After Ondoy

Ondoy -- a name forever etched in every Pinoy's mind and heart; a calamity that left not only a mark or a dent in our lives, but a hole.

It came on a fateful Saturday morning, and after 6 hours of nonstop raining, left a shocked and shattered Manila.

260 lives. Thousands of homes. Millions worth of damages.

Yet, the Filipinos are still full of hope. In supermarkets, you'll find shoppers with carts that are filled with boxes of canned goods, bottled water, crackers and other relief goods. In houses, family members are packing sandwiches, bananas, bread, and other ready-to-eat food. In schools, people are packing food, clothes and blankets. On the streets, trucks loaded with relief goods are roaming. On the internet, you'll see a flood of messages from people volunteering their vehicles, venues, money and services for relief efforts.

The coming of Ondoy may have brought massive loss to the Filipino people, but it could never take hope out of the Filipino. It may have destroyed the capital of the Philippines but the hearts of Filipinos remain intact.

When calamities strike, donations come in from multinational companies and other countries. In this case, you'll feel how different Ondoy's case is by the level of aid we are getting. Donations come not only from companies but straight from pockets of the people -- mid-class even. We don't have much to offer but we still reach out. There was no plea for it, but Filipinos and non-Filipinos alike joined hands and organized several relief operations everywhere. It was more than social responsibility, it was a genuine concern for others that called each one of us to respond.

While most of us extended our help by giving out money, food and clothing, there were some who went the extra mile and gave up their lives in order to save people. There’s the 18-year old construction worker who died after saving 30 people, and then there’s also the 4 military personnel who died during the rescue mission. Every person who is entitled to a safe and dry day but instead chooses to go out and generously offer one’s help in any way is a hero, whether the help comes in a simple bag of relief goods or a life sacrificed.

I am proud to be from the Philippines, the land of survivors and heroes.

first image c/o tikoy tan, taken at lifehomes, pasig city. second and third image c/o iamtoj, taken at whitespace makati city.

how to help Ondoy victims

LOCATION BREAKDOWN FOR VOLUNTEERS AND DONATIONS FOR VICTIMS OF TYPHOON ONDOY.

QUEZON CITY.

- go to ateneo de manila university, katipunan avenue, and proceed to the college covered courts to volunteer. shifts are in three hour cycles. you can go as early as 6AM but it goes on the whole day.

- please bring packed/cooked food to 12 Denmark, Loyola Grand Villas, QC, and help @patriciahizon whose group was the only one helping the victims in tumana today.

- TULONG BAYAN, to volunteer, just go to Balay Expo Center in Cubao, Edsa cor McArthur, 8AM onwards. contact (02) 9137122 and look for Mary, May or Cam

- donations accepted in MIRIAM COLLEGE insa office.

- donations also accepted in UP DILIMAN student council office at vinzons hall.

- for the GMA Kapuso Foundation, you can drop your donations at Samar St. cor GMA Network drive, QC. Behind GMA complex. Beside Malayan Bank. Tel # 9284299, 9289351, 9827777.

- for those who want to volunteer for sagip kapamilya: call 4132667/4160387, or go to #13 examiner st., west triangle, QC

- the other address for sagip kapamilya is sct. bayoran corner tomas morato. look for Girlie Aragon or Jet at 0916-7227806 or 0929-5348176

- this is the REAL SAGIP KAPAMILYA ACCOUNT for your donations: banco de oro #56 300 20111 under abs-cbn foundation. to all those spreading fake accounts, please naman..


MANILA:

- DLSU along taft avenue will be accepting any and all kinds of donations starting 830AM.

- csb alumni also accepting donations at 9/f dls-csb school of design and arts building, along pablo ocampo street, vito cruz.

- UST is also accepting your donations, proceed to the Tan Yan Kee Student Center.

- donations can be dropped off at victory church in malate, call 5221212 or visit the victory website.


PASIG:

- MEGATENT, Meralco Ave, Ortigas beside Renaissance: need more volunteers and donations! Very big space! Open 24 hrs til Friday!

- according to @margaga, poveda school (beside galleria) opens 9AM tomorrow and is open to all volunteers and any kind of donations.

- according to @angel21kawaii, CFC Center in Ortigas is receiving donations in cash or in kind. Call (02)7270682-87 or 09195359036.

- donations can be dropped off at victory church in ortigas, contact 6311212 or visit the victory website.


MANDALUYONG:

- GAWAD KALINGA is accepting volunteers and donations, base is RFM gym in pioneer. Contact Raul Dizon 09178888109 and Felice Caringal 09178888304.


MAKATI:

- White Space in Pasong Tamo ext. / Chino Roces is in need of volunteers to pack goods

- you can drop of your donations at Assumption College, San Lorenzo Village, Makati

- you can drop off your donations at the following stores in rockwell powerplant mall: aranaz, luca, greyone social.


TAGUIG or FORT area:

- donations can be dropped off at victory church in the fort, you can call 8171212 or visit the victory website.

- you can drop off your donations in embassy superclub in the fort.


PASAY:

- @elizabacud shares that Manila Doctors College will also be accepting donations. Bring anything that can help at Speech Lab., Macapagal Blvd, PasayCity


SAN JUAN:

- La Salle Greenhills, Xavier School, and ICA (right beside Xavier) are also accepting donations. Xavier will be accepting goods till 12midnight.


FAIRVIEW area:

- Help needed in Fairview and Novaliches. Please send clothes, food, water, meds & blankets to the Divine Savior Parish in North Fairview.


SOUTH (alabang, las pinas, paranaque):

- drop donations or volunteer at DE LA SALLE ZOBEL. Contact Ms. Angie Brazan at the Social Action Office 0917-8597602

- you can drop donations at the ATC concierge, call 8422782 or 7721860

- san beda alabang in alabang hills village is also accepting donations

- you can help pack donations 10AM at st. james church, ayala alabang village

- you may volunteer at Red Cross Alabang - ATC along Zapote Road fronting National Bookstore call 8097131 for info

- CFC center in Las Pinas City is accepting donations. it is near Verdant and in front of the construction of SM Center Las Pinas. Contact 09174493154 / 8460809


BAGUIO:

- donations can be dropped off at the ABSCBN Baguio Office

- donations are also accepted at the Baguio Convention Center Executive Room from 10am til 4pm starting tomorrow til Friday. Volunteers are urged to come.

- Organizing a soup kitchen. Baguio donating vegetables to arrive via Victory Liner. Contact Dave at 09178396179.


BULACAN:

- RedCross bulacan accepts donations. It is located in Malolos Bulacan, near bulacan capitol :)


CAGAYAN:

- send your donations to the kkp office in xavier university, ATENEO DE CAGAYAN.


CAVITE:

- DLSU-Dasmarinas is also accepting donations, pls proceed to the 2nd floor of SBC Building


BATANGAS:

- DE LA SALLE LIPA is now accepting your donations, drop off point is at the college lobby.


CEBU:

- details on how you can donate are on noelle's blog or the living for a cause blog.


BACOLOD:

- For your donations, drop off center is at the Coliseum in the University of St. La Salle. 435-3857

- CAFE BREIZH wil be a drop off center for donations. text 09193651101 for details.


DAVAO:

- ATENEO DE DAVAO is accepting in kind donations for ondoy. drop off at the samahan office in jacinto campus.

- BANTAY BATA 163 davao located at matina,davao city is also a drop off point for any in-kind donations.


ZAMBOANGA:

- ATENEO DE ZAMBOANGA is accepting donations. You may bring them to the SACSI office. Look for Alma Curesma, 991-0871, loc 2224 or 2225.



for PETS in need of aid:

- @kimmydeleon is announcing that PARC is open for animals. Click this site for info of PAWS for helping from the flood. for the official website of paws, click here


for those in SINGAPORE:

- pinoys are mobilizing and gathering donations, visit this forum for more details.


for those in SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA:

- you can deliver relief goods to 303/5 Stromboli Strait, Homebush Bay 2127. you can also contact through twitter at @allorange if you want to arrange for a pick up in the city


for those in TORONTO, CANADA:

- pinoys in toronto are spearheading efforts to help, visit this website for details.


for anyone in the UNITED STATES:

- visit the abs-cbn foundation website for details.

- you can also call 1-800-5272820


for anyone else ABROAD who wants to help:

- you can donate through the paypal account link on this site.

- the ayala foundation is also accepting your donations through their website.

- you can donate through the kapuso foundation site.

- you can use your credit card to donate via the the abs-cbn foundation.

- donate rice through the UN's World Food Programme through their official website.


OTHER FORMS OF HELP FOR YOU:

PAL IS OFFERING FREE AIRLIFT FOR DONATIONS. for details, click on the pal website.

TO REPORT MISSING LOVED ONES OR AREAS IN NEED OF HELP: call the SAGIP KAPAMILYA HOTLINES at 4110011, 4110012, 4110013.

HOTLINES FOR MISSING PERSONS:
marikina - 09209389914
qc - 09216555262
pasig - 09189356318
cainta - 09175606241.

DATABASE OF ONDOY VICTIMS AND EVACUATION CENTERS: click on the ateneotaskforceondoy website.

FOR CAR TOWING NEEDS: HONDA and NISSAN offer free towing! call 09228504452, 09224452242, and 09228997959.

DONATIONS ON WHEELS!! if you have donations to give but no means to transport, contact 09189791229, 09177974098, 09326991794. don't worry guys, this is not a scam! its by friends of @jiggycruz!


--reposted from superbianca


(20090929 5:47PM)
** If you want to order MEGA SARDINES for the typhoon victims, please contact JEAN TIU at 0917-7161005. They can deliver in bulk and can offer it at a lower price versus supermarkets. Also MEGA sardines are available in DOY PACKS, no need for can opener.

Khao Pad (Formerly UP Thai Canteen)

Every time Gary and I talk about cheap food finds, he never fails to brag about a humble Thai Canteen in UP that offers, according to him, the best and cheapest Thai food he knows. He says it's just a little canteen wherein students could feel free to come in wearing their comfortable shorts and shirts and expect a generous serving of Tom Yum, Khao Pad and Pad Thai.

Since it closed in 2006, I never got the chance to try their food. That was until I found out in a food blog that it reopened in Ortigas Home Depot in 2008 and prepped Gary for the surprise of his foodie life!

For most UP students, UP Thai Canteen or Khao Pad is where they got their first taste of Thai food. As for me, I already got to taste Thai food way back. I was still excited though, after all, it's my first time to try the famous UP Thai Canteen, and ofcourse, I knew how happy Gary will be when he finds out about my surprise!

So we went to Ortigas Home Depot and started hunting for Khao Pad. It was just a few steps away from Starbucks so it wasn't really that hard to find. As I stepped in, it felt like I was walking into a carinderia of some sort. Don't bother looking for a menu, despite its posh location (ok, it's not really posh, but still too grand a location for a canteen of this type), no menu will be handed over to you. Instead, you can feast your eyes on the cooked viands that are displayed in their glass window and images of their popular dishes that are hung on the wall. There's this one dish that wasn't on the "menu" though, making it available only to those who are familiar with it. Lucky for Gary, I did my research and ordered the famous Mixed dish, along with a regular order of Tomyum and Khao Pad.


After ordering and paying for the food, we took the stairs and entered a totally different zone that is the second floor of Khao Pad. Contrary to the interiors of the first floor, the second floor was more cozy. The area was aptly lit, tables and chairs were clean and new, and a TV set was strategically located, giving customers opportunity to dine while enjoying a good local tv show. We were the only customers when we got there, so we basically had the entire floor to ourselves. We took advantage by posing next to the tarp with the Khao Pad logo, a necessary move to capture an essential moment of our foodie lives.


After a while, our orders were ready and so were we! The mixed dish, which the server called "mixed seafoods," had more beef and chicken than seafoods. I'd prefer calling it a mixed dish. It was like meat heaven in a plate! Imagine tasty chunks of beef, chicken, squid, egg and vegetables all in one plate! Gary taught me the proper way of eating Thai food, or at least the way he would eat it -- put a lot (by a lot, he means more meat than rice) of meat on top of your rice, add spoonfuls of the sauce from the plate of mixed meat, and finally mix. One time, I caught Gary happily chewing on a spoonful of his food with his eyes closed, savoring every bite.


Khao Pad or Thai Fried Rice had pieces of meat (maybe pork or chicken, we were too engrossed with eating to notice) and was a dish in itself. It surprisingly went well with Tomyum, which also had a generous serving of seafood. It wasn't warm enough but that didn't stop us from enjoying the sour seafood soup. We happily emptied our plates and bowls in no time.


The taste may not be as authentic as it claims to be, but it's enough for me to start a newfound love for lutong-bahay Thai food. It was a blast from the past for Gary, and a start of a bright future for food lovers like me. :)

mu-anha mi ug cebu

we don't have an itinerary yet, definitely kasama sa to do list ang sky experience! :)

fro-yo for a cause

Did you know that fro-yo is not only good for the body but good for the soul as well? That is, if you have a fro-yo at The White Hat, Shangrila Mall this August 30! TWH is having a charity event called THE WHITE HAT - Alodia & Ashley Gosiengfiao Dress Up For Charity! Famous cosplayers Alodia and Ashley will be serving fro-yo lovers in their costumes to raise money for Got Heart Foundation, a non-profit organization that aims to empower marginalized Filipinos by helping them become entrepreneurs. 50% of the entire day's sales will be donated to the foundation!

To make it more fun, everyone is invited to come in their own costume as well. There will be special awards for the following 4 categories:
Best Male Cosplayer
Best Female Cosplayer
Best Crossdresser Cosplayer
Best Kid Cosplayer

Each winner, who will be chosen by the celebrity cosplayers Alodia and Ashley, will win a special prize of 2 MONTHS SUPPLY OF FREE YOGURT + a souvenir cap + a souvenir photo with Alodia and Ashley! In addition, a photo wall will be setup for customers to have photo-ops. Sounds fun, eh? :)

It's a one day event only so if you're like me and you get really high from having the yummiest fro-yo while helping someone in need, just visit The White Hat at Shangrila Mall on August 30!

visit The White Hat site for updates!