My Birthday Wish List

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Sep 28

My Birthday Wish List

My birthday is tomorrow, September 29th. I don’t really feel like celebrating it because, if you haven’t heard, we’re in a state of calamity right now because of Tropical Storm Ketsana (Ondoy). I’m writing this wish list as an appeal to you, my readers. I know there’s not a lot of you, but I know there’s enough of you out there to make this worth writing.

Ondoy

1. For those of you outside the Philippines, Filipino or not, please send help via PayPal or credit card by going to Philippineaid.com. It’s a great initiative from Mike Villar, which I vouch for along with several of my fellow bloggers.

2. For those of you in the country, check out the different ways that you can help. Karen Ang has compiled a list of institutions and locations where you can send donations. Financial support is great, but it would be awesome if you can also give clothes, food, water and other necessities. You can also volunteer to repackage relief goods and, if you’re able, distribute it to the victims.

3. Prayers. Pray to whatever god you worship. Pray for those who lost their lives and those they’ve left behind. If you don’t believe in a higher power, take a moment to reflect and be thankful that you’re fortunate enough to still be alive with your family and your home safe and secure. There’s nothing wrong with having a little faith in this time of tragedy.

4. Next time you see me, let’s have a beer or two. Or eight. Let’s give a toast to those who gave their lives to save others. Let’s toast to those who gave donations, big or small. Let’s toast to those who gave their time and effort to give relief to those who have lost everything. Let’s toast to the human spirit. Let’s toast to the Filipino drive to survive. Let’s toast to life.

If I’ve brought a smile to your face once or twice with my blog entries, Facebook status messages, tweets, plurks, Tumblr posts, or the stupid things I say in real life, I’d like to think you owe me this as a birthday gift at least. Thank you and stay safe. :)