Amenah Roqaya Alonto...Rema

Rema. Remzkhy. Rems. Kaka Rem to me.

She was my sister. Was. Is.

She died last March 12, 2007. She was 33 years old. She died in Saudi Arabia.I was driving to Alabang from Bataan when I got the call. It was 4am. And I endured the 3-4hour drive knowing that I would not see my sister anymore. And I struggled to make it to my office to file a bereavement leave.

Since 1991, she would only be in the Philippines for vacations and elections, save for the time her husband was assigned back in the country for about 2 years straight. The last time I saw her children was when they were 4 and 2 years old. Those boys are now 13 and 11, respectively.

"My sister Remah is dead". That was basically the text message I sent to people to inform them of their death. It's been more than a month and it still has not fully registered. This is why I'm blogging about this. The other night, I dreamt of her that I was at her bedside in the hospital... I asked for forgiveness... and she replied "I give you a thousand forgiveness" (that's my best translation; it's a saying in our Maranaw dialect of forgiving someone). I don't know if it was her communicating to me...or my guilt knowing that I was an absent brother...

My sister Remah is dead. I still can't believe I am saying this.

She was 33 years old. Loving mother. Dedicated wife. Obedient daughter. Giving sister. Incredible Auntie. Mindful relative. But more importantly, in this day and age, one of the most faithful and practicing Muslims I know.

She was diagnosed with Adult STILS disease about 2-3 years ago; it's a rhuematoid illness much similar to Lupus. But it was Pneumonia that killed her. She contracted the virus while visiting relatives in Saudi (in hospitals) eventhough she was advised not to. Mindful relative... that is an understatement.

I miss her terribly. When my brother and I were asked to stay in South Carolina in 1988 for 2years, she stayed along with us in 1989 and gave up a year of education to watch over us. Obedient daughter. Giving sister. All understatements.

She was also a poet. Maybe I'll post her poems someday.

She was a million things. But the only thing that stands out right now is she is dead.

The last time I saw her was around February or March of 2006... I brought her to the international airport. She visited us and stayed for more than a month in the country with dozens of check-ups and even being confined in the hospital. But I was lucky to have brought her to the airport along with my parents and my children. And she was smiling, and crying, the whole time. Had I known it was the last time I would see her I would have asked her to stay longer. I would have told her I love her and thanked her for all the good she brought to my life and that of my wife and children. But we never know these things; we will never know when our last flight out will be. And truly God is All-Wise.

These are but random statements for my sister, Remah, who I truly miss and love. She will always be in my prayers. For those who read about this, know that Remah was kind, brave, and loving. And I thank Allah s.w.t for being blessed to be her brother.

It's been a while...

It's been almost a year since my last post.

So far, a lot has changed.

I now go to work in Alabang and reside there as well. My wife and kids are staying at my wife's province, so i see them every weekend. It's more of a business need kind-of-thing. The children are growing up handsomely and beautifully.

I lost a sister last month to pneumonia. May Allah s.w.t. bless her soul.
She was survived by her husband and 3 children. She was 33 years old. From a group of six we are now five... it still sends chills down my spine. I don't think anyone can be prepared to lose a loved one.

'Till next time.

Salaam.

-Khairy

President Al Gore (I Wish)

Last night I was watching an episode of "Late Night with Conan O'Brien", and his guests were former US Vice-President Al Gore, Paul Giamatti, and the Beastie Boys (as musical guest). That episode was one of the most enjoyable and insightful shows that Conan delivered. I had to watch it for comic relief because earlier in the day, it was the State of the Nation Address of GMA. It was pathetic; she presented Manny Pacquiao, the Mt. Everest climbers, etc. and acted like their accomplishments were her accomplishments. This country is so f%$*ing depressing.

On to last night's Conan: It probably wasn't obvious what Al Gore was doing on the show, at least not for someone watching from the Philippines; he was plugging his new documentary "An Inconvenient Truth". Of course, I was hoping he would make side comments about the current US administration - which he did. It has yet to be shown here in the country, so watching him talk about his documentary and the consequences facing our environment was very informative. I thought the movie "The Day After Tomorrow" was fictional, but here is a former second-man to the US President telling the world that the danger is real if we do not act now (imagine the Philippines being underwater!). Al Gore is telling us all that there are more serious problems posing the world today, and he is doing what he can to alleviate our conditions at the grassroots level. He even goes to houses, mostly leaders of countries (other than the USA, for clear reasons), to present his powerpoint presentation on the environment which the documentary/movie is based on. He also said that the US government had reacted to warnings from scientists positively before: during Reagan's term, Gore said that the Republicans and Democrats worked hand in hand in fighting against the depletion of the Ozone Layer. He was implying that acting on Global Warming can be done and should be done.

I have since found Mr. Gore boring most especially during his term and even during his campaign for president, but last night's talk with Conan showed his humorous side; and entertaining side at that. When asked if he thought George Dubya had watched the documentary, he replied by saying that just to be sure, he had written a book based on the movie because he knows that the President likes to read (this was received with a roar of laughter from the audience and Conan, himself). He even described a time that at an airport, he was praised by an airline employee for having an extreme likeness to Al Gore, if only he had dyed his hair black. Before, I took Zach De La Rocha's view that electing Gore & Bush was the same thing, but now I think Mr. De La Rocha was wrong. Now, I believe that the world would have been a lot less violent if Mr. Gore was in the White House. He was always known to be concerned about the environment, and although he admitted during the interview that the US President cannot devote entirely his focus on the environment, I think he probably would have given Global Warming more attention than seeking out weapons of mass destruction in places where they are non-existent. At present, the US is giving loads of weaponry to Israel to bomb Lebanon because one Israeli soldier was abducted by Hezbollah. I don't see the logic in that. (Israel and my views on George Bush Senior & Junior deserves its own blog).

What was weird for me was, this show was censored; a lot of scenes jumped or was cut. I think Mr. Gore made some undesirable statements or cracks at Mr. Bush, and maybe it wasn't in their best interest to provide them to the international audience. For the record, that was the first time I saw that happen really, and I usually watch Conan or Letterman every night. Later on on the news, I found out that they really do censor these talk shows because on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Colin Farrell's guesting was not televised due to an incident with a stalker who came out from the audience.

After Al Gore, Paul Giammati followed suit, and he was good for a couple of laughs (he plugged "Lady in the Water" which my friend Joy said was not nice). Then the Beastie Boys performed, and they can still do it better than most rappers today in spite of their age (they had white hair already!). It was cool seeing middle-aged (?) men rap better than Eminem (well, I think a lot of rappers out there can rap better than Eminem, but these guys are ancient, man). True pioneers of their genre, I would give them that.

In closing, I do believe that Gore should have been President for the sake of world peace and the global environment. I think he was quite sincere in saying that he has no plans to run for office again (he went so far as saying that the US political system was "toxic"). But if he were the US President today, I think it is quite possible that September 11 might have been averted, and I think it is quite possible that Iraq was not invaded. Mr. Gore is right: Mr. Bush should be listening to these scientists who are concerned about the environment and not the polluters (oil companies & weapon manufacturers). But as long as the US President is still a Texan with oil interests (and someone who can't pronounce the word "nuclear"), I think that Global Warming will take a back seat to the War on Terrorism (which ironically is adding up to more pollution in the air).

More pictures of the wife and kids (click here)

Here's some more pics for y'all :-)

Amani's 1st bday (Click here)

Here are pictures from Amani's first birthday last June 9, 2006 at Friday's Alabang :-)

Supernova(?)

One of the good things about being sick is you get to stay home and watch TV. I caught the flu, and that means I get to work at home and watch something good on TV in the morning. But since the NBA season hasn’t started, there isn’t anything good to watch. Well, after I gave my son a review for his Kindergarten-2 exam later, I ended up turning on the box and watching "Rockstar: Supernova". And I have to say it: it’s so terrible that it’s entertaining. Like I said, I’m sick today.

The premise is three guys who were kicked out of their respective bands (or left the band, depends on whose side you listen to), two of which peaked in the nineties and one guy who was actually famous for something else aside from music, are forming a group of their own by seeking a lead vocalist. Supernova is composed of Tommy Lee (former partner of Pamela Anderson and former drummer of Motley Crue), Jason Newsted (former bassist of Metallica), and Gilbey Clarke (former rhythm guitar of Guns & Roses). I don’t even know what music this new band will be playing, let alone how long they will last (but I’m betting they’re legally required to be together for at least two years… or until the next Rockstar series).
Of the 3 Supernova members, I like Jason Newsted. This is a guy who, during Metallica’s better days in the mid-nineties, visited the Philippines to jam with local bands like Wolfgang and Razorback in local clubs. I mean, c’mon, that’s a commendable rarity right there where a member of a famous foreign band comes to our country to play music for free (or I’m guessing it was for free). I never saw it happen live, but it would have been cool to see that upfront where out of the blue Jason Newsted would take the stage and give a bass solo. I bet the people who did see it happen were too wasted to realize why Basti and Wolf were playing with a Caucasian on bass ("Uy, pare, bago bahista ng Wolfgang, Amerikano!"). As for the two other members, I’ve never been a fan of Motley Crue but I did like Guns & Roses. But c’mon, Gilbey Clarke was Izzy Stradlin’s replacement! That means Clarke didn’t write one song of GNR, at least not one that did well. And Clarke did rhythm guitar, so I’m guessing Dave Navarro (Rockstar’s host) is going to leave his chair at the end of the show and announce to the audience that he’s the lead guitarist of Supernova (Just now, Jason Newsted went onstage and played bass for one of the contestants…he headbanged like he was still in Metallica so that was worth seeing. The singer sucked though).

I was able to catch a few episodes of Rockstar:INXS earlier this year (or was it last year?), mostly because I wanted to see how the Filipino contestant was doing, and the fun part of that show is the point at the end of the week where INXS will boot someone out. One of the Farris brothers would say, and it never fails to amuse me, "(Contestant’s name), you’re just not right for our band, INXS! (with an Australian accent, of course)". It’s fun for me because they keep on plugging their band name, "INXS" (with an Australian accent). I mean, it’s the title of the flippin’ show, Rockstar: INXS; anyone watching the show would know that the band name is INXS! (And try saying it with an Australian accent, it’s fun! I’m mababaw. I’m sick today so forgive me, it must be the drugs I took - Tuseran Forte hehehe).

(I heard INXS is coming to Manila this month with their new singer, but it’s just not happening. Michael Hutchence was INXS. I’m freakin’ old to actually remember that name.)

At this point, I’m not even watching the show but I can still hear their singing. It’s awful. This is the best that NBC can get? I’m pretty sure there are a lot more talented singers out there; the guys in American Idol who sang rock songs would fare better.

Reality TV has probably hit its limit. It’s not enough that we have a dozen singing contests, we also have about a dozen "Amazing Race"-type shows as well. Of course, "Survivor" is still around. But now, the boxing contest "The Contender" is not enough, they also created "The Ultimate Fighter". They put a group of guys in one house where their objective is to maim and hurt each other in the ring. I’m waiting for a news report that someone got killed on that show. (And I think it is official: Ultimate Fighting (UFC) destroyed heavyweight boxing. Aspiring heavyweight boxers are more likely to be found in a UFC ring. It’s a good thing we still have Pacquiao’s weight class in boxing). Like I said, Reality TV has hit its limit. Rockstar:Supernova is terrible, at least for now (but I don’t know how they can make that show more enjoyable but I hope it has nothing to do with Tommy Lee and a camera). I didn’t even see the end of today's show; my son changed channels and is now watching Tiny TV on Cartoon Network. And yes, I’m about to go watch with him. (I’ll just do the layout for my wife’s new Waffle display later. Quick plug: VISIT MICHELL’S CAKES & PASTRIES, we have outlets located in Bataan, SM City Clark Pampanga, and SM City-Sta. Rosa, Laguna! Try our Rotigirl coffee buns and Belgian Waffles; it’s the friggin’ bomb!)

Another good thing about staying home: spending time with the kids. ‘Nuff said.

Amani's a year old already

It has been more than a year since I last posted an entry. To be honest, I actually forgot that I created a blog.

That year has been put to good use though. Our daughter is now a year old, her name is Amani (I will post pictures soon). She takes after my side; in fact, my mother-in-law says that she looks like my parents' daughter and not mine and Michelle's.

Since August of last year, we have been residing in Laguna, managing Michelle's family business in the province. Earlier this year, Michelle and I ventured into a food kart business, by acquiring a franchise of Choo-Choo's Waffle Station in Lucena City, Quezon. So far, so good.

It has been fun moving out of the city (if you can call our metropolis a city as compared to the real big cities of the world). For one thing, no pollution! But from the looks of things, I might be headed back to the city as I am now exploring the chance to get back to my field of Human Resource Management.

To my friends who happen to pass by: I hope the past year has been just as good to you if not better.

Wassallaam (Peace).

Wedding Photographs

Just wanted to share pictures from the wedding (January 24, 2005). Click on the title above for the link.

Today, Michelle is going to be admitted into the Medical City and will have her CS tomorrow morning, Inshaallah.

"...and on to sports:"

The Heat lost to the Pistons. The Suns lost to the Spurs.

It's slow-ball for this year's NBA finals.

Go Detroit... (yes, masama loob ko...)

Goodbye 4-day Work Week!!!

Today, all Government offices will no longer observe the Presidentially-imposed 4-day work week (where we had to work 10 hours from Monday to Thursday) and shall revert back to the original flexible work schedule of 40hours a week-Monday to Friday.

That is an amazing relief, not just for us employees but for the civilians who are subjected to low quality work because of this schedule wher ethe private sector had to adjust to a four-day week of government offices.

How can an employee work efficiently for ten hours a day straight? The International Labor Organization defined a normal work day as 8 hours a day, not just because it seems right, but because studies have shown that an employee working beyond 8hours is actually exerting effort beyond the normal capacity. That basically means that if you work beyond the normal capacity of 8hours, you are pushing yourself beyond the limit (which seems like a reasonable purpose for overtime pay). In our case, we didn't get extra compensation but we did get an extra day of R&R (but if you really compute it, we deserve more than just one day considering that overtime is computed as 1.25 the normal rate... do the math).

In the spirit of service, we accepted this challenge so that the Philippines can save money on electricity. But at what cost? Poor production? Poor health of government employees? I wonder if they ever considered the term "cost-efficient" when they devised this plan.

I wonder if they even planned it out...

So it is truly a relief that we are back on the 5-day schedule where we don't need a 3-day weekend to nurse the stress caused by day-to-day work activities in a ten hour shift.

It's just a relief that they've come to their senses.