Road bully

The weather was pretty nasty when we left for Bloomington, Indiana. It was raining with slight flurries, otherwise it was a normal car ride to Bloomington. We had with us, Wanda, her son, her mom and her sister riding with us to Bloomington and Ramzi was just so happy to have Axel (Wanda's son), so both of them were pretty occupied with their DS game. Upon arrival, we shopped at the 10th St. International grocery store. Since everyone was so hungry after a long ride, we got our gps out so we can do a search on international restaurants in the area. We found a few and decided on a Siamese restaurant. Wanda and Lena ordered all kinds of food and some that I know off hand were Tom yum, noodles, fried rice and a platter of vegy condiments. Not sure what it's called, but it sure was super spicy!!! The kids loved the Mannequins deco in the restaurant, and were having a hard time taking their hands off it! Poor grandma (Wanda's mom) was afraid that they might damage the deco's. We left the restaurant with our bellies full and fortunately the drive back was not as bad because the rain was gone but the cold temperature was still there. Upon reaching Washington, that's where our trouble begins. We came upon a dark colored vehicle and it was probably driving 30+ mph on a 55 mph road. We were behind this car for many many miles until there was an opportunity that we were able to pass it. My dear husband put the car in gear and put his signal on so we could overtake this car, but when he wanted to do just that, the other car instead of letting us pass, he or she put their car in full gear too, so we either have to back down behind him or have a head-on collision with an on-coming car. My husband was not aggressive when wanting to pass this car, it was just a normal thing that drivers do when wanting to pass another car, and unfortunately when he wanted to do just that, and we were just side by side the other car, we all can see that the driver and the passengers of the other car were laughing their hearts out because we were not able to pass them. We were all in shock at this behavior They thought it's a game! When we were behind them, they drove real slow again. To maintain our safety, we backed off from this aggressive group of youngsters and my husband took out his cell phone and dialed 911. It is clear to us that this bully is putting himself and us in danger. We reported that individual’s license plate and other identifying details to the police. Aggressive drivers who drive dangerously do not belong on the roads. 3 -4 minutes after my husband made that call, a police car came out from the right junction got in front of us, and less than a mile after that, the police car turned on his light and got behind this bully and amazingly got them to stop, and that's when we passed them. Now, we can see that they are no longer laughing! I saluted the effectiveness and promptness of the law in taking care of this situation.

A tribute to an ex-colleague & dear friend

The late Marlon Dinglasan and his wife emailed by Gerlie. (I could not believe how much weight he've lost and I am forever grateful and thankful that I was able to 'communicate' with Marlon through his sister-inlaw, Gerlie via email before his death).

On January 24, 2009, I received an email from my ex-colleague in Shell about a friend of ours who is dying from stage 4 lung cancer. A couple of days ago, I received an email from Marlon's sister in-law, Gerlie, that Marlon, her brother in-law has joined his creator on March 28, 2009 at 2:40pm Philippine time. He will be cremated on Wednesday, April 1,2009. For that, I am dedicating this part of my blog to my dear friend, the late Marlon S Dinglasan.
Marlon had lived an amazing life even though it was rather short. Marlon was a great friend; he was the kind of friend that stands by you when you need somebody to be there. As a colleague and a dear friend, he was always helpful. Yes, it was probably in 1991 or in 1992 that I first met Marlon and a group of other Filipino engineers when they joined Shell MDS. The thing I remember clearly when I think of Marlon is his sense of humor, his politeness and his unique soft baritone voice.He was the kind of person that would make everyone laugh so hard. He was so out there when he starts those jokes. That is what I will truly miss about Marlon. He could make anyone laugh when they are really sad. He always cheered his colleagues when he knew they were having a bad day. That’s the trademark of Marlon. He always wanted to make people happy. Marlon’s death was sudden to me, but in reality he knew of his cancer long before I heard of it. I remember when I heard the news I simply could not believe it. Marlon was too young but as it slowly occurred to me I have realized that Marlon indeed lived his life wonderfully. Marlon was well-liked and he had done so many things on earth and I’m sure he’ll do much more in heaven. I will forever be grateful to have known Marlon. I will forever be grateful for spending 7+ years of my life as a colleague with a friend like him. All the memories I have shared with him will forever be cherished and remembered. This is not the time for us to grieve his death but it’s our time to celebrate his life. I am sure he never wanted to see people cry, he wanted to make everyone happy. I am thankful that I was given the chance to have known a man named Marlon. He will forever be missed.

American idol & their judges

This week on American idol is visits the Michael Jackson songbook, and unfortunately, it did not go so well for some of the contestants. Others like Danny Gokey and Adam Lambert, while they've been overhyped by the judges, it's hard to deny their talents. Lil Rounds and a teen with that weird hairdo like Allison are also extremely talented, and another cutie, Anoop Desai, who in reality does not have the most flawless vocal, but he was definitely among the most exciting and energetic contestant. Definitely needs to concentrate on hitting all his notes, but there's no denying his swagger, appeal, and stage presence make Anoop a serious threat, even if he had to rely on the judges to get him to the top, which I think will end after tonight. His 'beat it' was a total mess and even Paula have no positive feedback for him, unfortunately! The suspense builds!

Being an asian living in the US, I find the ebonic language or slang used by one of the Judges, Randy Jackson on American Idol pretty hilarious and at times I was lost, not being able to understand what he was saying! To me it's those kind of slang used by thugs, gangsta wanna-be's, kids and ghetto-dwellers, ebonics and ghetto lingo like "phat," "hood," "bounce," dawg" "SUP" and "hoe" (sp.)? Other words and expressions that became widespread in the '80s like "word up," "chillin'," "home slice," "homie," "homeboy" and "fly"? Last week on American Idol Randy was using word ending in 'WHAT'! I have noticed that he have used it a few times to compliment some contestants and it is probably his new ebonic slang of the night! As for Simon Cowell's, personally I think he is notorious for his bluntness and controversial criticisms about contestants and their singing abilities. I am sure the contestants would appreciate his feedbacks to get them through the top 3.