wahahaha!!!

this happens only when the topic hits my heart hard...

from spot.ph

EVIL: Mom, daughters jailed for torturing boy

this is just wrong. evil in the purest sense of the word.  completely unforgiveable.  and yet, the court seems to think that the abusers will be good as new after a few years of imprisonment.  talk about justice.  the boy suffers permanent disfigurement, for god's sake!  a few years in jail does not even equate to one-eighth of what he suffered from them.

Mum, daughters jailed for torturing boy

by Alvina Soh

SINGAPORE - Members of a family who repeatedly tortured a 10-year-old relative over two years and left him permanently disfigured were yesterday sentenced to jail.

The boy - who started living with his grandaunt and her family when he was four, after his mother went to prison - was beaten repeatedly, burned and had his fingers cut. District Judge Liew Thiam Leng described the case as "one of the worst cases of causing grievous hurt".

Yesterday, the boy's 44-year-old grandaunt was jailed five years. Two of her daughters, aged 20 and 24, were sentenced to 20 months' jail each.

The grandaunt's youngest daughter, 14, was sentenced earlier this year to probation. Her ex-husband will be sentenced early next year.

The court heard the boy was hit last year on his mouth with a hammer, causing a tooth to fall off and his mouth to bleed.

This was after his grandaunt found out he had finished some fried rice meant for the family.

A few months after the incident, the boy was again abused for allegedly stealing food and playing with the knobs of the gas stove.

His grandaunt asked her three daughters to restrain the boy while she splashed hot cooking oil on his face and body. She also cut his fingers with a pair of scissors, and pressed a hot iron and ladle on him.

After she caught him allegedly stealing food again, she tied his hands with a cable tie and taped his mouth with scotch tape.

The boy now suffers from facial deformities, including a distorted lip margin and a flattened nasal bridge.

In mitigation, the family's lawyer said they were facing financial difficulties. The grandaunt, who used to work as a cleaner, was "not a heartless person" and "merely wanted to frighten" the boy, the lawyer added.

are you freaking kidding me???  frighten the boy???  are you freaking dumb?  how in the world did you ever get into law school and finish it? 

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Mother and 2 daughters jailed for abusing, scalding boy with hot oil

The boy, now 10 years old, was subject to a variety of abuses, including having his fingers cut with a pair of scissors, being burnt with a hot iron, and being beaten repeatedly. -AsiaOne

AsiaOne

SINGAPORE - A mother and her two daughters were sentenced to jail on Wednesday for a series of horrific abuses committed on a boy who was staying with them.

The trio pleaded guilty today to causing grievous hurt to the boy, now 10 years old, The Straits Times reported. The 46-year-old mother received a five-year jail term, while her daughters, aged 20 and 24, were jailed for 20 months each.

The elder daughter, who was convicted on another charge of cheating a cleaning firm of some $2,300, was jailed an additional two more months, ST said.

The youngest daughter, 14, who was also involved in abusing the boy, pleaded guilty on Dec 1. She is currently in remand at the Singapore Girls' Home, awaiting a probation report due on Jan 12 next year.

During the period between 2009 and June 2011, the boy was subject to a variety of abuses, including having his fingers cut with a pair of scissors, being burnt with a hot iron, and being beaten repeatedly.

On one occasion, he was scalded with hot oil for eating up all the food in the house.

During that episode, the mother asked her three daughters to hold the boy down while she used a ladle to pour hot oil on the boy's face and chest. She subsequently told her daughters to turn the boy over, so she could splash the hot oil on his back.

The series of abuses has left the boy with multiple burns and with scars which may cause permanent disfigurement.

The boy's abusers do not just include the woman and her two daughters.

The woman's 45-year-old husband allegedly splashed hot water on the boy. He is currently out on bail. His pre-trial conference is scheduled for Jan 20.

The boy is now in a welfare home and attending school, ST reported. The identity of his father is unknown, while his mother cannot be located.

As his birth was not registered, he does not have a birth certificate. He was first sent to live with his grandaunt after his mother was jailed when he was four.

The abuses began in 2009 and continued even after the family moved from Hougang to Rivervale in 2010, and then on to a rental flat in Ang Mo Kio.

The boy escaped from the home on June 18 and was found by a medical social worker two days later wandering outside the Ang Mo Kio - Thye Hua Kwan Hospital.

The court has imposed a gag order on naming the parties involved, to protect the boy's identity.

note to self

what i truly truly want in my wedding:

• to see ross at the end of the aisle
• all of my friends and family (except for a chosen few) to be there and witness everything
• to really have a nice time knowing that ross and i are finally married
• to know that people did not just go there for the food.  that all of my invited guests would actually be at the ceremony.
• for all of my suppliers to do well...  i know i don't need for them to be exceptional (although that would be great), but i simply don't want to be disappointed.  i just want them to perform and deliver what needs to be delivered.  i don't want to replay in my head what happened at my wedding and realize that this particular supplier did not deliver what he's supposed to.  
• for my guests to be happy and well-fed

i should remind myself these.  always.  or until december 8.


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i got ross to say yes to my country/rustic-themed wedding because i know that it reflects what we are. laid-back home bodies.  a couple who'd rather spend christmas day inside our room, watching downloaded movies and tv series episodes of ghost fighter and dexter and american horror story and new girl.  although my OCD and/or shopaholic episodes attack once in a while, i'd still rather have wine and cheese at home.


thus, the theme.  i figured it's the perfect theme for us.  the only reason i wanted a them is for our wedding decor to have a central element.  para lang in some sort of weird way, kahit pano organized yung wedding namin.  and so i started researching for country/rustic-themed wedding details.  and boy, were there a lot.  there were so much that i wanted it all.  then i read this blog:  a practical wedding.  and i was enlightened.  obviously, we're not having a budget wedding.  getting manila hotel doesn't count as a budget venue for a reception dinner.  BUT.  we want, and we are striving to, to stay within our set budget.


so, i'm letting go of my paper mills and paper lanterns and ikea lanterns.  as for the flowers, i'll ask pat if she can give me peonies-look-a-like haha.  because i really really want peonies.  i'm not a biggie on roses.  if the price is right, we'll just probably get her for the entourage.  then we'll just get the loose flowers from manila hotel and collect the old jars/vases at home.  [in my opinion, manila hotel centerpieces are a complete turn-off.  i know they are just sticking to the filipiniana look and feel, pero naman, sana they could improve their centerpieces.]  the church flowers will be the ones provided by the church.  yup, even though paco park church will only be replacing the flowers once for the afternoon weddings, i'll just keep it at that.  tutal naman, one hour lang kami dun.


no more props for the photo ops.  it's just us.  and the moon.  that's enough for me.  hopefully there will be a moon and stars because the wedding ceremony will end at 6pm.  the prenup will be handled by a good friend who's also a photo hobbyist.  no will-you-be cards.  the save-the-date will be sent online so we don't have to buy inks and paper.  we'll be making and printing our own invites as well.  it will be as laid back and as casual as it can be.  for my gown, i think i'll stick with nana mene, unless she stopped making dresses already.  no offense to divi loyals, but i really don't like going there.  the crowd literally makes me dizzy.  if nana mene is not available, then i'll look for an affordable, but reliable, designer as a last resort.


as for the accessories, we'll probably just buy ready-made stuff from the store.  easier that way.  besides, the cost will just be the same if i do them myself or if i have them custom-made, materials and labor, etc.


what else?  hmm...if i can't think of anything else for now, they're probably not that important. :)

wake-up call: stop reading wedding blogs!

What Happened With I Stopped Reading Wedding Blogs

Remember back when East Side Bride was my first wedding graduate ever? Her first piece of advice was this:

1. Don't go overboard with the wedding blogs. I know‌. right? They will give you a complex.
At the time, I knew it was good advice, but I wasn't quite ready to take it. I was still at the sucking-in-wedding-inspiration-with-a-straw point. In fact, I might have been mainlining wedding images into my veins. But whatever, it was TOTALLY HEALTHY, and I DID NOT HAVE A PROBLEM, thanks. I was reading wedding blogs, I was buying wedding magazines, I was under the impression that I needed to maintain some sort of physical wedding "binder," whatever that was, and even though I was very unclear what I was supposed to be putting into it, I was carefully sticking in images and forms and the like. I was on the job.

But then, one day, something changed. I noticed that 9 out of every 10 wedding blogs/magazines were not making me feel excited about our wedding, they were making me feel tired and overloaded and like I wasn't living up. Another white dress, another set of favors (and you know favors drive me over the edge), another set of bridesmaid dresses. So I decided, I was going to take East Side's advice, as an experiment, and stop. I took every wedding blog that didn't make me feel excited and engaged off my reader. Done.

At first, I didn't notice anything much. I felt safe and comforted in my little wedding cocoon. I felt like we were all in this together, and everything was going to be just fine. I started feeling very secure in our choices. But I didn't think much of it. So one day, I was sitting in front of the computer, a bit bored, and I decided to browse on over to some big-wedding-media.

And my eyes popped. You should have seen the astonished look on my face. After a few months of no contact with standard-issue-big-wedding images, the type of weddings you often see had gone from seeming aspirational - what we were all supposed to be living up to - to flat out bananas. Everything draped in pink? Lots and lots of things that inexplicably matched? Endless handmade details all woven together into a overarching theme? Chandlers in the TREES? Instead of seeming delightful and quirky and well thought out, all of this seemed totally out of hand.

Now, none of this is to say you shouldn't read wedding blogs (achem). None of this is to say you should all have weddings just like mine, or just like each others, or that you can't have chandeliers in the trees if you want to. BUT. BUT. I think it's important for each of us to think about what wedding inspiration we're consuming, and how it is making us feel about ourselves. I talk a lot about how we should find a way to not judge ourselves as we're planning our weddings, and I really believe that. But I do think that the big-money, big-time, big-energy, One Perfect Day, Your Big Day, The Best Day Of Your Life, The Details Really Matter concept of a wedding that is taken as un-questioned gospel in large parts of the wedding world is damaging. I think it is actually emotionally warping, and is bad news for our sanity, our relationships, and our wallets. It takes our eyes off the prize, it makes us focus on parts of our wedding that really don't matter (like the favors) instead of focusing on parts of our wedding that really do matter (like the ceremony, or spending time with our loved ones). I think it's damaging because it makes brides think that they are less-than when they can't live up to the $100K weddings they are being spoon-fed.

So. Take a moment to think about what wedding magazines you are reading, what wedding blogs you are reading, what images you are consuming. If they are making you feel good about yourself and your decisions, and giving you inspiration and energy, keep reading them! But if you find yourself thinking, "Those brides are out of my league" or "I'm never going to live up to that" or "I'm just not that chic" or "Oh my god, we're so not doing this right" or "I really want this simple quick wedding, and I guess that's impossible." Then step back. Because you are amazing. And you're going to do it your way, and that is so much better than doing it someone elses way.
And if that's still not enough, East Side Bride just followed up with some tips for when wedding blogs are getting you down. Yeah. She's a smart lady.

Now go spin around in your dress, boogie around your living room to your favorite song, kiss your partner, and pour yourself a drink. I think that's the feeling you're going for.
*Not all wedding blogs, obviously. Just wedding blogs that didn't make me feel excited to be myself.

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ross will definitely agree to this.  and i do to.  ever since i started reading wedding blogs and signed up for W@W, i've been slowly formulating in my head a wedding that i consciously know, while it would be fantastic and memorable and wonderful, is out-of-budget.

ross was right.  having no dream wedding at all opens my mind up to a whole lot of things, which then makes me want to have everything that i find cute and pretty and want-able.

so.

i need to clear my head and go for the essentials.  only.  signing up with manila hotel as the venue for our wedding reception has already taken off a lot of our plate (i.e. bridal car, centerpieces [but i couldn't let go this one - their centerpieces are a complete put off for me], accommodations, etc.). so i think we should only focus on the other important things now:  the gowns, suits, flowers (we might just have to stick with flowers for the entourage; and just get the loose flowers from the hotel), thank you gifts and invitations.  the save-the-dates, i've already commissioned (haha, commissioned daw!) kim to do that.  the invites, ross and i are going to make and print it.  i would love to have it letterpressed, but no can do.  lights and sounds, we'll just stick to what the hotel provides as well.  we can do an upgrade, but only if the videos requires it to.  as for the cake, we're really going for a cupcake tower.  we just need to find a very very affordable baker.  as for the other details, we can probably tweak/improve/overhaul them...but i cannot afford to be a bridezilla.  we still have airfare expenses to worry about.

from a practical wedding

Gifts Gifts Gifts

from tope

from ayie

from mac and cris

from ross' sup, stephen

skipper!

from gian and tin

from christy

from lennie,

ron,

and arvin!

and a bunch of chocolates from marvin, nette and din :)

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Merry Rainy Christmas

Merry rainy christmas!!!

It's been raining very hard, almost all day/week here in Singapore. But i love it. I love the strong windy feel, except only when we're commuting.

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Because we forgot to take pictures of our gifts (unopened) with our teeny weeny christmas tree and our noche buena last night, we only have our christmas leftover brunch today.




Parang pang-hotel lang haha!!

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Happy Birthday!!!

Happy birthday to me!!!

I love love love my birthday nachos. Yummy!!!






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welcome back to the time of the prayles and indios!

CBCP wants anti-discrimination bill cleansed of provisions on gay rights

By Niña Calleja
MANILA, Philippines—The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is now training its guns on the anti-discrimination bill, saying the possible enactment of the bill into law would open the door for the legalization of same sex marriages.

Speaking at a weekly forum in Greenhills, San Juan City, on Wednesday, lawyers of the CBCP and a Catholic bishop hit the Senate for amending the previous version of the anti-discrimination bill or the Senate Bill 2814.

The Senate has recently passed on third reading the bill which is after penalizing all forms of discrimination.

The SB 2814, known as Anti-Ethnic, Racial or Religious Discrimination and Profiling Act of 2011, will be discussed by a bicameral conference committee tasked to harmonize the Senate bill with similar bills passed by the House.

Ronald Reyes, a lawyer of the CBCP, said they had no qualms about the bill before but became concerned when the bill was amended and “sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity” were included.

“It’s opening the door for same sex marriages, which our country doesn’t allow,” Reyes told reporters.

He said the Catholic church, which would not officiate same sex marriages, might be punished if the bill became law.

“This is alarming and it might change our society,” Reyes said.

Another CBCP lawyer Jo Imbong said the LGBT (lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender) should not be considered the same as the elderly, the handicapped, and the poor.

“These people are disadvantaged not by their own choice. But the third sex, they choose this. How can you give protection to a choice like that?” Imbong said.

Imbong said the bill violated religious freedom and the “no prior restraint” accorded by the law to freedom of speech.

“The government may not penalize a religious organization for … excluding a person from Church responsibilities, for example, based upon that person’s moral behavior which could include the practice or promotion of homosexuality,” she said.

The bill would hinder the Church from teaching what it believed to be right or wrong, Imbong said.

The lawyer noted that under the bill, the priest who refused to officiate same sex marriages may be fined with P500,000 and jailed for 25 years.

Antipolo Bishop Gabriel Reyes said the Episcopal Commission on Family and Life of the CBCP has been appealing to the Senate and the House of Representatives to exclude the LGBT from the bill.

I cannot believe this.  These statements are so alarming.  Sobrang self-righteous and impokrito.  I truly believe that this kind of thinking is what keeps Filipinos and the Philippines in a backward state.  The reason we don't progress as a nation and as human beings is that we like to think of ourselves as superior.  And because of what?  We're Catholics?!?  Such hypocrites.  Nobody, as in nobody, in the Philippines can honestly say that he/she is better than any gay or a lesbian.   Pare-parehas lang tayong may basura sa bakuran at skeletons na tinatago.  Bawal magpanggap.  At mag-maganda.  Minsan talaga nakakahiyang maging Pilipino dahil sa klase ng pag-iisip ng marami sa atin.  Akala mo kung sinong magaling at malinis at relihiyoso.  Hoy.  pare-pareho lang tayong nagmumura at nakakagawa ng kasalanan.  Pero kahit ganun, lahat tayo, bading man o tibo, tao pa din.  Nobody has any right to say who deserves or does not deserve protection and/or service. 

@ Ronald Reyes: What the hell is wrong with changing our society? Do you want to be stuck in the times of prayles and indios forever? My gulay! Wake up! If you are really bent on NOT changing the society, then do away with your riches and gadgets and everything. It's money and technology that changed the world, not an anti-discrimination bill.

@ Jo Imbong: Gays and lesbians are humans, in every aspect. They deserve every right to be protected and serviced by the government and yes, the church too. They are only disadvantaged because the rest of society (i.e. YOU) are not as open and willing to accept and respect them. The government, and yes even the CHURCH, does NOT have the right to choose which people to protect or provide for. Every human being here in this world has that right.

red shoes parade

starting from the left side:  mine, ruthie's and leidy's

Mine. Ruthie's. And Leidy's red shoes for Kathy's wedding.

Yes. Our dresses were midnight blue in color and we paired them with red shoes. Pasaway. Haha. But i loved it. Actually everybody loved it. Even the photogs. Yay!


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wedding binder

I finally started making our wedding binder. At first, i was thinking if expandable envelop nalang, but that would still be too messy and tedious to sort through piles of papers, receipts and pictures and what nots. So clear folder nalang, pero naman, walang dating. I couldn't buy naman the already-made wedding binders kasi super mahal and isip ko, icu-customize ko pa din naman so sayang lang. And then we thought a big notebook nalang, then we'll just cover it and make it personalized. But it's too much work, plus buying the materials alone would already cost a lot. So clear book nalang. Nah. No personality at all, and mukhang nalugi. Then, we went to the popular branch in bras basah. Ay, ring binder nalang! Similar to what i saw online and then ayusin ko nalang yung loob. So voila!
I wasn't able to design? Customize? Work on it until we were able to buy a printer in the last IT show. I could print in the office, pero black lang, saka i had to be discreet. So i'm happy we bought a printer.

I still have a lot to do with the binder, wala pa lang ako masyado malagay kasi i've yet to print the other stuff i got from the internet. Plus, i want to print my pegs. Haha. Buti nalang i discovered art friend. And buti nalang there's a big branch at buona vista mrt. Imagine, i can go there everyday after office. I love love live their cardboard-like papers with vintage designs, kaya lang at $1.20 a piece, it's just too expensive. Especially when i want to buy all of them. Haha. So the scrooge that i am, bumili nalang ako ng construction papers and colored oslo paper-like papers and a sharpee that has a similar color as our motif. Ang saya! I love that store.

So far i like what our binder looks like. It has the country/rustic feel that's the same as our theme. Or ako lang nakakausip nun. And, it's not girly. Yay! I'm getting more excited about the preps!


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