viva las vegas to grandeus of grand canyon

I will attempt to summarize my thanksgiving week here in US. A week before thanksgiving, me and my two friends went to las vegas. Actually the original plan is that my housemates (rey and his family) will accompany me to the sin city. But unfortunately, they decided to cancel the trip. With financial reasons. I understand their situation but I'm not going to give-in that easily. We already booked the hotel and I already bought my clothes (which unfortunately still understated with the couture dresses and suits of party goers on the street holding beer and a glass of vodka). So I end up asking my two gals to go with me. Within an hour we're off to I-15 and drove for almost 6 hours. Of course it should be a four hour trip if we didn't go to outlet mall in Barstow.

First destination was the stratosphere hotel. It is uniquely designed but Its not magnificent. Actually all in all I was disappointed. Maybe because I saw brighter and crazier lights in Ropponggi, Tokyo. What fascinating is that las Vegas is in the desert. The weirdest place for a party!

After roaming around we strolled directly to Wynn Hotel where the live feed of Manny Pacquiao match is held. We really thought we were not going to get home alive and be devoured by Hispanics supporters of Morales. Thank God Manny is in tough shape and finished the bout in three rounds. An icing in the cake. We saw roel santiago. hahahaha Nakipag-kamay ako at papicture.. feeling close.

I can go on and on...Paris, Belagio, Venetian, Caesar's Palace etc.. Basta bitin ako sa Las Vegas.. I'll be back! hehehe

During thanksgiving my kapamilya sa apartment cancelled again our supposedly san Francisco trip. Well I was not surprised anymore. I should have spent my holidays with my cousins. Since I have no-one to go with, I decided to join some of my co-workers who are heading up to grand canyon Arizona.

Aside from its magnificence and grandeur of the mountain, I was able to relax and re-charge. Although the whole day I was having upset stomach and LBM because of the expired adobo that we ate. hehehe
It was cold up there. I have to buy leather jacket and gloves. It felt like Christmas. Real Christmas tree and real reindeer (actually it's an elk).

TFC

At last we have TFC. My link to Philippines' news and soap opera. Now i know the hottest dance craze sa lansangan.. Ang "boom tarat tarat" sa wowowee. This aint the song of Borat but it looks and sounds as hilarious as the movie.

I got one channel but it's worth it, in lieu of watching re-runs of friends, six feet under and sex and the city. At least I dont recycle shows anymore.

Last week was bloody notorious. We had to submit and issue the P&IDs for "Release for Engineering". An issue before the hazop review. I'm proud of it because this is my first time to do PID from scratch. And my first PID review attendance. Wheew.... anyways, all of these is eased by "maging sino ka man" show every night. I feel like "manang/yaya" glued on a sofa watching pinoy drama.

TFC is baduy but this is what excites me. I identify with it and it satisfies my palate.

news that makes me sick

Everyday I read the newspaper online. My favorite is philstar.com. Although I try to browse other news online including cnn and bbc.
Today, was another typical showdown of our intelligent lawmakers and lawyers. I dont understand why they have to spend all their efforts and time arguing in one stupid matter.
When I was in High School, I dreamt of becoming a lawyer. Because I love History and Economics subjects. Good thing I ended up as engineer. I'm thinking more pragmatically and not dwell on words and keep pushing simple matter until it end up unresolved.
News 1:

Exerpt from philstar:
"The ITFP also cited that the Comelec’s own official request for proposal specifically required a 99.9995 percent accuracy rating for any acceptable system."

Automated Counting Machine. We are so left behind. With all the advancement of technologies, our election ballots are still counted manually. We are 7100 island (I dont care if high tide or low tide) country. And the only way to have an honest election is by automation.
I dont care if its 100% accurate. It's acceptable to me rather than relying on teachers with their red pens marking those manila paper. Next election should be run by these machines. The president should fire abalos and replace with a new Comelec commissioner. He should go on trial and move on. Comelec should not be stagnant on its reforms. How can we claim that we have democracy when choosing our leaders is always tainted with controversy and doubt.

News 2:

"At least 2.9 million Filipino families or 16.9 percent of a projected base of 17.4 million households experienced hunger in the past three months, results of the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed"..

..."We will try to reconcile government data with the SWS survey. If the areas in the survey would not match those in our identified vulnerable areas, then there could be something wrong with their survey," he said."

What the f%&*. The numerical results of the survey are not the issue. The implication is that we are a poor country and many dont have food on their tables and its becoming worse. Why are we poor? That's the question! First, I think Filipinos at least most of us are indolent. Dr. Jose Rizal already saw this centuries ago. Many dont work (tambay lang). We cannot progress if only the middle class is working. Second, poor education. What happening in our schools. Instead of reading books, children are busy with their text mates and TV gossip or soap opera. Look at our children and you can predict our future. I cant say more on the last nursing exam leakage. This has affected so many lives and our reputation. I cant be more embarrased. And the last is the government. I like to blame them. Because they have the power to do things and resolve these problems.

I'm still optimistic but it breaks my heart every time I see news like these.