Tragedy is always a personal thing

Ever since typhoon Ondoy hit the Philippines last Saturday, news about it have been popping up in Facebook. People have been sharing news and information regarding flooded areas, how to help, videos and pictures on what happened. Ondoy is lucky. It hit Metro Manila, one of the more densely populated areas in the Philippines and it got a lot of media coverage. It was also the highest rainfall recorded since 1967 but the fact that Metro Manila was hit also helped. People were uploading videos and pictures taken from camera phones and other hand held devices. Everyone was aware of what happened.
What you really can't erase from Facebook is the constant updates from Farmville, Mafia Wars, Castle Age, Restaurant City... Yes, people in the Philippines still play these games and they do post items not Ondoy related.
Ondoy is a disaster, yes. But is it something that everyone should focus on 24/7... No.
Unfortunately, disasters are not always considered as a tragedy by all. Though hundreds of thousands of people may be affected, you cannot expect everyone to react the same way you do. Just because you are helping out does not make the person posting about Sesame Street or Farmville less affected. Just because your house is flooded does not mean everyone has to feel sorry for you. People living in Cainta, Marikina and Pasig should be happy they still have houses, if not, they should be happy that they are alive. This disaster affects us in different ways.
I'm just reacting because a friend of mine was angry for all the non Ondoy related posts. I get that his house is probably flooded but the fact that he can still post in Facebook is already a plus. Some people have relatives who died. We Filipinos have close family ties and I'm sure, most of us have families or friends that have been affected.
Tragedy is personal. It is not something that can be shared. To the people who share my friend's anger, I understand you. However you also have to understand other people. Don't expect people to be sad just because you are. You can lose everything in the world but you can never expect them to feel the same way you do.
To cite an example, when my baby died, I was devastated. My family was devastated. My friends and relatives in Facebook all knew that fact but that did not stop them from posting pregnancy or baby news in their wall. Even if they knew I could see it. I don't know if it's just me but for me, back then, that bordered on insensitivity. I knew they were happy but they didn't have to shove it in my face. What could I do? Nothing. Stop reading Facebook posts and just play games.
Life's like that it seems and I learned abut it the hard way. I hope everyone else does too. Maybe the world wouldn't need another Ondoy like tragedy to remind us that we need to accept people and help them when they need it.

Year of Tragedy

I have been waiting for a while to post this. Personally, I believe this year, 2009, should be called the "Year of Tragedy". I didn't wish it but I felt that other people will also be affected by this. No one is going to come out of this year unscathed. I just wish that everyone will be able to recover.

reviving something almost dead

I wanted to revive my blog. I started with this once so I'll see if I still have the same answers.

NAME: pia
DO YOU THINK YOU'RE NORMAL: nope
DO PEOPLE FIND YOU STRANGE: yup
DO YOU BELIEVE IN GOD: yup
DO YOU SIN A LOT: yup tho i try hard not to... there are days when I can do better
DO YOU BACKSTAB: No. I don't even do this in games. I suck at being a rogue.
ARE YOU A GOOD FRIEND:I really really hope that I am
ARE YOU IN LOVE:Yes, I've been in love for so long I don't remember how it felt NOT to be in love.
ARE YOU YOUNG:I will never be old. I never feel like I'm growing old. That may be the secret to immortality. death is just another phase in life.
EVER BEEN A LEADER OF SOMETHING:Yes, events, projects, teams...
EVER KILLED A LIVING CREATURE:ants, cockroaches, flies, some insects bigger than cockroaches, worms, no reptiles yet, no mammals either though I was an accomplice in the death of some mice and SEVERAL huge rats. I think I ran over a flying bird once but I'm not sure.
LAST ODD THING DONE: Define odd? I've done some things that others may think as odd but I believe to be normal.
DO YOU WEAR MAKE-UP:nope. I'm still allergic and I still don't know how to put it.
DO YOU REBEL:yup, in small ways and occasionally in big ways as well.
EVER STARTED A FIRE:small fires to burn small things and big fires to burn big things :)
DO YOU THINK YOU'RE EVIL:i want to believe I'm inherently good but i know I'm capable of being evil.
DO YOU LIKE CHEATERS:it really depends on the situation. I like them if they can help me.
DO YOU REGRET: No, I don't. With everything that has happened, I'm glad I still don't have regrets.
DO YOU HAVE A BESTFRIEND:Yes, a bestfriend can have several definitions, levels and can be several people.
DO PEOPLE HATE YOU:Yep, people might hate me. I can't point anyone in particular though.
DO YOU HATE PEOPLE:I can hate people as an immediate reaction but it never lasts for more than a day.
CAN YOU KILL SOMEBODY:just because i hate them probably not. to save myself and people i love or just care about ( two different things ) i would kill without hesitation.
DO YOU CUT YOURSELF?:Why would I cut myself?
EVER TASTED BLOOD:yup. mine mostly. Neal's blood occasionally...
DO YOU CARE WHAT OTHERS MAY THINK OF YOU?:Nope.
ARE YOU GOTHIC:Now that I think about it... no. I'm a happy sunny person who just happens to like writing about killing people sometimes.
DO YOU SMOKE:It depends on what needs to be smoked.
CONSUME DRUGS:good question.... what do you mean by consume? ;)
WHAT DO YOU WEAR:when i feel like i need to be "pretty" (this is all relative) I really dress up. otherwise I wear shirts and shorts and rubber shoes!this does not apply to work days.
DO YOU LIKE THE SUN:I don't have anything against it but I can't walk under it with my eye wide open ( my eyes are just slits) even if it's not a sunny day. it's one of the reasons my sister believes I'm a vampire.
HAVE YOU LOST SOMEONE YOU LOVE:Yes.
HOW DOES GRIEF FEEL:Like a ghost hanging around the house with a string to a knife sticking out of your heart.
YOUR ROLE MODEL:Haruki Murakami. He writes, he runs, he's a very popular writer in both Japan and America. He can speak and write in Japanese and in English! Well, yes he is Japanese but still...
YOUR HEART DESIRES TO BE WITH WHOM:A little lost dragon named Nathan.
YOUR LISTENING TO:The fan blowing and someone's bad music renditions.
DO U HATE YOURSELF:I think I might hate myself just a little right now.
EVER GET DRUNK? :I've been trying to get drunk, very unsuccessfully. Got really close several times a couple of months ago but my liver always fights back.

The Lost Dragon

I created a new blog for baby Nathan. I just really wanted to have something to remember him with and this would be a good thing to leave his future brothers and sister so they can also remember him.

The Lost Dragon.

In Memory

Nathaniel Jean Gabriel Dalusong Saveron

April 18, 2009 (1:11 PM)
April 20, 2009 (5:27 AM)

He lived for 1 day, 15 hours and 16 minutes.
Touched the lives of over a hundred people, most of which didn't even see him alive.
He will always be in my heart after he spent 9 months under it.
He'll watch over us until we join him.

Farewell to Flickr?

I am in the process of migrating my photos from Flickr to here. It's nice how I can do it in bulk.
These albums have gone from Yahoo to Flickr, and now here.

Hope its stays for good this time.

new pics are up ^_^ it's the singapore part of our honeymoon. just click on my flickr link