There’s something wrong with the kind of democracy we have in this country. My main gripe has always been this: we put the power of the vote on the people’s hands but we let them remain uneducated. We let them make decisions that will affect the nation for all the wrong reasons. But it’s freedom in its most basic form. I can’t argue with that.

Being part of the middle class, I have a lot of complaints about the government. I realize that being part of the middle class means that the government has received a chunk of my salary before I even get my payslip. It means that everytime I shop or eat at a restaurant, I pay something to the government. Pera ko ang nagpapasuweldo sa mga nakaupo sa gobyerno.

With all the distasteful things that’s been happening in our country, I decided to finally do something. I’ve never voted simply because I don’t believe in the system. But I realized that this is the only system we have and I can’t work against it. If I want change to happen, I have to work with it.

I am finally registered to vote. It took me the entire day (and my ID picture SUCKS!) but I did it.

To those who have been watching in the sidelines, take the plunge. The middle class should go out and vote–we’re practically running the country with all the taxes we’re paying anyway.

A lot has been said about the Hayden Kho scandal. This is my point of view on the matter but let me make it short.

So Hayden likes to record himself on video when he has sex. Although it seems perverse to me, I don’t condemn him for that. I don’t understand his reasons but I don’t think he’s evil personified either.

So Katrina had sex with another woman’s boyfriend. It was wrong. We all know that. Both her and Hayden should have known better. You just don’t steal another woman’s man.

Hayden, Katrina and his two other partners are victims because their privacy was violated by the person who posted the sex videos on the internet. I really believe that the senate is after the wrong guy unless the doctor himself uploaded those videos on the net.

This isn’t a women’s rights issue as the senate wants us to believe. This is a privacy issue. I’m thinking that they probably slanted it that way because of how the charges may be filed. Since there’s no existing law on the publication of private videos/photos on the internet, the doctor might be charged with violating provisions of Republic Act 9262 or the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004. What’s ironic is that this isn’t the first time something like this has happened. There have been a lot of sex video scandals before but this is the first time that a senator “felt strongly enough” to mention it in the Senate. So how come, until now, there’s still no law to address these kinds of things? Ginagawa ba ng senado ang trabaho nila? I heard that a number of bills have been drawn since 2004(?) but not one has been passed yet.

For someone who has no clear advocacy, the only way Sen. Bong Revilla can run and possibly win in the next elections is to connect his name to a controversy. He picked a good one but I just don’t buy this guy’s crap. At first, I was hoping that this is probably the best way the Senate could be pushed to finally come up with a law for cases like this. But seeing how distorted the whole issue has become, I shudder to think about what kind of bill they’d come up with.

What irritates me more are the people around me who actually download, watch and share the sex videos. The rude and nasty comments made about Katrina’s lust or the women’s “kahayukan” insult me as a woman. Pag narinig mo ang ibang manghusga, akala mo hindi sila nakikipag-sex. Curiosity (and the media) has blown this thing out of proportion.

As for the news media…

There are a lot more important and relevant things to report. Do your job. This isn’t journalism anymore.

Right now, I am extremely pissed at the following:

Mar Roxas – for being such a douche in those campaign ads of his. (No, they are not “advocacy ads” as he claims. We’re not that stupid.) I know you’re not the only “presidentiable” coming out with ads but yours is the most annoying.

Presidentiables – Binay, Lacson, Villar, Roxas, Legarda and the rest…guys, next year pa ang election! Magtrabaho muna kayo bago mangampanya!

Nicole – for being a lying whore. You just don’t file a rape case then retract AFTER your “rapist” is convicted because you suddenly got confused over what happened. Immigrating to the country of your abuser so you can “move on” is like putting salt on the wound. I supported you! I backed you up when friends and colleagues said you were asking for it.

ABS-CBN’s coverage of the Failon case – media critics agree that ABS-CBN failed the test. Their coverage on what happened was extremely one-sided and overly sensationalized.

QCPD – overacting! You’ve just shown your stupidity and ineptness all over national television with the way you handled the Failon case.

I hate it when some people think everyone else is STUPID.

WHATEVER!

DMB has a facebook page for fans. I just noticed their profile pic today:

Looks like they left a spot for Leroi.

I went to Hongkong a couple of weeks ago with my fiance and some friends of ours.  It was a long-overdue vacation and I just loved every minute of it!

We specifically picked a hotel in Kowloon to be near the shops since we wanted to do some serious electronics shopping. We stayed at Metropark Hotel Kowloon (booked via asiatravel.com).  The hotel room rates weren’t that expensive but our rooms were spacious and clean. We had cable, hot water and free broadband internet. I didn’t even get to use my hair drier (which I brought with me) since the hotel provided us with one. The staff was English speaking and they had a shuttle that left every half hour which brought us to the nearest MTR station or to any of the nearby local spots.

Our hotel room

Transportation was a breeze. We mostly took the MTR to get from one place to another. We each got this Octopus card for HKD 150 which was good for three days (similar to our stored-value MRT/LRT cards here). I strongly recommend getting this card as soon as you get to HK. Sobrang sulit! We were surprised that we were able to use the cards on the ferry and bus rides to Ngong Ping. Plus the unused amount is refundable. I was able to refund around HKD 30 from my card on our last day.

taken at one of the MTR stations (probably at Central)

Note to self: the next time I go to Hongkong I’d definitely bring more cash. I only had one credit card with me and it was going bonkers (Thank God it worked at the hotel!) so I wasn’t able to use it at the shops. Fortunately, we did most of our shopping at the Ladies Market and at the Night Market in Temple Street. I had to use my haggling powers honed by my extensive Divisoria and Greenhills experience. Both markets were blocks long filled with all the merchandise that you can imagine–from clothes to bags to toys to art work to antiques and other types of trinkets. We usually got back to the hotel late at night with aching feet and lighter wallets.