Win 10,000 Pesos from The Man Blog!

That's right. We're extending the  promo!!! This means you still have a chance to win 10,000 pesos in cold hard cash. No. I'm not kidding. We really are giving away money. Why? That's the way we roll. And well, because we can. Yeah, we're pretty big like that.

So what are you waiting for? All you need to join is a camera, some art supplies and a whole lot of attitude. Still no idea what the hell I'm talking about? Then get the lowdown here and here. Now seriously, do you really want to pass this up? Nah. i didn't think so. So go ahead. Take your shot and make it count.
 

A Letter to my Dad, on my Mother’s 51st Birthday

Dearest Papa,

Mama would have been 51 today. It’s been 4 years and yet I still miss her terribly. On some days, just like this one, I feel like I miss her even more. It hurts. I wish there was someone who could tell me that the hurting will pass, that I’ll just suddenly realize one day that I don’t miss her anymore. But I’ve come to believe that it won’t ever happen, that this is something I’ll just have to live with.

About a week ago Jen and I went over to Peachie’s place to hold a garage sale. I did a good job of hiding it from everyone but I was feeling extremely sad that weekend. I just knew that if mama was still around she would have enjoyed this immensely. I can almost see her, getting all OC with the paninda, chatting like a schoolgirl with Peachie and Jen, making fun of the most trivial of things, laughing ’til her sides hurt. I can almost hear her talking about life and its mysteries with tita Pachit, reminiscing and getting wonderfully lost in sentimentality. She would have loved it.

The month of November has always been tough for me since she passed away. It only reminds me that I’ll never get to give her another hug and another kiss on her birthday; that I can never buy her another gift or take her out and just enjoy her company, the sound of her voice, her surprisingly naughty and crazy ideas and the way she just makes anyone feel like she’s there with all she has to give. I hate that I’ll never get to set up Christmas decorations with her, and go bargain hunting for gifts for practically everyone in her life, from the lady who cleans the church, to all her mga apo sa pamangkin. I hate that when I have kids, she’ll never get to spend Christmas with them. I hate that she never got to see me become the man that I am. I hate that she never got to see me this happy.

I hate that I’ll never get a chance to make up for all the things I never was for her.

I hope you don’t miss her as much as I do. Because on days like this one…it just breaks my heart.

I know she’s in a much much better place now but a part of me still wishes we had a little more time. I love her Pa, and I know how much you do too. I guess it’s true. You can never be too old to miss your mother.

Always,
PJ

Quite possibly the biggest news to hit the Philippine blogosphere.

In spite being co-founder of both the sheer awesomeness that is the Man Blog and the wickedly cool blog network that is Dashmedia, in spite the fact that I have recently taken on a more active role in the well-being of the incredibly innovative blogging service that is I.PH, it really is no secret that I'm far from being an exceptional blogger. Ah heck, I'd be happy to even be just above average. You see, I don't really care much about my personal site's traffic, my topics are so diverse it's nearly impossible to establish a niche reader base and worst of all, I hardly ever update. What sucks even more is that I don't even have any valid excuse as to why this blog is fairly neglected. I am definitely no  Mike f@cking Villar, who in my opinion is a far better blogger than I can ever hope to be. His reason for not having posted as much as he normally does is not only undeniably valid, it is perhaps the biggest piece of recent news in the local blogging scene. Read all about it, in his very own words, RIGHT HERE!

Breaking My Silence

Being the co-founder of the Dashmedia Network, it is odd that I have remained in the background for this long. I have been extremely quiet in spite of all the things that have been happening with Dashmedia, both the good and the bad. I won't go into much detail as it has already been discussed here, here and here, with much more eloquence than I could ever hope to command. What matters is that the problems are already being addressed. Two nights ago I've secured a better hosting account with Media Temple and I trust that although still a bit delicate, things will move along much more smoothly from here. More importantly, the Dash community, small as it may be for now, is showing much vibrancy.

I break my silence now, for which I may have many reasons. For instance, work has been more demanding as the end of the year looms closer and the pressure is actually getting to me. The waves up north have also been beautiful and I have proven helpless to resist its call. I have also been regularly gripped by a laziness that I can't completely shake off. Truthfully though, I have no excuse. So allow me now to give a well desrved shout out to all the pioneer members of Dashmedia who, with rather unnerving accuracy, get what Dash is all about and what we need to do at this point. I may not show it much but I'm fucking ecstatic that the buzz is starting. Some people may be afraid of getting too much hype. After all, it may grow too big to actually live up to. I am not at all worried though. And it's not because Mike fucking Villar, Site Guy Marco and I, are awesome (although let's face it, that certainly helps). The reason is inspite our highly subjective selection process, we have been able to find bloggers who not only have the goods to back it up, but who also wholeheartedly throw themselves into this undertaking. I honestly believe that we are on the right track.

Brief Apology for the Sappiness

I must apologize to all my readers, yes, all five of you, for the recent sappiness posted right below. I know it seems waaaaay out of character for me or in the very least, out of character for the character you've come to know. (Am I still making sense? No? Never mind.) I am not ashamed however to admit that I can be overly protective of my bestfriend. She did after all serve a crucial role in me finding sanity again. I now know where sanity lies. I just choose not to go there too often. Anyway, with that said, we move on to regular programming. 

A Letter to the Wiccan’s Lost Dragon