:exclamation: Note: This post has been updated. (3-9-2009)

I was doing some ad hoc tasks in the office when I overheard two of my officemates talking about Francis Magalona’s death.

“What?! Francis M. is dead? When? How come? I thought he just had a bone marrow transplant?! Oh my god, he’s too young and has 8 children!” I was totally shocked that I couldn’t stop talking.

I was told that he passed away at 12 noon yesterday. So apparently, I was the last person in the office to know about this heart-breaking news. They said it was announced at 12 noon on Eat Bulaga. So being the internet-junkie that I am, I searched for a video footage online.

And silently, tears started falling from my eyes while I was watching this video. This is really sad! You might wanna see this too.

I grew up singing the man’s songs. His love for his country was undeniably overflowing. The lyrics of his songs have always reminded me that I should always be proud that I am a Filipino no matter what happens. Kaleidoscope World, The Man from Manila and Mga Kababayan Ko are his songs that truly inspire not just me, but the many Filipinos across the nation. And oh! Who would ever forget about the love songs Cold Summer Nights and Hangga’t Yakap? I love those songs too! :hearty:

Anyway, I came across his blog (Francis Magalona.Multiply.Com) today and quoted below was his last post dated Jan. 14, 2009. The way he battled against cancer was admirable beyond words. I was really touched!

Good evening people. I am getting prepared for my 4th Chemotherapy cycle, and I will be admitted tonight at The Medical City. I will be doing some tests tomorrow, wish me luck. Friday I begin my 4th cycle which is a Hi-Dose kind, as will be taking 6 grams of Cytarabin™ a day every other day for 3 days.

I will be at the 14th floor of the TMC, as usual. I brought alot reading materials (bible included!) and dvds to keep me company while I do my treatment. I will be doing my radiation treatment by February and my PBSCT (Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplant) will be done by March.

I look forward to the pain as I know my journey is on full speed ahead. I will not be bold to say that without asking a favor from you all. PLEASE PRAY for me as I undergo treatment. Your prayers, as always, have sustained me. And am sure the Lord will listen to all our prayers. To His will I submit myself.

God bless you, my friend.

PS: I will be needing blood donors for blood and platelets. Please go to the lower ground floor of The Medical City and donate blood in my name. For platelets Apheresis you may go have yourself screened at the Phil. Nat’l Red Cross at the Pier in Manila. I am type O positive. Thank you again.

May he rest in peace… :sigh: I’m quite sure that through his songs, his legacy will remain forever. See you again, Kiko! Thank you for sharing your wonderful music with us!

The Master Rapper of the Philippines is now at peace with his Master. :7:

He also put up another website entitled Francis M.’s Happy Battle. Click here.

Trivia:

Have I seen him in person?

I was starstruck. I think we all were.
That’s Francis M.

“Nobody can hurt me without my permission.” - Mahatma Gandhi

I am not the type of person who holds grudges in my heart. I find it very easy to forgive and forget. (Lalo na pag nakaganti na ako sa taong nag-maldita sa akin!) Maybe because it has always been my choice to focus on the good things instead of the bad. Life is too short. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life begrudging someone.

A friend told me recently that she has already forgiven her ex-boyfriend for all the bad things he did to her. But she didn’t want to be friends with him because she’s still hurt. I got confused and asked her, “How can you say that you’ve already forgiven him if you’re still hurting?” I told her that the only time she can truly say she had forgiven him is when bad memories don’t have the power to hurt her at present anymore. I mean, it’s okay not be friends if it is her choice. But to still get hurt for something that happened a long time ago is something else. Then I added, “The past can no longer hurt you unless you let it.”

She smiled and ended our conversation by saying, “Alright then. Maybe I haven’t forgiven him completely.” I shook my head and we both burst out laughing. I didn’t tell her that memories of my stupid ex started running through my head as we talked.

Kidding aside, it’s been a while the last time I hated someone. In all honesty, it was an awful feeling knowing that there’s someone out there keeping the same hatred towards you. But at the end of the day, you’ll realize that nobody wins. Both parties only get hurt in the end.

That’s why I stopped hating people since then. As a result, good things started happening in my life. Everything has fallen into its proper place. Everything is in perfect harmony. I have been at peace with myself more than ever. Indeed, living well is the best revenge!

I have come to realize that hatred is just a waste of time and energy. After all, “Nobody can hurt me without my permission…”

I guess part of life is learning how to put the past behind us. And whether we like it or not, we will always come across people who are capable of hurting us one way or another. But never ever allow bitterness, anger, hurt and anxiety to keep us from moving forward. Remember that whatever we do or feel at present affects our future.

So let’s all be happy. Cheers!

I am not sure why I suddenly lost the urge to blog…

There are so many things I wanted to share but I guess I am just too tired to start writing about things that people won’t find interesting anyway. And besides, I don’t wanna talk about work all the time. That’ll be way too boring for my readers!

Moving forward, has anyone upgraded to WordPress 2.6 yet? I might upgrade this blog this weekend. But isn’t it weird (and at the same time – amazing) how developers can release a new version way too soon? I just mentioned on my previous post that I’d just upgraded this blog to 2.5.1 and then all of a sudden when I logged in to my WP admin page, there goes this UPDATE ALERT stating that WordPress 2.6 has just been released!

The bottom line is, I just wanna make sure that all the plugins I’m using on this blog are compatible with the latest version. Otherwise, I might as well wait for the plugin developers to upgrade all the plugins they developed so they will be compatible with WordPress 2.6. Waiting for a month or two won’t hurt for sure, will it?

I am soooo busy with work. Be back in a few days or so… I’ll be presenting the monthly QA report for our account later. I’m nervous! Hahaha!

I went to an ophthalmologist at Medical Plaza a few months ago for a check-up and was advised to wear eyeglasses. So when Medicard did an APE (Annual Physical Exam) in our company and offered eyeglasses for 50% off, I ordered right away. The doctor from Medicard also examined my eye and I was surprised that her findings were different. The first doctor who checked my eye said my problem is with my right eye. The second doctor said the problem is on the left! Hahaha. Yeah, right. And I thought I had a very thorough eye exam at Medical Plaza!

When I finally received my pink eyeglasses, it turned out that both findings were not accurate at all. I had terrible headaches even if the lens had already been replaced. As a result, I just decided not to wear them.

Everytime I get stressed out and feel devastatingly tired, having a home service massage twice a month is what I consider as my stress reliever.  A good foot and back massage can really keep me rejuvenated and relaxed. So it’s really important for me to get a massage at least once a month. Otherwise, I will go ballistic! Hahaha!

Anyway, have you tried a massage chair? I always see some people trying it at the mall. If I remember correctly, I think it costs  around 50 pesos for 10 minutes. I haven’t tried it though.