It will be our third Christmas eve here in Qatar, And as they say, every year has different tastes and meaning. This year it was really great because we are able to celebrate it with my mom here in Qatar, and with many additional friends.
It is always a different Christmas, Although next year we are planning to celebrate it at home. (Phils)  Celebrations in 3 different houses. It was a last minute pictorial for our 2011 Christmas Photo Greeting, Since we are already in the Facebook era and sending a hallmark greeting card is already a thing of the past. Here we are as a family from a foreign land is sending our warmest christmas greeting to all of our friends, family and relatives. I think this will become a tradition and hopefully next year it will be a planned event as well. Different year, Different Concept.
Below was the individual shot.
 | My HObby | Nov 25, '11 4:08 PM
for everyone |
Yesterday was a tragic day to all Filipinos, living and working here in Qatar. Because of the bad news, 2 Filipina Nurses died in a horrible accident in Al-Khor- Doha Road. The other is 8 month Pregant to her 2nd child.  Also an Indian lady, a Sudanese Man and an Egyptian Lady who succumbed to his injuries. Other are still in critical condition while the Driver sustained fructures. According to eye witnesses, The vehicle lost control when his rear tire burst. As you can see in the photo. The front tires are also old and about to burst. Plus nobody is wearing seatbelts Because when they were found they were all lying on the road
It is truly a horroble scene. The filipino community is now mourning for their lost. They are friends of my friends so the their lost will also be ours. Qatar is so small that most filipinos know each other. Let us pray for thier souls and have peace. I came accross this unpopular movie flick "DED NA SI LOLO" its a low budget film. But with a great story and a good quality. Its about the Filipino culture for funerals. Superstition, and family bonding plus drama. Its an all star cast, starring Manilyn Reynes, Rio Locsin, Elizabeth Oropesa, Rhoderick Paulate and Dick Israel. We have been flooded by big budget filipino films with low quality and full of love stories and fancy titles. We forget that there are some more important stories in life that should be told in a good quality film like this. With special participation of Noel Cabangon who also sang the theme song. Its a Comedy, Drama with a twist. Amazing film. This is a must watch movie. Stuffs in my Pocket   As I watch the TV for a late afternoon variety show, A news flash change the happy eat bulaga into a tragic scene of a Hostage Taking in front of the most historical place in manila where most of the country's president have sworn in. (Quirino Grandstand) I did not get into the bottom of the news, It is already the assault on which the incompetence of our local police was visible to the whole world. CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera etc. are glued into the Hostage Crisis of the year.
After the blast, gunfires, smokes have settled in. Bodies of Victims is being taken out of the BUS. The Hostage Taker is lying lifeless in the front door of the bus.
It was indeed a tragic loss of life and money for the Philippine Tourism. HK immediately posted a Black Code for Travel Advisory.
The whole Chinese Community is now mourning for the lost of their citizen.
Ramadan is the holy month for all Muslims worldwide, they do fasting from daylight to sunset. To prove their loyalty and self discipline. For one month they will not eat or drink until the sun sets in.
This is truly an amazing display of self Discipline. And for non muslims who are the in the country showing not to eat in public is to show our respect to their culture.
Iftar is an end of fasting, Iftar is celebrated after the sun sets. What is WARP, It is formerly known as the GPN-Q Gulf Photographer's Netwrok Qatar. The name was borrowed from the original GPN (Bahrain) thank to those generous admins and moderators. Then after a few months of shooting together radically, And before the year ends in 2009, Literally it was about the midnight of Dec. 31 2009 (Qatar Time)
We named the group WARP, Web Alliance of Radical Photographers - A name that will change the way people see photography as a hobby. Photography in the most radical way, we shoot everything from commercial, landscape, strobing, wildlife, name it we can shoot it. Plus the group grew exponentially, before the mid 2010 (our 1st year anniv) the group grew to more than 250 in members worldwide. Although we are mostly Filipinos, we also tend to cater to almost anybody with the same heart and passion.
Last July 30' 2010 we celebrated the 1st Anniversary of WARP. at Swiss-Bel Hotel, It was like the Oscars of the Photography, It was like a star-studded premiere of some hollywood box office hit. Everyone is at their best suit, dress and we partied like there is no tomorrow. I am glad that I belong to this group. It brings out the best in me.
Its about 45 degrees plus, Im sure! Coz, its already the third shirt im wearing before I reach the Museum of Islamic Arts. One of the finest musuem in the GCC area. It is also my first time to visit the musuem. And the reason for the visit to is because, it is the Scott kelby Worldwide Photowalk. So we will walk from the Museum to Souq Waqif, Unfortunately, I cannot bear the heat so i skipped the walk and went straight to the souq where we wait for the photowalkers.
It was such a nice experience having to walk around in numbers with the same shirt, same goal, same passion. We even encounter a local carrying a DSLR (D200) and he took our pictures. I hope it will not end up in the CID. Hehehe
Here are some of the pics . . .
The "W" Signature Group Shot
We even get a free shirt, courtesy of WARP and Chevrolet.
After the heatstroke photoshoot we end up smoking the Shisha.
 | 70 C | Jul 21, '10 1:03 AM
for everyone |
I have been hearing this news that this coming days (August) ramadam time it will be the hottest in the region. And some scientist/meteorologist from saudi said that the temperature will reach 70 degrees. Deym, it is a hell on earth. Here is the email circulating in our inboxes. After 40 days the season will change in overall in the Middle East . This year the summer will be very tough, the astronomer Dr.Khalid Al-Za’ak wrote an article in Al-Hayah Newspaper, that the temperature will reach approximately 70 C so please take care of your family and your kids.
This report from the office of the Saudi Geophysical Consulting and Environmental, it is official & has been consented by Germany , Japan , Switzerland , Denmark , Belgium , France , China , Korea , Italy , Brazil , Iran , Malaysia , Jordan Spain, Mexico , Canada , Syria , USA & UK
And especially in the summer, when the temperature is 45 and above it is 70 degrees inside the car-
BE AWARE OF THE DANGER READ CAREFULL, & BE RESPONSIBLE SPECIALLY WITH BABIES & CHILDREN !!!
OPEN THE DOOR OF UR CAR>> COUNT TILL 20 BEFORE ENTERING THE CAR, OPEN ALLTHE WINDOWS, THEN THE AC. BE SMART & SPREAD THIS KNOWLEDGE AROUND.!!! I hope that there are joking! So goodluck to all the people who works in the Middle East. Sa mga makasalanan dyan, patikim palang daw yan! This is my new genre, South African music. Pata-Pata, Jabula, Thula Mama, He is a genius musician and I think a UP graduate. Hehehe Activist din kasi sya sa SA.
I first saw his video in TED. an online sharing of ideas from entertainment to science. Try it www.ted.com
Here are some of his music. http://www.thesixtyone.com/s/Kpb29TM1uAW/#/s/Kpb29TM1uAW/similar/
I'll try to look for his CDs in Virgin Store. Hopefully mayron. The photo is a screenshot taken with my cmd+sfhft+4 Its already past the wee hours, my time says 3:46am. I just came from my first Red Carpet Paparazzi experience. Tired but it was a fun experience, Specially if you meet alot of good people. Plus crossing a path of a reader of my blog. Hehehe hi there! And you actually inspired me to continue my blog after a long halt. (Deym Facebook) So the pics will be posted here soon. And I'll be continuing my blog post from now on.
 The Experience.
Around 7:30 pm (Calltime) We met with the organizer, Bilal a cool guy wearing all white gave us a briefing of what to expect. Its about a hundred plus attendees with some VIPs, including some from the German Consulate and Phils Embassy. He knows alot of Filipinos here in Qatar. Most of his staffs are "Kabayans" a term used to describe Filipinos abroad. And then we proceed with out assignments. I together with my two colleagues Pao and Den was assigned to take photos of the people walking in the Red Carpet. We want them to feel the hollywood style of paparazzis. Unfortunately the people comes after 15 to 20 minutes interval. Atleast we do not have to rush, and also took them some time to pose for us. The Organizer, Mr. Bilal Taha, with Co-Paparazzis Pao and Den Amazingly, almost 50% of the attendees are "Kabayans" The Dancers of Beats and Bytes who won the Best Dance Group in Qatar with most votes. By the way voting was online. Also the dancers of heatwave. Plus some DJs. This was the second time they have this event, and according to the organizer. It will be an annual event. Doha is not so popular with this kind of events, Because the country is a conservative one. (Muslim Country) although it started to open up for their EXPAT workers. And usuallty parties comes to life in some of the biggest hotels in the country where booze are legal. So as a paparazzi you will always encounter SECURITY, Bouncers. They are the worst nightmares for a Paparazzis. One photographer was kicked out of the party because he is not invited. We are glad that we came as the official photographer of the party. I almost get kicked out by this one big black mamba guy. Good thing that I managed to get out off his face!
We finished around 2am in the morning. It was just about lunch, when I tried to call the KFC Delivery here in Doha Qatar, and It was amazing to hear that the phone was answered by a "Kabayan" the term we used here to identify a Filipino. (KFC) - Kabayan? ano po order nyo? Hehehe I thought, I was calling a Philippine Outsourced Callcenters, But this time, it was not an american english, But a pure tagalog! So, I got to think again that Filipinos are really a W orld class Worker, From Managers to crew and to call centers here who receive our orders all are Pinoys, even the delivery guys are 100% Pinoy! Mabuhay ang Manggawang Pinoy! Its been 3days since the Typhoon Ondoy, lashes the National Capital Region, In which almost 15million people are living. And almost 80% of the area was still under the water for 2 days. 
Many people are scrambling into small spaces of the evacuation centers, Our goverment is doing all their might to save our people who are still trapped in their houses, also our unselfish volunteers who wade thru hunger and exhaustion are still carrying on thier mission to elevate the suffering of our people. 
All help are now pouring in, International aids, OFWs, those who are not that affected are also trying to help in whatever they can. After all of this, We need to reflect on what was the real message of the typhoon ONDOY. Some people blame it to the mother nature, to our goverment, to the rescuers. The blame game is up and running again. 
And after this what's next? Election mayhem? Let us ponder on this "Mga Kababayan" this is a wake up call not only to our goverment, But to all of us citizen of this world. This is not only about the Philippines. This is about the real and big issue of Climate Change. My favorite quote comes from my favorite TV channel The National Geograpic "What you do Counts" So I hope that in every little way, We should alsways think of Ondoy. Posting from my iPhone it's very cool! At last, I was able to enroll on my driving class. Driving Class? You might ask. Yes! Because here in qatar all expats who wish to obtain a driving license has two options. (One) is to present their country's license and take a direct test or if you do not have any license or if it is expired you are required to attend a driving school. that is the 2nd option.
So since my Philippine License is already old and the number on the license was erased beyond recognition. I do not have any choice but to get my license thru the hard way. 40 days of driving school! (WFT) I am driving for almost 10+ years now and I still need to get into schooling?! Hmmmm!
But, I guess, I have to! since this is their law and I must abide to it. Also another thing, The cost of their license / school here is way too high compared back home. It cost here around 30k pesos. I could buy an Iphone for that! or 2,350 qatar riyal. Yes, it is that expensive!
Imagine in the phils you can get your license for only 750. If you do not want to go directly to the (LTO) Land Transportation Office, they also have a no appearance price! Yes! Its for VIP! at 1500 only.
And for a driving school like A1 you can have it at 5,000 pesos for 5 days. And after that you are ready to drive like hell in Metro Manila roads. Me I got my lessons from my previous job. I even learned from a right hand drive truck! Yes, from a TRUCK! thanks to Tito Boy!
So now back to reality. I am eager to drive my own car (SUV, Dodge Durango) I wanna feel the power in my own hands!
So Goodluck for me!  Last friday around 2am here in Qatar, we received the news that former President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino have passed away. She was ill for almost a year now since she was diagnosed of a colon cancer.
I still remember the song "Magkaisa" and "Handong ng filipino sa mundo"on my mind and every time I hear that song I felt goosebumps. It was on my elementary days when the People Power and the Laban sign was lingering on the air , It was February of 1986. I am so happy, not because of marcos is leaving his post. But because of no classes for almost a week. Hehehe, But the feeling of unity that time is amazing! Many people from all walks of life gathered in the streets and march coming from any direction towards the EDSA, Camp Crame and Camp Aguinaldo. But after a decade, where is the real essence of Unity? Now that the Icon of People Power is dead. I think that the true meaning and feeling of unity is also dead. the sacrifices of all filipinos that day will only be remembered on history books and can be seen on museums and archives. I excertp this lyrics of "Handog nf Filipino sa Mundo" Ang awiting "Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo" ay kinompos noong Abril 1986 para alalahanin ang EDSA Revolution or People Power Revolution noong February sa taong din yun. Kailangan pa ba ng isa pang Jose Rizal, Ninoy Aquino at marami pang individual na nag buwis ng buhay para sa kalayaan ng Pilipinas? Kailangan sama sama ang ating adhikain para sa kaunlaran at kalayaan. Sana matuto tayo sa ating mga nakalipas na karanasaan.
The lyrics of the song:
"Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo"
Composed by Jim Paredes of APO
Sung by Various Artists
'Di na 'ko papayag mawala ka muli.
'Di na 'ko papayag na muli mabawi,
Ating kalayaan kay tagal natin mithi.
'Di na papayagang mabawi muli.
Magkakapit-bisig libo-libong tao.
Kay sarap palang maging Pilipino.
Sama-sama iisa ang adhikain.
Kelan man 'di na paalipin.
Ref:
Handog ng Pilipino sa mundo,
Mapayapang paraang pagbabago.
Katotohanan, kalayaan, katarungan
Ay kayang makamit na walang dahas.
Basta't magkaisa tayong lahat.
Masdan ang nagaganap sa aming bayan.
Nagkasama ng mahirap at mayaman.
Kapit-bisig madre, pari, at sundalo.
Naging Langit itong bahagi ng mundo.
Huwag muling payagang umiral ang dilim.
Tinig ng bawat tao'y bigyan ng pansin.
Magkakapatid lahat sa Panginoon.
Ito'y lagi nating tatandaan.
(repeat refrain two times)
Coda:
Mapayapang paraang pagbabago.
Katotohanan, kalayaan, katarungan.
Ay kayang makamit na walang dahas.
Basta't magkaisa tayong lahat!
| Ping.fm | Jul 9, '09 12:47 PM
for everyone |
What a nice application, I can just use one site to update all my blogs online. And with a uniform message! Great! http://ping.fm/We went to city center to binge out at Subway and Mcdonalds. Then after that we went to get some stuff at the Carrefour.
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