children even left their toys, which even made the movers, cry a little in that news program. It seems debt consolidation could help them a lot since they only need to pay one entity instead of numerous companies charging those interest rates that are out of this world. I hope people made the right choice and consider this a better way to manage their finances. I know I will!

I just watched SNN this evening and Kris Aquino just mentioned something about the former President Corazon Aquino. She seems to be not recovering that fast with her chemo sessions. She was just recently rushed to the hospital because of her loss of appetite. This has been the second day masses and novenas were done for her speedy recovery. All her friends and family pitched in.

There is nothing more memorable than her in the People Power revolt in 1986. It was one thing that she contributed, the democracy in the Philippines. Although, the economy suffered much in her time because of the other people who took advantage of her, she is still an icon here and elsewhere in the globe. It would be really sad to see her suffer amidst the death of other famous people like Michael Jackson and Farah Fawcette.

Among those that attended the mass were former President Estrada along with Dr. Loi Ejercito, Jackie Ejercito-Lopez and Senador Jinggoy Estrada. Deedee Sytangco, her spokesperson said Mrs. Aquino is in a 'stable' and 'conscious' condition while she refuses to undergo needed chemotherapy.

She was transferred from the ICU of Makati Medical Center, to her residence in Quezon City. Malacanang has also formally asked the public prayers for Mrs. Aquino. Kristie Kenney also prays for her speedy recovery. She said wonderful things about her and know how big role she played in forming the Philippine democracy.

There are a few people that I met during the DPP Anniversary last week that reminded me a couple of things in college. They were the same people who I know had some cases filed against them because of substance abuse. They were my friends from a mountaineering club but kind of fell off each others interests for one or more reasons. I did not talk to them the whole day and tried to fix my seminars for that day rather than touching skeletons in my closet. I knew they spent a couple of days in jail for that, but I did not tell anybody about it. I guess I just found that situation awkward. Maybe because they were staring at you know who the whole time; but I just brushed them off as if I did not know them.

There is a certain stigma attached to people who go through the pains of substance abuse in the Philippines because of the sensitive and conservative culture we have. I am not as normal as they are because of my liberated way of thinking and I try to treat people the same way with or without knowing their backgrounds. I guess I believe in starting over. The second chance that everyone needs to improve their lives was always in the back of my head. Rehabilitation takes a lot of resources and this is not available that much in the Philippines. It is not like in the US where they have programs specifically to help people help themselves. We are not as lucky as Americans IMHO.



There is a huge listing of Narcotics Anonymous (NA), Gamblers Anonymous (GA) and Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings on the InTheRooms Meetings database. This is a huge help for those who need it most. I am so impressed they have this available on line now and they continue to be the web site to go to for this information. Within this database, members can easily manage the most precise meeting database on line. Be one of the hundreds of people who benefit from this list and make sure if you plan to meet some place, somewhere, just say let us try InTheRooms. If you have friends who need help, you can start from the best recovery site on the web.

Well, according to the EB masters on the photo shoot this weekend; we are having problems about permits on the building rooftop we plan to go to. Not just that, we do not have a backup plan yet for this shoot. We may have a photo walk but it would still depend on the location every body agrees upon. Hmmm... this is the first time we are having problems with our shoot... well almost. We had some minor problems on the last one because the models suddenly have their own problems and the schedules did not really fit in.

Ahhh.. I guess there's always a first time. Soon there will be more and I hope we weather things because all we wanted to do was a decent photo shoot each week. With all the things they need just to make it happen, it is goin a little harder. Sheesh! I hope this would not be a weekly occurrence.

I'm also excited about tomorrow because I'm going back to Pampanga...land of the Ex's hahaha...It's okay I know, if ever we do meet there we would be just reminiscing I guess. Yeah, its really awkward but its okay. I know it will be, and I'm going to have to shoot a lot of landscapes I guess. No one is going to stop me! Hahaha....

I am a guy, but I do not like bugs. Yeah, those creepy and crawling things that most of us brush off everyday just send shivers down my spine and get me to think about pouring kerosene at our house and set it on fire. No, I am not an arsonist but I do not have the normal patience that most people have when it comes to pests. You can quote me on that figuratively and metaphorically.

At home, we have ants in the bathroom. I do not want to see them marching up and down our walls at any time of the day. They would only be prevented by turning the shower on while we take time putting it on full blast so these hard biting red ones do not see the light of day on your skin. That would really be a pain having them cause bumps and red itchy patches on your body; and most of them come out where you least expect it.

There are some bugs in my folk's room that I do not even know what they are called. The only ones you would see in the morning are huge rashes and bites because apparently they are all blood suckers too. I do not even want to go into details, but something has got to be done in order to stop this menace!

We do not have Chicago Pest Control in our country. This should have been the time where we would need professionals to do the job. I saw in their web site the possible solutions to these everyday problems about bugs and insects; also the uninvited guests. If you need to find the right people for this job, remember to give them a call if you are in the US. There's just no comparison to the services they can do to get rid of the real threat that is inside our homes. Now is the time, now is the hour to keep your family safe.

I'm contemplating on going on this trip on Friday... don't ask why... my EX of course! Well, let's just say I don't want to see her because of a lot of other reasons. Not just that, but it would be awkward seeing her folks and friends too. I'm not in the mood to be mushy, nor am I in the right state of mind to think about her at these times when I'm going there just for photographs and nothing else. Ahhh! Someone is really playing with my mind... I have to think twice I guess...

This particular trip also will be a testing ground for my skills in MACRO photography. This will consist of flowers, fauna and insects of all sorts so be kind to me when you are going to comment about my work come next week... I mean be a little easy on me because this is just part of the first ones I'm trying out. If it works out I'm going to consider buying a MACRO lens. I don't like bugs don't get me wrong, but I just need them for their colors. I'm sure they are gonna turn out great!

See one of my shots from our last shoot in Wildlife at Quezon City.. the colors are great!

The world has been full of wars in its quest for ultimate freedom. Every country, race and nationality succumbs to the thought of having their people in a free state. I was moved when I watched a Political Activist Video about a young man who tore apart his own passport in India and declared himself free from the bondage society makes. In a civilized world, we are all bound to the country we live in and only thrive within its laws because it is the norm. We conform to what our forefathers have agreed upon in the past and live to each standard that was made as the laws of the land. But then where is the freedom they asked for? Where is the freedom they all fought for?

I ask this question myself every now and then but to tell you the truth, the answer is pretty hard to digest. It all boils down to answer questions "HOW" we could achieve freedom. It is a tall order for ordinary people I know because like you in the US or people like me in the Philippines, we all have our stories and struggles on how we achieved our grown understanding of freedom. Is this the real freedom we hoped for? Is it the freedom that countless lives fought for in wars here and elsewhere in the globe? If your answer is YES then you have freedom, but if not then you have to find it. I remember GANDHI once said that "Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes" so if you do not try to get that real freedom this man in the video sought for; then that is the struggle you have to go through in order to get it.

Learning the lessons and living the life meant for each person in this world is the freedom I choose. If it was only that simple for each one of us, then there would not be that much chaos in this world. We would have fewer things to worry about. We just need to do our share in getting this world to be better than when we found it. That is the only way we can say we have achieved freedom.