Australia Extends Help to the Philippines

Read below an article by channelnewasia.com regarding help being sent by Australia.

Australia to help Philippine flood victims

SYDNEY: Australia will give up to a million Australian dollars (US$874,920) in aid to the Philippines as it faces a humanitarian crisis caused by the worst flooding in decades, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said on Tuesday.

Australia's contribution will include emergency supplies of drinking water, clothing, hygiene kits and other essential items needed for the country to recover from heavy rains brought by tropical storm Ketsana on Saturday.

The Philippines on Monday called for assistance after severe flooding in Manila and surrounding regions left more than 240 people dead and hundreds of thousands seeking shelter in evacuation camps.

"Australia extends its condolences to the communities affected by this disaster," Smith said in a joint statement with Parliamentary Secretary for International Development Assistance Bob McMullan.

"Australia stands ready to offer further assistance if additional needs are identified by the Philippines government."

The storm caused the worst flooding in more than 40 years in Manila and other areas of Luzon island and left 80 per cent of the capital under water.
{source}

Thanks to my friend Jo for the lead. My heart rejoices for Australia's generosity. I was actually wondering when they would send help (they always do) and they're finally doing it. Thanks Australia, you are making Filipino-Australians proud of you.

Prayers Against Storms

Even if I don't live in the Phils and haven't totally experienced Ondoy's rage, I feel like I've been traumatized too. Everytime I text my parents back home, I always ask whether there are rains or if the sun has come out already. Para lang akong humihingi ng update ng weather sa Phils palagi ngayon. And no, I don't trust the weather reports of Pag-asa that much. I think regardless of the weather reports, we can only believe up to a certain extent but we always have to BE VIGILANT ALWAYS.

Last night, my Husband and I watched TV Patrol online and it weakens my heart to see the aftermath of the tragedy that happened. Sa bawat kwento na sinasalaysay ng reporters, parang nahuhulog ang puso ko.

According to reports (click this please) there might be two tropical depressions to hit the Phils in the coming days. I'm sharing these prayers below so we can all pray now in the hopes to alleviate or re-direct the storm that may pass by the Philippines again.

Prayer or Blessing Against Storms

Jesus Christ a King of Glory has come in Peace. † God became man, † and the Word was made flesh. † Christ was born of a Virgin. † Christ suffered. † Christ was crucified. † Christ died. † Christ rose from the dead. † Christ ascended into Heaven. † Christ conquers. † Christ reigns. † Christ orders. † May Christ protect us from all storms and lightning † Christ went through their midst in Peace, † and the word was made flesh. † Christ is with us with Mary. † Flee you enemy spirits because the Lion of the Generation of Judah, the Root David, has won. † Holy God! † Holy Powerful God! † Holy Immortal God! † Have mercy on us. Amen!

Another Prayer to Avert Storms and Hurricanes

Father, all the elements of nature obey your command. Calm the storms and hurricanes that threaten us and turn our fear of your power into praise of your goodness. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

For more prayers, please click this: Prayers Against Storms

May God bless and protect the Filipino People!

Google Page for Typhoon Ondoy Victims

If you need references on how to help Typhoon Ondoy Victims, please click this link

http://www.google.com/landing/typhoon-ondoy.html

and it will show a list of links, contact persons and numbers of groups, departments or foundations whom you can send donations to.

Flowers and Prayers

We spent the whole day of Saturday at Canberra's Floriade, the flower festival of Australia's Capital City during Spring.

It was a day spent communing with different flower species and friends who trooped down south with us to enjoy the event. Amidst the crazy weather in Canberra (drizzling for a few minutes, sunny the next--and over-all windy and cold), we had fun thanks to the great company of our friends. Going home, I was looking forward to downloading our photos, eager to see some pretty flowers and our happy faces.

However, when we arrived home and logged online, we were surprised with the news that the Philippines had been hit by a nasty storm called "Ondoy" which resulted to a massive flood in the metro. The excitement to share our day's happiness waned.

We immediately called our family but it took awhile for our calls to get thru. My Husband's family home experienced a knee-high flooding for the very first time. My parents' home on the other hand were spared the flooding thanks to the great location of our house. My dad however, was stranded in the office and had to stay there til this morning. Until now, my dad is still in Cubao waiting for floods and traffic to subside in Cainta area (we live in Taytay, Rizal). I hope he goes home soon.

We have seen our friends' messages on FB, plurk and twitter. Our heart goes out to all of you. We really hope you and your family are well and safe. Let us continue praying for our country's recovery from this calamity.

I'm sharing one of my favorite photographs from this year's Floriade. This beautiful flower is for you. Whether you have experienced difficulty from "Ondoy" or you have a family back home, this is for you. If you have come acrossed this webpage and see this flower, please know that this comes with a prayer for you and your family's safety. May God bless and guide the Filipino people especially at this time.

P.S. There are reports that in 3 days (estimated), another typhoon by the name of Peping will hit the Philippines. Let's keep on praying. Stay safe everyone.

Chris' Birthday Bash

Last Saturday (19/9/09--love the date!), I organized a party for friends in celebration of the Husband's 30th birthday. It was one of the happiest moments of our lives as our friends gathered around to wish him a very happy birthday.

It was our 3rd time to have a party at home and Chris and I are somehow getting better at hosting parties we think (haha!). Other than the fact that we love doing party preps, entertaining and having friends around (we love hearing laughters echoing inside the home), we enjoy organizing events TWOgether (I guess it's because we're used to working together at the office when we were still in Manila). Organizing parties is just one of the effects of our teamwork and we love successful parties!

We did a couple of new things for this party such as our table centrepiece. We usually put flowers but for the first time, I made this simple candle and fruit centrepiece. These are two things that I love seeing on our dining table on any normal day so why not use it for special occassions too.

Served Cabanossi Sausages as part of our Antipasto Platter to give that meaty flavor to wet the appetite before diving into the mains.

For our mains, I served Chicken Lollipops with homemade gravy and Pork Asado for the first time. I used to cook these before but always with the help of either my mom or my grandma. We also served Spring Rolls and Chicken Meatballs.

We were fortunate enough to have helpful friends who brought food so we had lots for everyone. They brought Spaghetti, Baked Macaroni, Veggies, Duck in Red Curry. They even brought dessert! Amazing.

It was also the first time that Chris baked for our friends!!! Yes, my Husband bakes now while I cook---we are really a team now even when it comes to the kitchen. He baked Friands in three flavors: Blueberry, Almond and Chocolate for dessert. Our friends loved it! I'm so proud of my Husband :).

The food was just the icing on the cake but the company, the laughter, great conversations and time spent with our friends are biggest bonus of the celebration. We are truly grateful for their presence.

For more of the happy photos on Chris' birthday bash, please click HERE.

Dust Storm in Sydney

No matter how scary any weather catastrophe may be, I am always in awe of the power of nature. Since I was a kid, I've always loved watching a storm unfold before my very eyes. I remember sitting by the clearglass door of my parents' home, it had a view of the backyard. On days when classes were suspended, I'd sit there for hours and watch water and wind dance infront of me. Sometimes there'd be thunder and lightning to complete the ensemble.

Today, I had been a witness to another weather catastrophe, a dust storm that hovered over Sydney in red and orange hues. It was a sight to behold, but dangerous like those stormy weathers that we are used to seeing.

Sydney was in a panic when they woke up and saw red outside their windows. A lot of people muttered, "Is this the end of the world?" Funny because it was so surreal. Scary because at that moment it could be true.

I, myself, was shocked when I walked outside our room and saw a reddish and windy dawn. I thought there was a nasty bushfire in the mountains--too nasty that it was already outside our balcony--but it wasn't, there was no fire anywhere. I quickly called out to the Husband and said, "You have to see this." He jumped out of bed, looked outside the window, forgot about sleep and turned on the TV. It was a dust storm. The first one to happen in Sydney.

Have I got a choice, I would have stayed home and watch the dust storm while I sip coffee by our balcony. Watch it circle around Sydney's skies and see it fade away til the blue skies appear once again.

But then it wasn't so bad to be out and experience the dust storm that was. Here are some more photos from this morning's weather phenomenon.

At the Train Station by Chris Sanchez

Train Station by Ivy Sanchez

Sydney Orange Cityscape by John Fick (thanks John!)

Darling Harbour at 11am by Chris Sanchez

My Husband and I took photos while waiting for our train this morning. Chris brought our camera to work so he and his friend John (who's a professional photographer) can take photos.

Like any other storm, the dust storm came to an end as the day progressed. The skies finally cleared after lunch. It was still windy though but at least no more dust to irritate our eyes and respiratory system.

Today was supposed to be an ordinary day but due to the weather phenomenon, it turned out to be kinda awesome. But however awesome it may be, for the sake of everyone's health and safety, I sure hope something like this won't happen again.

Related Post: Red Dust Envelops Sydney

Red Dust Envelops Sydney

Woke up this morning and saw RED.

As of now, New South Wales is experiencing a dust storm. According to news, the red dust is coming from the inlands of NSW and the reason why it is red is because the lands of NSW is so dry, a sign of drought.

This is a first time for me and the Husband...and also a first time for Sydney. According to news, (red) dust storms normally occurs in the western regions of Australia but never in Sydney. I've googled dust storms in Australia and indeed, there were a couple of dust storms in this country for a couple of years.

Will share more photos later. Have a great day Sydney! And to the rest of the world, good day!

P.S. In the Phils, we have experienced ashfalls when the Mt. Pinatubo erupted and the joke at that time was "libreng face powder". This morning I realized, "libreng blush-on itech!" kasi red hehe.

Post Birthday Musings

The biggest irony of all happened yesterday.

I recently purchased new lens for our camera in preparation for the Husband's birthday. Yesterday, as we were in a frenzy to go to church in the morning, I asked Chris to pack up the camera. After church, we had breakfast at a new cafe in the neighborhood. As we sat down to wait for our orders, I took out the camera so I can take photos of the cafe interiors. Yes, as soon as I sit down in a new resto/cafe, I work right away---that's how I am. Lo and behold, when I checked the camera, there was NO battery (!!!!). Isang malaking *sigh*. Of course I had to contain my dismay, I can't get mad at Chris for forgetting to check if the camera had battery in it as it was his birthday. Naloka ako at pinilit na maging deadma. The good news was that I brought our point & shoot cam, the bad news was very low bat naman na ang p&s cam. Ayayay talaga. Nevertheless, our p&s survived till we went home in the afternoon before going to dinner.

Anyway, we survived the day without an SLR. I just find it funny that I bought new lens for his birthday then we weren't able to use the camera at all during our day date.

This experience has made me realized that the tides have now turned. I think I'm more passionate now when it comes to photography...used to be that the Husband was the one who cared so much about it. Now, I don't think he cares that much the way I do.

As his way of making amends with the camera brouhaha, he is taking me out to coffee again today to the new cafe. It's a really really pretty cafe *wink*. :)

Chris is sooooo aliw with all of the birthday greetings he received. Maraming maraming salamat. It is very seldom that he reads my blog...believe it or not, it's only once in a blue moon when he reads my entries, but when I tell him that he has to read something I wrote, he does read it. He really finds it amazing that a lot of my blogosphere friends greet him too even if you've only known him thru my stories. He may not reply to every greeting in my blog, but please know that he is very grateful to all of you who took time out to write a few words to greet him.

The Husband Turns 30! :D

Happy happy birthday to my beloved Husbandski! :)

My beloved, the love of my life,

On your special day, I just want to thank you for being one of the greatest blessings in my life. Your presence has made me doubly happy and you have gifted me with so much peace in this lifetime. In our fun and sometimes crazy journey as partners in this thing called Marriage, you always bring out the best in me. Thank you! With you, I am never without love.

Happy birthday Husbandski. May all you wish for come true. Love love love YOU.

For the past years, gift giving between me and the Husband during special occassions usually occur before or after THE day. A simple reason is that on THE day, we'd like to focus on the celebration of the occassion. We'd like to focus on spending time with people that matter to us or find joy in the simple things that we'd like to do on special days---because that is what truly matters.

So today, we celebrated my Husband's birthday by:

• Attending mass to celebrate with God the blessing of this beautiful day
• Having breakfast at a cafe
• Watching "Up" in the cinemas...it was the first day of showing and it was fortunate that the playdate of "Up" in Australia is today.
• Eating Yum Cha for lunch
• Having dinner with our kapamilya.
• Just being TWOgether.

Thank you to all our family, relatives and friends who remembered. Chris sends his appreciation to all of you. We are truly touched by your good wishes.

Will upload photos soon.

Visions of a Sunset {with Haze}

Last Saturday, a different kind of sunset was seen from our balcony. This time the sunset had haze.

Tried taking a photo of the haze. I'm not sure where it was coming from. Probably from the mountains because it was a hot day that day.

In a few more minutes, the sun had set and this beautiful spectacle left me in awe and grateful for another beautiful, blessed day.

I only uploaded these photos tonight and when I saw this 3rd photo above, it reminded me of one of my favorite songs, "Visions of a Sunset" sung by Shawn Stockman of Boyz II Men. Every word of that song is very true to me. Whenever I hear or sing that song, I shed tears of joy as I'm grateful for the life I'm given and living.

Let me share the lyrics with you. If you get an MP3 of this song, I swear you won't regret it. Also, this song was an original soundtrack from the movie "Mr. Holland's Opus", a movie that I also like because it's a touching story of a teacher, who instead of composing music, chose to selflessly teach in order to raise his family and educate young students.

Visions of a Sunset"

Oh Yeah
Lived all my days trying to embrace
Life with my heart by all the beauty
I feel and create it spins and moves
Flows at my pace telling its story
From the tear running down my face

[Chorus:]
Visions of a sunset just appear when
I close my eyes
Takes my closer to heaven when the
Flute starts to fly
And the violin cries

Confusion leaves while peace
Orchestrates runs through my
Veins and in other seekers it
Penetrates my reason why
The big city air smells so sweet

Takes me through journeys
In time from my youth to as
Far as I can see

[Chorus ]

It's all I need in my life
It's all I need and no one
Can take your place by my side
You're all inside of me

[Chorus ]

We'll free from all sorrow
Like the wind blows from the sky
Takes me closer to
Heaven when the
Flute starts to fly

Juan Martin Del Potro Wins 1st Grand Slam Title

Is Del Potro the new dark horse of Tennis???? Dark horse or not, he deserved to win. Having been able to beat Nadal in the semi-finals and Federer in the finals of the US Open 2009, there's not much to say but "Well done and congratulations!"

Juan Martin del Potro did what many thought unlikely, if not improbable.

He dethroned Federer as the US Open champion, ending his five-year reign as the King of Queens, in a come-from-behind 3-6, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2 victory for his first major title.

It was the first five set men’s final since 1999, when Andre Agassi defeated Todd Martin and one of the biggest US Open upsets in recent memory with the No. 6 seed defeating the 15-time Grand Slam champion and world No. 1. It was also del Potro’s first career victory over Federer in seven matches.

Del Potro, just 20 years old, became the second Argentine in history to win the US Open, joining Guillermo Vilas, who won in 1977. He certainly earned it, taking out six-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal in straight sets in the semifinals before defeating Federer in the final.

He collapsed on the court on match point and with tears in his eyes he took the trophy, completing the dream of winning his favorite tournament. Read more.

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Musings From The Sidelines:

* Roger Federer's unbelievable shot during the semi-finals, considered as his best shot ever. During his match with Novak Djokovic, he returned a shot in between his legs and surprisingly the ball landed past Djokovic. Watch the video below.



* Will Rafael Nadal be able to bounce back from injury? I was hoping to watch another Federer-Nadal game at the Finals but had my doubts on Nadal's health. During interviews, he kept on avoiding questions about his health/injury. I'm not sure if that was his way of being positive--psychologizing himself perhaps that he is perfectly well and that nothing's physically wrong with him??? But I had a feeling that sooner or later, if his body's not in good shape, he will eventually be in pain--and I was right--he had a problem in his right abdomen during the semi-finals. Which conjured up more questions in mind: Was he really physically well when he started playing in the US Open?; Is there anything else wrong with him other than his knee and abdomen?: And why the secrecy when it comes his health?

* If Del Potro is the new king of US Open, Kim Clijsters makes a comeback and wins the Women's Finals. Read more here.

The US Open is the last Tennis Grand Slam for the year. The next (and first) Grand Slam for 2010 is on 18-31 January in Melbourne, Australia . For tickets, click here.

Michael Jackson CDs

Since MJ died, his CDs have been on sale at the shops. I bought a few to add to my CD collection.

There's the History album which comprises of two CDs, the first one containing his hits during the 80's while the second disc were his most recent songs like "Earth Song" and "Childhood". I specially like this album because this was when he and his sister Janet Jackson (who is also my favorite) sang the duet "Scream".

In 2008, MJ's "Thriller" celebrated 25 years in the music industry so they decided to release a 25th Anniversary Edition of "Thriller" that contained songs from the first "Thriller" and some new unreleased bonus tracks and remixes by Akon, will.i.am, Fergie and Kanye West. We have a vinyl record of the "Thriller" album at my parent's home so I bought this one so we can have a CD copy.

The third CD that I bought is "The Essential Michael Jackson" album which contained two CDs that had all his hits songs from the time he started with the Jackson 5 ("I Want You Back", "ABC", "Ben, etc.) til the time he released "History" (You Are Not Alone", "They Don't Care About Us", etc). This album has a great collection, a good memoir of MJ's musical ingenuity.

Thursday Thought Bubbles

A month ago, to my horror, I broke one of our Canon lens. It was just the 18-55mm kit lens but it was one of my favorite and trustworthy lens and one that I used mostly for blogging.

Two weeks ago, we found out that our other lens was causing our DSLRs to crash. I don't know how or what to call it. Simply put, every time we use our 28-135mm lens to both of our DSLRs, it makes an error, making the body of the camera turn off and dysfunctional. We've been using the 28-135mm lens together with the 30D but since the 18-55mm broke, we used it with the 400D as well. Whenever the 30D crashes before, we thought there was a problem with the body of the camera. However, when we used the 28-135mm lens with the 400D, it crashed as well. So that's when we discoved that there's nothing wrong with our 30D...it is most probably the 28-13mm lens.

As if fate is playing a game on me, this all happened towards my Husband's birthday. Since we don't have a proper point and shoot camera, I cannot let it happen that we don't have a good camera on his 30th birthday. And yes, as OA as I may seem, I cannot live without a DSLR these days. We still have our telephoto lens and the 50mm lens, however, having no other lens used for shoots and events, patay ang negosyo hehe. So I had to order new lens this week.

Thursday Thought Bubbles (sharing with you some of my thoughts throughout the day)

8:03am
morning tea number 1: half a slice of margherita pizza from Baker's Delight.

8:55am
wow, too early for my package to arrive. it's not even 9:00am.
not expecting the package til after lunch time.
they (the online store) are really good. will buy from them again.
must call husband to tell the good news.

9:01am
voila! my new baby wrapped in styrofoam wonderland.

9:49am
i wanna go home. i wanna go home. i wanna go home.
i wanna go home and play with my new toy.
i'm so excited, it's been a loooong time since i've bought a new gadget.

10:00am
green tea time. cup no. 1 starts now.

11:14am
i really wanna go home. now na.
green tea cup no. 2.
must eat the other half of my margherita pizza.
need nourishment.

11:25am
email received that a former "workmate" is going back to the office after resigning for two weeks.
what the hell just happened??? freaking unbelievable.
according to the email, he deferred his resignation and will be back next week.
naloka kaming lahat kasi mega-organize kami ng going away party and gift niya
at mega-dalamhati kami tapos ngayon babalik siya. isang malaking kalokohan.
not that we don't want him back, not that we can turn back time.
it's just unbelievable.

1:12pm
i forgot about lunch again!
second time this week.

1:40pm
my wormate just gave me this heart-shaped stress ball.
baka sa inis ko sa trainees ko, instead of just squeezing the stress ball in my hand,
i might throw the ball at them. god help me.
don't get me wrong, i love what i do but once in a while they really get on my nerves.

2:30pm
yay! an hour and a half before dismissal time (parang school hehe).

3:47pm
Ayoko na magtrabaho!!!!! I really just wanna go home.

3:50pm
Will go home in 10 minutes. :) :)

4:33pm
ngek! nandito pa rin ako sa office.
will really go home now.

Presenting our new baby: Canon 17-85mm IS USM Lens

I can now shoot as far as this...

and as near as this...

Photos taken from our balcony, us being on the 3rd floor of the building.