2007.....Year in Review

2007 Year in Review

Sa Pinas.

ZTE-NBN Broadband Deal. 329 million dollar contract signed in China between the Philippine Government & Chinese telco giant ZTE during the time the government was not allowed to sign contracts due to the upcoming elections. More scandal ensues when Joey deV III claims COMELEC chair Ben Abalos bribed him 10M pesos to backout from the project in favor of ZTE. More scandal!!! During his testimony at the Senate, Joey named Mike Arroyo (lo & behold) who also asked him to back out from bidding the contract.

More Bribery Scams. Where? Malacañang of course. P 200K – P500K in envelopes to local officials and congressmen in support of GMA against another impeachment attempt at the House of Representatives.

Pulse Asia Survey’s Most Corrupt leader in Philippine History. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo 42%. Ferdinand Marcos 35%, Joseph Estrada 16%.

Erap Convicted of massive plunder by the Sandiganbayan’s graft & corruption court. Then after 6 weeks… (after bribery scams & Broadband deal blowups)..Estrada was granted a full pardon by GMA.

Glorietta 2 Blast. Killed 11 and injured more than a hundred people right after lunch break. Turf war between different groups created different conclusions to the source of the blast. Methane gas leaks ignited by sparks in faulty wiring…or real Terrorist bombing?

More Blasts. This time at the Batasan (House of Representatives). Investigations say target was Basilan Representative Wahab Akbar, who was killed in the blast along with his aides. Some say it was a threat to divert attention away from a pending investigation on the Arroyo administration.

Whats UP?

On the lighter side of things. Patent is back. Now I recall I used to own a patent shoe back in Grade School, c/o Otto & Greg. It actually came back in the early & late 90s, and has re-emerged in shocking hues and different Croc-style designs.

Plastic! Plastic! From the ‘I’m not a Plastic Bag’ canvass totes for the environmentally conscious(??) fashionistas, to plastic shoes. Plastic jelly-type shoes are back on the shelves. Jello or Alsa gulaman on your feet. While Crocs has been around since 2006, everyone even the kwek-kwek vendor has it. It looks comfy yes, hideous, and cute on your kids…stops there.

Place to be & be seen. Serendra and Bonifacio High Street.

Epol-epol. Apple macbooks & the Leopard OS launched October 2007. Andito na si iPhone at last! Plus if you think you’ve had enough of your itsy-bitsy Nano, there’s iPod Touch,

Chika.

Britney back in trouble. After showing her noo-noo to paparazzi, losing custody of her kids, acting high & drunk in public, she’s making a comeback in the music scene. Weird thing is, she’s making better music now.

I Loooovvvee the movies! The best were seen this year. Heartwarmingly funny animation Ratatouille, much anticipated as ever - Shrek the 3^rd, who could miss… Spiderman 3 and Harry Potter in Order of the Phoenix, cinematic senses overload – Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, sexy buff Persians in ‘300’, sexy action man Jason Bourne back in ‘Bourne Ultimatum’, and alien robots kick each other’s ass in ‘Transformers’.

Personal.

Definitely better than the previous year, still a lot of personal struggles but were necessary to build character and strength. Again it ends there...(Now I have more character than Jay Leno and superstrength powers that will put Superman to shame..)

Best things to happen:

- 3-day weekend with Marriage Encounter at Manresa. Change and revelations?

- A reunion with friends, most especially bestfriend Mayen, her most anticipated visit to the RP.

- Lopez reunion – our first Christmas day together at Moncada Tarlac with Ninang Jean Stacey and her family who came home from the UK.

- Ethan’s first day in school! Pre-Casa (equivalent to Jr Nursery) at Mothergoose Playskool. He is Señor Kulit and Monsieur Likot. But he is a quick thinker just like his dad, firm and very decisive at a young age. We made sure he did not miss the World Pyro Olympics, Sesame Street Live, and his first day in school. His first orientation of what his life will be like in the years to come. Yayks!

To conclude this year... I might not have received a bagful of goodies, boxes of ham or a 2000 peso gift check, but just for the spirit of Christmas (yeey!) at least I have given more to my loved ones. Had some fun with my closest friends, spent early Christmas day on the road to be with relatives out of town, had a great time choosing gifts for the people who mean most, and the kids who are always glad to open one. (awwshucks) Yes and because of all these,I did suffer from a bad flu and pharyngitis due to the complete destruction of my fun-capable immune system...but who cares. Lastly, a meaningful year for our little boy Ethan and so far the most rewarding one for my hubby Marc. Cheers to the New Year!