Earth Hour

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Happy Birthday to Me x43

Today's my 43rd birthday.  When I was younger, I thought 43 years was too old, ancient.  I imagined myself when I am 43 I would be weak and frail, wearing eyeglasses and taking everything in a relaxed manner.

Now that I am 43 years old, I still feel okay.  Not weak nor frail, though I feel some pains here and there which I attribute to normal wear and tear.  I am wearing glasses and taking everything in stride now, though.

So what happened on my 43rd birthday?  Summer was officially announced over by the weather bureau.  The first typhoon of the season has entered our country.  It was raining the whole day in the southern parts of Luzon, including Manila but it was dry here in Bulacan.  We had dark, cloudy skies the whole day though.  It rained only in the afternoon and only until early evening.

The World Health Organization also raised the pandemic phase of the Human-Swine Flu to level 5 which meant that we are getting close to confirmation of a human to human spread of the virus.  The organization also clarified that there were only 7 deaths confirmed due to the flu and not 150 deaths as earlier reported.  On the local front, the health department continue to assure the public that the disease has not reached our shores yet and advised those going to the affected areas like the US and Mexico to take the necessary precautions.

Later, I chanced upon an article in the Internet that said US President Obama's term is a presidency of crises.  He already has the financial crisis in his hands and when things start to perk up, this health issue arose.  No wonder his hair is getting gray and frazzled.

He's also beset by controversy over his decision of making public the methods used in interrogating inmates in Guantanamo Bay.  Pundits say that this would put Americans overseas in grave danger since their enemies now know how they deal with their prisoners and these people may use this methods on their American captives.  It's really a ghost that some of the American leaders created upon their people and it's quite sad.

I spent the whole day replying to the greetings sent to me by friends on Facebook and other networking site I am a member of.  My mother called me early in the morning, followed my father.  My sisters called me in the afternoon.  They all greeted me a happy birthday!  My nieces in the US even sang happy birthday to me, so sweet.

I asked the house helper to cook pansit, the traditional birthday fare to wish me a long life.  She also cooked menudo and mixed vegetables.

Over at the American Idol, there was a surprise bottom 3 dweller, Adam!  Everybody's favorite suddenly found himself in danger of getting eliminated and going the way of Daughtry.  But he was later declared safe and Matt finally gets the door.  I think this was a strategy by the producers to make fans to go on a voting frenzy next week.  Let's see if Adam goes home next week.

End of Summer 2009

Today marks the official end of the summer season. The Philippine weather bureau or PAG-ASA announced that this year's summer is quite short. I say short but terrible.

The two hottest days recorded in history occurred this year. I expect my electric bill to really go skyhigh this month because I couldn't stand the daytime heat and my air conditioner had to work full time. It was so hot this summer that I had a bout with my allergies several times this season.

As we say goodbye to summer 2009, we meet the rainy season with not one but two typhoons. As I write this, the weather bureau is already tracking two low pressure areas developing in the southern parts of the country. They are, most likely, going to develop into typhoons.